OK, I admit it. I chose this hotel because of the name. But it turned out to be a pleasant and convenient place to stay, so I can heartily recommend it even to those who are in Besançon for other reasons.
The hotel is in one of the historic stone buildings on Quai Vauban, by the Doubs River. My room was on the other side, facing onto the Place de la Révolution.
Place de la Révolution from my window in Hôtel Vauban
Besançon’s Square of the Revolution (Place de la Révolution) is a large open space at the north end of the city center, near Battant Bridge. Actually, I was surprised to find a square called Place de la Révolution because not many French cities have them, even though the Revolution starting in 1789 was undoubtedly a (or even the) major turning point in French history. Paris used to have a square called Place de la Révolution, but they have long since re-named it Place de la Concorde.
The writing on the wall (of my room)
This text was written in large script on one wall of my room (and I assume in other rooms as well). The text reads:
Sébastien Le Prestre Marquis de Vauban (1633-1707) is a man of multiple faces: engineer, military architect, urbanist, hydraulic engineer and French essayist who prefigures, in a number of his written works, the philosophers of the century of the Enlightenment. An expert in siege warfare, he gave the kingdom of France “a belt of iron” and was named Marshal of France by Louis XIV.
Map in the hotel lobby
On the wall of the hotel lobby there is an outline map of France showing the twelve major Vauban sites that were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008.
Bust of Vauban
This bust of Vauban is in the breakfast room of the hotel. The square in the background is Place de la Révolution.
Location, aerial view and photos of Hôtel Vauban on monumentum.fr.
My photos in this post are from 2014. I revised the text in 2019.
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