Cathedral45 images Fortress30 images Granvelle Palace57 images Maisons Comtoises69 images Overview of the city (back) with the fortress in the center. Smaller forts across the river, part of the defense system of the city. Montfaucon medieval castle, 11th century. Besançon is located in Franche-ComtĂ© in the east of France. The history of the town is very rich and spans from the Roman times to now, with a Spanish… The Doubs river almost surrounds the old town with a loop. The loop formed by the river is closed by a mountain topped by a fortress, making Besançon… Roman ruins. Roman ruins. The old hospital. Birthplace of Auguste and Louis Lumière (1862 and 1864), inventors of the movie projection device. Birthplace of Victor Hugo (1802), a French author. Stone used to build most of the buildings in historic Besançon. BelfortBrianny Labels