Ten things I love about Besançon

1. During the ten minute walk from my apartment to the main town square, I pass one Apple computer store store, two banks, three wine shops (not including convenience/grocery stores), five lingerie shops, and eight bakeries.  Looks like the Bisontines have their priorities in the correct order…

2. Don’t even think about trying to go shopping or run errands between 12:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon.  This is Besançon’s designated lunch break.  The only establishments open during this time are restaurants. 

3. Also, if you try to eat lunch at a restaurant after 2:00 pm, you are out of luck.  The restaurant kitchens all close promptly at 2:00 and open again at 6:30 pm or 7:00 pm for dinner.  Hey, the people who work at restaurants need a break too!

4. Almost all the buildings in the downtown area are at least 150 years old. Very few of these said-buildings are handicap accessible.  Heck, to get up to most apartments in downtown Besançon, you will have to walk up ten to twelve flights of precariously-constructed wooden stairs.  No elevators in sight. (My apartment is slightly less offensive than some, requiring only eight flights of steps…)

5. At every bus stop and on every street corner, there are couples between the ages of 16 and 27 making out.  “Oh baby, I’ve got to catch the bus and it’s going to take me to the faraway land of the next bus stop so we’d better make it count right now!” When I explained to a French friend that I found these types of public displays of affection a little strange, he just shrugged and said, “They love each other.  Why should they hide it?” 

6. There are probably more churches than bakeries in Besançon, and they are all beautiful, ancient, and drafty. Unlike the bakeries, however, the churches are never crowded.

7. Besançon used to be a Roman city, with a huge fort on the hill above what is now the main downtown area.  Today, these Roman ruins are home to a zoo.  For a small fee, you can go see baboons running around on thousand-year-old Roman architecture. 

8. Bisontines are not afraid to offer strangers an opinion on their choice of wine.  Twice now, I have been browsing the wine section at the Monoprix (sort of the French version of Wal-mart) and random French people have advised me against the wine I was about to buy.   Once, a Frenchman even chased me to the register.  “Ne l’achete pas! Ce n’est pas bon!”  Don’t buy it!  It’s no good!  He recommended that I try a different bottle of wine for a similar price, and I have to admit, he was right…

9. People in Besançon are extremely friendly and helpful to foreigners.  It is not a tourist town like Paris, Nice, or Bordeaux, so foreigners are more of a novelty than an annoyance.  I really love living in Besançon.  It’s the perfect size – somewhere between a big city and a small town so it’s very manageable for an American like me. 

10.  I am already becoming a Besançon townie!  Twice I have been stopped by visitors asking directions, was able to successfully direct them (in French!) to their destinations (which, granted, were quite obvious and easy to explain)… I have (almost) arrived!