Besançon (well worth the stay)

TUESDAY 27 MAY 

After our long day travelling back from the UK on Monday we slept really well even though we were moored next to a particularly noisy lock overspill.  Karen moved the car 10 km or so upstream first thing and then ran back to the boat.  Meanwhile I did a few jobs and got ready to leave when Karen returned as we were keen to cast off before the hotel boat Daniele came through.  We’d seen her moored in Ranchot when we drove through on Monday evening so knew she’d be on her way in the morning.  Hotel boats are incredibly slow on canalised sections and going through locks hence the reason for getting ahead first.

We were out of luck as she crept slowly past just as Karen was returning to the boat so we gave it a couple of hours to get well ahead before setting off by which time it was gone midday.  After a short cruise we stopped by a weir for lunch:

On the other side of the river, we could see the paper mill of Zuber Rieder which was originally built in 1881 and now produces high quality specialist paper:

It was sunny all day with the occasional cloud cover so ideal for cruising on the river which wound its way under woodland and cliffs.

Reaching Boussières we moored above a lock in a lovely peaceful spot, well, it was apart from the courting frogs.   We then had an easy afternoon taking in a very short walk as we felt quite tired after our long drive the previous day.

On Tuesday we cruised 5.5 km up two locks and saw a hotel boat, one private boat and three hire boats.

WEDNESDAY 28 MAY 

As the area we’re in is quite hilly we sought out a circular walking route that would take us up to the top of one of the hills above our mooring at Boussières.  With plenty of hot and sunny weather forecast from Thursday onwards we were fortunate that it was a grey day making it ideal for walking up steep forestry tracks.  On the other hand it wasn’t so good for taking scenic views:

Besançon, our next major town, can be seen in the far distance in the above picture with Thoraise to the left in the foreground.  We extended our walk to take in the papermill we’d moored at for lunch on Tuesday where we also found a lavoir that had been converted into a small basketball practice court.  As expected, the church (hidden behind a church) had a Burgundian bell tower:

It rained on and off during the afternoon and we had another walk between showers, this time to have a look around Thoraise.  With a busy road running through it we found it quite uninspiring, not even being large enough to have any bars or a quaint mairie.  On the plus side there were plenty of agricultural dwellings that looked like they hadn’t changed for hundreds of years.  At least the war memorial had some flowers to brighten the place up:

When we got back to the boat there were three hire boats moored up near us, though all pointing in the opposite direction:

THURSDAY 29 MAY  

Karen found a trail run around Thoraise on Monday morning making a nice change for her rather than using the cycle route that follows the river Doubs.  We set off soon after she returned as we wanted to get to Besançon by the afternoon.  Our mooring for the last couple of nights was right next to a short tunnel that had had some arty installations installed a few years ago.   They sounded fun, especially the waterfalls over the tunnel entrance and exit that stopped as soon as boats approached.  Sadly, they were no longer functioning, but the arc shaped apparatus was still in situ.

Another installation were lights in the roof of the tunnel that came on as boats went through but again these were no longer working.

Soon after the tunnel we were back on the river and being treated to some wonderful views.

We had to go through our first staircase lock of the year when we next left the river.  Although staircases can be made up of several locks, this one consisted of just two locks.  The principle is the same however many locks there are in the staircase; the top gates of one lock become the bottom gates of the next lock and so on.  Here we are having ascended the first lock and then waiting for the gates to open and the red light to go out so that we can proceed through to the second lock.

When the gates open, the green light replaces the red light allowing us to go through to the next lock.

Neither of us had been to Besançon before but we knew it was famous for its fortifications.  It wasn’t long before we could see the citadel at the top of a steep hill ahead.  We’ll be staying in Besançon for a few days and one of the first things we’ll do is walk up and explore the citadel.

It’s not surprising it’s still standing after more than 300 years – how would any army be able to launch an attack up the steep hillsides?

Although we read about places before we visit them, I hadn’t taken in that the town is completely encircled by water and that we can navigate the whole way around.  It was quite a shock when we came out of a lock and I could see a second lock immediately on the right leading into a tunnel.  The old town of Besançon and its citadel sit inside a large oxbow of the river Doubs.  The tunnel we could see goes underneath the citadel thus completing the circle.

We arrived at Besançon at the six o’clock position on the map above and moored up on a pontoon outside the tunnel (marked with the French word, ‘souterrain’ on the map).   

We saw a boat was already moored there and realised it was the Americans, Amy and Rob on Vivante, whom we’d moored with at Thoraise.  We had a quick chat with them and found out that the lock leading into the tunnel was closed for maintenance for a week.  It was a shame as we wanted to go through it to circumnavigate the town.  It was worse for them as they had a deeper draught than us and the river level was too low for them to go around the long way so they would be stuck where they were for a week until the lock reopened.  At least they’d get the chance to do plenty of exploring.

Before we did any exploring ourselves we decided to retrieve the car.  We’d stopped cycling over the last couple of years as it was getting too much for Buddy to run far, not helped by the heat that we’ve encountered over here in recent years.  As this was the case, we’d taken one of our bikes home leaving just the one on the boat for emergencies. Now he’s longer with us we brought the bike back this year so we were able to cycle back to Thoraise together to retrieve the car.  It certainly made for a pleasant end to the afternoon and were soon back in Besançon looking for somewhere to leave the car. 

A cycle path and walking route runs through the tunnel and around the inside of the oxbow enabling people to walk the 4.5 km around the town. We spent the evening watching the gongoozlers watching us as they walked past the boat on their way around.  I wonder if there’s a word to describe the watching of gongoozlers?

A trip boat was doing the rounds but obviously couldn’t do the complete loop as the tunnel was closed so it had to turn around next to where we were moored.

On Thursday we cruised 14 km up five locks, through one tunnel and saw two private boats and two hire boats on the move.

FRIDAY 30 MAY

Although we thought the lock at the tunnel entrance was closed for maintenance we could feel from the water movement around the boat that it was being used when we woke up.  As it was just after seven, I was about to get up anyway and looking out of the back doors I could see hotel boat Daniele emerging from the lock.

Our mooring was in the shade of the citadel and we were pleasantly protected from the sun until about nine o’clock.  Our plan for the morning was to walk the 4.5 km river loop around the old town with the main aim of checking out any other moorings.  We would include a detour to the north to find the station and see if there was any convenient free parking to leave the car for a while.  After lunch we would then walk up and explore the citadel leaving a tour of the old town until Saturday.  We found out later that one of the first buildings that caught our eye was used for student housing - lucky students.

In addition to having a fortified citadel at the top of the hill overlooking the river, ramparts were also built alongside the river for added protection.  Those still standing dated from the late 1600s and were designed by Vauban the French defence architect.  We’ve lost count of the number of his fortifications we’ve seen and he was so prolific that I don’t think we’ve come across any that weren’t designed by him.  We were surprised at the number of parks and green spaces present through gateways in the walls.

There are half a dozen bridges crossing the river and just before reaching the third we walked along 100 metres of quay that had rings set in the side thus a potential for mooring if we fancied moving the boat further around.  Crossing the bridge, pont Battant, to walk up to the station we were faced by the église Sainte-Madeleine with its attractive roof.  It was relatively modern being built in the mid-1700s.

On the way up to the station we walked through yet another park in the middle of which was a war memorial for soldiers from Besançon who'd died overseas, the latest name being added in 2023.

In the same park were three statues that used to belong to a previous war memorial: the soldier’s departure, the soldier’s return and the one in the centre apparently representing the city of Besançon.

We found an area that we’d be happy to leave the car for a few weeks if we decided to do so.  The trouble is we haven’t really decided yet whether to keep the car with us until we next pop back to the UK or leave it somewhere with a train station like Besançon.  Leaving it at or near a train station makes it easy to pick up when we need it for a road trip.  When we crossed back over the bridge, which was on the site of the town’s first bridge built by the Romans, we could see a wonderful row of houses lining the quayside.  We found out later that these were built over 400 years ago and the street was named Quai Vauban after our French war architect.

Before continuing our walk around the river loop, we carried on into the old town to pick up some self-guided trails from the tourist office.  The tourist office was inside the hôtel de ville which was built in the early 1570s.  We’d been walking a while by this point so we stopped in a bar opposite the hôtel de ville to relax with a drink and a snack.

On the way back to the river we passed a bric-à-brac shop and popped in as we’ve been looking for a jug to replace the one we use for watering the plants but has developed a rust hole in the base.  We’ve been searching for an ideal replacement for a while and couldn’t believe our luck when we found a decent sized stainless steel one which we snapped up immediately.  We had a good laugh because at 10€ it must have been one of the most expensive items in the shop.

Our walk took us past many of Vauban’s defensive towers and bastions. 

The sculpture in the middle of the river in the picture above represents the minotaur and was cast in bronze and erected 25 years ago.  Apparently every so often it gushes water but it either wasn’t working or we didn’t pass at the right time.  Nearing the end of the loop was a manually operated lock, the first we’ve seen in France since 2020.  This gave us even more reason to make sure we cruised around the whole loop.  The lock was next to a 17^th century watermill.

There were finger pontoons below the lock but only suitable for boats up to 13 metres so no good for us. After the lock was the main port in town, a fully secure 260-metre-long pontoon.  Checking it out we found that even if we only wanted to stop for water we would have to pay for an overnight stay that includes free water and electricity.  At 28.10€ it seemed pretty steep so we thought we would give it a miss and stay where we were. Not long after the main port we were at the other end of the canal tunnel that runs under the citadel thus completing the loop.  This side of the hill was just as steep as the side where we were moored thus reinforcing how impregnable the citadel above was.

After lunch we walked up to the citadel; it was a very steep climb and not really one to do in temperatures around 30 degrees.  As we often find after steep climbs up hills we came out at a car park for use by those less inclined or unable to walk up.  As well as being able to walk around the top of the walls there were a lot of other things to do in the citadel itself including three museums, a zoo and an area of gardens showing how food was grown in the times when it was inhabited,

We started by walking around the walls and taking in some amazing views.  Of course, we had to look down to where our boat was moored (red arrow).

On the eastern side we could look along the Doubs in the direction we’ll be going towards Mulhouse when we leave Besançon.

Every so often around the walls were corbelled look out towers.

At the point the picture was taken of Karen looking out of one of them she hadn’t realised they were corbelled and thus overhanging the cliff face.  She was convinced she wouldn’t have gone in if she’d known that beforehand!

Other than the walls the other reason for our visit was to see the resistance and deportation museum.  The displays were well thought out, each one being poignant in a slightly different way.  Never before have we had such an emotional impact from a museum visit but then it would have been a strange series of exhibits on the subject matter if they hadn’t drawn such a deep emotional reaction.

We had a wonderful time and felt that the trip was worth far more than the entrance fee.  We would recommend it to every visitor to the town and if they didn’t feel inclined or were unable to walk up, there is a bus to take them to the entrance at the top.

SATURDAY 31 MAY 

Karen came back excited from her morning run as the minotaur statue in the river was working when she passed it.  Mind you, it was more of a spray than the gush described by the tourist office.

As it was forecast to be 30 degrees again, we had a restful morning apart from cycling to a supermarket in the centre of town.  We hadn’t really thought how tiring it would be cycling in the heat with full back packs and a bag for life each so when we got back we decided to leave it until later in the afternoon before following the old town trail. 

The buildings in old town were certainly magnificent being built of white and blue Jura limestone but most of the points of interest were houses lived in by different famous French people over the centuries.  Of course, there were other buildings on the trail such as churches, old hospitals and official buildings like the central court.

In the Sain-Jean cathedral an astronomical clock made in the 1850s was on display.  As well as telling the time and date it showed other things like the position of the planets and our sun and moon.  It even showed day and night lengths as well as information about tides.

Being in such a strategic position on the river, Besançon has been populated for centuries and there are still vestiges of Roman times such as this carved stone column in one of the town gateways built in those times.

In the 19^th century a French archaeologist uncovered the remains of a Roman water distribution system.  Much has been rebuilt using bricks to fill in where stonework had gone missing, probably used for other building works.  These rebuilt artefacts are on display in the location they were found which has now been made into a park.  Unfortunately the trees were producing so much shade it was very difficult to see anything clearly.  This was the best shot but we couldn't find out what it was.

Even though Besançon was full of tourists, the vast majority were speaking French.  The next most popular language seemed to be German and we heard a few American voices too.  We only heard one British family which we found most surprising.

Tomorrow we’ll be leaving Besançon, although it was well worth visiting it will be nice to get out into the countryside again away from the hustle and bustle of a tourist town.  We would definitely recommend a visit to the town if anyone is planning a European road trip or a stay in this part of Burgundy.