One of the things I really love is cycling home at night after the opera. This is even more magical in Paris because you not only have the opera going through your head, you also have Paris all around you. You do have to look out for the taxis, though, Read More …
This traditional-looking house does not seem to have been predestined to serve as a museum of modern art, but that’s what it is. In the 19th century, the poet Léon Deubel (1879-1913) lived in this house for part of his childhood — apparently the only part of his childhood that Read More …
It’s only a short walk from the town of Belfort to the top of the citadel, and the climb is not very challenging even for someone of my advanced age. But for those with mobility issues, or those travelling with small children, or those who arrive in the middle of Read More …
At the approaches to the Citadel of Belfort there are signs pointing to the Grand Souterrain (large underground). At first I thought this was a tunnel of some sort, but it turned out to be a maze of subterranean spaces under and behind the Citadel. The city’s website explains that Read More …
Tower 46 (Tour 46 in French) is one of the three cannon towers that Vauban designed in 1687 for the three corners of his new city walls. Like the other two towers, this one has the shape of a pentagon and is built of pink sandstone and bricks. The lower Read More …
This model shows the town and citadel of Belfort in the 18th century, after completion of the “grand project for the fortification of Belfort” that Vauban proposed in 1687. Over six thousand workers toiled for sixteen years to carry out Vauban’s detailed plans, which included re-routing the Savoureuse River so Read More …
High above the city of Belfort, in front of a steep cliff and just below the citadel, is a large sculpture, the Lion of Belfort. This Lion is 21.5 meters long and 10.7 meters high, making it quite large but no longer one of the largest sculptures in the world, Read More …
Optymo in Belfort is the agency that runs the city’s bus lines, as well as the bike-sharing and car-sharing systems. The name Optymo stands for optimal mobility. The Optymo system currently has 250 bikes available at thirty self-service bike stations in the city of Belfort and in several adjoining towns. Read More …
When I was in Belfort I couldn’t see a show at the municipal theatre Le Granit, because it was closed for the summer vacation. But I did find out a few things about it. For one thing, I learned that Le Granit is a scène nationale, meaning ‘national stage’. I Read More …
From the local newspaper, L’Est Républicain, which I read each morning during a leisurely breakfast in the hotel garden, I learned that every summer the city of Belfort sponsors a “festival of humor” called Les Rigolomanies de Belfort, consisting of six comedy shows on six Thursday evenings in the 867-seat Read More …