Besançon - Old Town

The central feature of the old town of Besançon is the Place du 8-Septembre, with the church of St-Pierre and the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall; 16th C). To the rear of the Town Hall is the Palais de Justice (Law Courts; also 16th C), once the seat of the Parlement of Franche-Comté. The town's main street is the Grande Rue, which follows the line of a Roman road, the Vicus Magnus. The sober regularity of the house fronts (the result of uniform standards laid down by Vauban), is relieved by the imaginative design of the entrances; a particularly striking example is at No. 67. Victor Hugo was born in No. 140. In the Square Archéologique A.-Castan (after the archaeologist of that name) are remains of an ancient theater and cistern, with eight