Besançon

Besançon
Besançon
Location within Free County region  Besançon
Administration
Country	France
Region	Free County
Department	Doubs
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Besançon
Statistics
INSEE/Postal code	25056/ 25000

Besançon is a city in France. It is the capital of the Free County region and the prefecture of the Doubs department. Its population is around 116,000 (1999).

The Doubs (river), the Tour de la Pelote and the Quai Vauban.

The citadelle in Besançon

The citadelle was used by the Nazis during World War II.

Climate

Besançon has an oceanic climate and a continental climate. The average temperature is 10.2 °C (50 °F). The warmest month of the year is July (18.9 °C or 66 °F) and the coldest month is January (1.6 °C or 35 °F). Besançon receives about 1108 mm (44 inches) of precipitation per year. The wettest month is May (111.4 mm or 4.4 in); the driest is July (80.5 mm or 3.2 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 31 July 1983, was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), and the lowest was a −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F) reached on 1 January 1985.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg temperature °C (°F)	1.6 (35)	3.3 (38)	6.1 (43)	9.4 (49)	13.3 (56)	16.5 (62)	18.9 (66)	18.3 (65)	15.7 (60)	11.3 (52)	5.6 (42)	2.1 (36)	10.2 (50)
Avg rainfall mm (in)	91.1 (3.6)	81.8 (3.2)	83.5 (3.3)	91.6 (3.6)	111.4 (4.4)	100.1 (3.9)	80.5 (3.2)	86.9 (3.4)	93.2 (3.7)	85.8 (3.4)	103.7 (4.1)	99.0 (3.9)	1108 (43.6)
Source: Météo France

Monuments

• Besançon cathedral
• Synagogue of Besançon
• Jewish cemetery of Besançon

Sister cities

Besançon is twinned with:

• Tver, Russia
• Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
• Kuopio, Finland
• Huddersfield – Kirklees, United Kingdom
• Bielsko-Biała, Poland
• Neuchâtel, Switzerland
• Bistriţa, Romania
• Pavia, Italy
• Hadera, Israel
• Douroula, Burkina Faso
• Man, Côte d'Ivoire
• Charlottesville – Virginia, United States