Doubs: Besancon's Citadel, Clockmaking, and the Swiss Border
Doubs centres on Besancon, the prefecture, a city wrapped in a meander of the Doubs river and dominated by a Vauban citadel that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Victor Hugo was born in Besancon in 1802. The city has a long tradition of clockmaking, and the Musee du Temps (Museum of Time) occupies a Renaissance palace.
The Doubs river forms much of the Swiss border in the department's east, and the Saut du Doubs waterfall at Villers-le-Lac is a popular excursion. Montbeliard, the second city, was a Protestant enclave ruled by the Dukes of Wurttemberg until the Revolution and retains a distinctly Germanic character. The Peugeot museum is in nearby Sochaux. Pontarlier, near the Swiss border, was historically associated with absinthe production. The population is about 541,000.
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Doubs centres on Besancon, the prefecture, a city wrapped in a meander of the Doubs river and dominated by a Vauban citadel that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Victor Hugo was born in Besancon in 1802. The city has a long tradition of clockmaking, and the Musee du Temps (Museum of Time) occupies a Renaissance palace.
The Doubs river forms much of the Swiss border in the department's east, and the Saut du Doubs waterfall at Villers-le-Lac is a popular excursion. Montbeliard, the second city, was a Protestant enclave ruled by the Dukes of Wurttemberg until the Revolution and retains a distinctly Germanic character. The Peugeot museum is in nearby Sochaux. Pontarlier, near the Swiss border, was historically associated with absinthe production. The population is about 541,000.
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