Musée du Temps de Besançon

The Museum of Time is set in Besançon in the Palais Granvelle, a major Renaissance building in Franche-Comté, built between 1534 and 1547 for Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, keeper of the seals of Charles V. Restored between 1988 and 2002, it has housed the museum since 2002.

The route combines the history of the town and that of watchmaking, a great Besançon tradition. You see about 1,500 clocks and watches, including more than a hundred Comtoise clocks, as well as scientific instruments from the Besançon observatory and equipment from the national watchmaking school. Among the famous pieces is the Leroy 01, long considered the most complicated watch in the world.

The museum also presents tapestries, including a series glorifying Charles V, paintings, furniture, a relief plan of Besançon and archives of companies such as Lip. A Foucault pendulum hangs in the tower, which offers a view over the town's roofs.

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