The hunt for Besançon’s twenty fountains

Park on Allée de l’Île aux Moineaux in the pay-and-display car park opposite Parc Micaud. Alternatively, park for free on Rue des Fontenottes (behind Allée de l’Île aux Moineaux, past Mouillère station and then Rue Fontenottes), a two-minute drive and two-minute walk (footpath) from the pay-and-display car park mentioned above.

(S/E) From the car park, with your back to the buildings, turn left onto Allée de l'Île aux Moineaux and walk 80 metres.

(1) Turn right onto the steps leading to the underpass that goes under Avenue Edouard Droz. When you reach the entrance to Parc Micaud, turn right and walk 120 m to the fountain, an artificial grotto, in Parc Micaud (1 ^refontaine).

Then return to the stairs after passing under Avenue Édouard Droz.

(1) Continue in the same direction through Parc Micaud. You can walk alongside the River Doubs. Continue to the restaurant Le Parc. Opposite the restaurant, take the footpath on the right which leads up to Place de la^1re Armée Française. Walk straight ahead (on the same bank) to the Hilaire de Chardonnet Monument Fountain (^2ndfountain).

From the monument, continue along the Chemin du Jardin des Sens (with the towpath below), following the Doubs until the path brings you back to Avenue d’Helvétie. Walk 30 metres and turn left up the steps (or the ramp for disabled access) to reach the towpath. Go under the Robert Schwint Bridge and, when you emerge on the other side of the bridge, you’ll have a magnificent view of the Minautore, a water jet fountain (^3rdfountain).

(2) Walk back up to Quai de Strasbourg. Continue to the Tour de la Pelote and take the first road on the right, which is also called Quai de Strasbourg.
Walk 50 metres and, at the junction, turn left onto Rue du Petit Battant and continue for 150 metres. You will arrive at Place Bacchus, at the fountain of the same name (^4th fountain).

From the fountain, walk down Rue Battant to Sainte-Madeleine Church. Turn right onto Rue de la Madeleine, walk past the church and continue to the junction with Rue de Vignier (^2ndjunction). Follow this street to Place Marulaz, where the Marulaz Fountain is located (^5thfountain).

(3) Walk down Rue Marulaz to the banks of the Doubs. Facing the river, turn right along Quai Veil Picard to Pont Carnot and cross it to the other side. After the bridge, on your right, you will find Parc Chamars. Take the second entrance to the park, between the two columns/jars, and walk to the Chamars Fountain (^6th fountain).

Head back up towards the Doubs and take the path leading to the towpath along the riverbank. Turn left towards the Chamars Bastioned Tower (with the Doubs on your right). Turn left just in front of the tower and follow the tarmac path to the Nymphée Fountain in the Gare d’Eau (^7th fountain).

(4) From the fountain, follow the stream to the open-air café and turn right in front of it. Walk 50 metres and turn left to follow the pond. Continue along the path to the right, following the stream, to exit outside the ramparts. Cross the small bridge over the stream on the left, continue along the Doubs on the towpath to the roundabout at the end of Rue Charles Nodier. Cross the street before the roundabout and turn left. Walk 20 metres and look for a staircase on the right leading up to the citadel.
Climb the steps and you will reach the first junction. Continue left onto Rue du Chapitre. Then follow Rue de la Vieille Monnaie, which branches off to the left. At the bend to the left, take Rue du Cingle on the right and you will reach the Saint-Jean Fountain (^8th fountain).

On your left, take the steps down Rue Ernest Renan and follow this road to the right until you reach Place Victor Hugo, where you will find the Fontaine Saint-Quentin (^9thfountain).

(5) With your back to the fountain, walk down Rue de la Convention to the junction on the left with Rue Ronchaux. Follow this street to the end to reach the Fontaine du Doubs (^10thfountain).

At the junction, head straight ahead onto Rue Chifflet and, at the end of the street, turn right onto Rue Charles Nodier. After 140 m, you will reach the Fontaine des Dames (^11thfountain).

(6) Continue along Rue Charles Nodier until the next junction on the right with Rue de la Préfecture. Follow this street until the junction with Rue Megevand, where you turn right; then, after 20 m, turn left into Place Granvelle, where you will find the Cascade Granvelle and the Fontaine Wallace (^12thfountain).

Return to Rue de la Préfecture and, at the end, turn left onto Grande Rue. Walk 30 metres and you will find the Fontaine des Carmes (^13thfountain) on your left.

(7) Continue along Grande Rue to Place du 8 Septembre, where you will find, still on the left, the Hôtel de Ville Fountain (^14thfountain).

Continue for 20 metres along Grande Rue and take the first left, Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. After about 50 metres, turn left again onto Rue Hugues Sambin. At the end of this street, turn right onto Rue du Palais de Justice and follow it to the junction with Rue Megevand, where you will find the Fontaine des Clarisses (^15thfountain).

(8) Take Rue Megevand on the right until you reach Rue de l’Orme Chamars, which you follow to the right until the three-way junction with Rue du Lycée and Rue Pasteur. Continue along Rue du Lycée to the left for 140 m and you will find the Fontaine Pasteur (^16thfountain).

Continue along Rue du Lycée, then Rue Claude Pouillet, which continues to the right. Walk 150 m along this street and turn left into the small passageway leading to Quai Vauban. Head towards Pont Battant and, once you reach it (with the bridge on your left), turn right onto Grande Rue, then immediately left onto Rue des Boucheries, which leads to Place de la Révolution. Walk to the Fontaine des Eaux d’Arcier (^17thfountain).

(9) Cross Place de la Révolution (with the museum on your left) and continue along Rue des Granges until the second junction on the left, Rue de la République. Follow this street until the junction with Rue Proudhon, where you turn right towards Square Saint-Amour and the Fontaine de Diane (^18thfountain).

Continue along Rue Proudhon and take the first right onto Rue Morand, which you follow until the junction with Rue des Granges. Turn left and continue to the next junction with Rue François Louis Bersot, where you will find the Lion’s Head Fountain (^19thfountain).

Continue along Rue des Granges until you come face to face with the Fontaine de l’État Major (^20thfountain).

Opposite the fountain, take Rue de Pontarlier on the left, then the first left again, Rue du Général Sarrail. Continue along this street until you reach the Pont de Bregille. Cross the bridge over the Doubs and, once on the other bank, take the entrance to Parc Micaud on the left. Continue through the park until you reach the underpass on the left, go up the stairs and you will arrive at the car park (S/E).

A good pair of shoes will suffice for this hike, and you should always carry water with you, especially if it’s hot.

Artificial cave fountain in Micaud Park.
Hilaire de Chardonnet Basin Monument.
The Minotaur.
Bacchus Fountain.
Fountain on Place Marulaz.
Chamars Fountain.
Chamars Bastioned Tower.
Nymphaeum Fountain.
Water Station.
Saint Jean Fountain.
Saint Quentin Fountain.
Victor Hugo Square.
Porte Noire.
Castan Square.
Doubs Fountain.
Fontaine des Dames.
Granvelle Waterfall.
Wallace Fountain.
Fontaine des Carmes.
Town Hall Fountain.
Clarisses Fountain.
Pasteur Fountain.
Eaux d'Arcier Fountain
Fountain of Diana.
Lion-Head Fountain.
Headquarters Fountain.