Arrondissement of Besançon

The Chaprais or Chaprais is a district of Besançon, which was developed from the second half of the 19th century. Located in north-east of the historic center, it has 15,500 inhabitants which makes the second bigger area of the city

The Canton of Besançon-Planoise is a former administrative division in the departement of Doubs and in Franche-Comté region. It had 20,407 inhabitants (2012). It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It consisted of three areas of Besançon: Planoise, Tilleroyes and Châteaufarine.In 2008, Barbara Romagnan (PS) became representative of the canton with 70% of the votes, front of Martine Bultot (Far left) who obtained just 30% of the votes. ·

Radio BIP is a French local and associative FM broadcasting station, active in Besançon and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The acronym BIP stands for Bisontine, Indépendante et Populaire, meaning "Bisontine, independent and popular". After originally operating as a pirate radio station from 1977 to 1978, it was refounded in 1981 as a "free radio". In 2022 it was still characterized by a total independence, the refusal of advertisement, and an important spot for politics and associations. Since 2015, its staff developed video and text channels in association with Média 25. It become a reference of social movement and underground culture, at the beginning of many cases during El Khomri law or Yellow vests.

Vaites or The Vaites is a district of Besançon, located to the northeast of the city.

Besançon-Viotte is the main railway station located in Besançon, Doubs, eastern France. The station was opened in 1855 and is located on the Dole–Belfort railway, Besançon–Le Locle railway and Besançon-Viotte-Vesoul railway. The train services are operated by SNCF. Besançon Franche-Comté TGV is a high speed station located 10km north of Besançon.

Cras is a district of Besançon located to the east of the city. Its name comes from the Franche-Comté "Cra" which means "crow".

The Champs Bruley cemetery is a municipal cemetery located in Besançon (France) between the Chaprais, Bregille, Clairs-Soleis and Vaîtes districts. Opened in 1793 and still active as of 2019, it is the oldest burial ground managed by the city.The cemetery, when constructed, was intended for use by any inhabitant of the area. Because it did not have a nearby Catholic church, and also because the site has an uneven topography and was viewed at the time as being isolated, the predominantly Catholic Bisontin community did not use it. This led to it being viewed as a burial ground for "undesirable citizens": The sick, condemned prisoners and non-Catholics. Over time, it was seen as a de facto Lutheran-only burial ground and in 1824 was officially designated as a Lutheran cemetery, following the construction of the Chaprais Cemetery. It became the official cemetery for parish burials until the neutrality laws of 1881. Although it is now legally available to people of all religions, the Champs Bruley remains a predominantly Lutheran cemetery.

The Free Imperial City of Besançon was a self-governing free imperial city that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Besançon. From 1184 until 1654 the city of Besançon was a free imperial city (German: Freie Reichsstadt) as shown by the coat of arms until today and called Bisanz. The city was first separated from the governance of the County of Burgundy in 1034 as a prince-bishopric, an ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire. The city was governed by the Prince-Archbishopric of Besançon, although later most of his power would devolve to a council within the town. The free imperial city enclosed only the city of Besançon in the Franche-Comté so for a large part of the time it was controlled those who controlled access across the surrounding land, first by the dukes of Burgundy, and then by the Habsburgs. Finally, it lost its imperial status but remained a free city.

The Battle of Besançon (21 June 1575) was a sectarian conflict between the Protestants and Catholics in the French city of Besançon in the region of Franche-Comté. Prior to the battle, the Huguenots, accused of heresy, had been expelled from the city and fled to the County of Montbéliard and Switzerland; the outcasts formed an army and planned an attempt to retake Besançon and turn the city into a stronghold of the Protestant Reformation. By the time the armed Protestants had reached the city of Besançon however, their army had dwindled because of several mishaps. Nonetheless, the battle began and raged for several hours; the outcome was an overwhelming Catholic victory. The majority of the Protestant army managed to escape, but those who were captured were hanged as traitors. For over two centuries after the battle, Protestantism in Besançon was repressed.

The siege of Besançon took place from 25 April to 22 May 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War, when French forces nominally led by Louis XIV of France invaded Franche-Comté, then part of the Spanish Empire. Siege works were supervised by the duc d'Enghien, eldest son of le Grand Condé, and French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The defenders were commanded by Vaudémont but the town's isolated position meant they could only delay capture. The bulk of French casualties were caused by a botched assault, allegedly launched to impress Louis, before the garrison surrendered and were allowed free passage to the Spanish Netherlands. Under the 1678 Treaties of Nijmegen, the province was annexed by France and Besançon replaced Dole as the regional capital.

The Fort of Beauregard is a fortification located in the French city of Besançon. It is now a historic monument and is open to the public during Heritage Days.

The fort of Bregille is a fortification located in the French city of Besançon.