Besançon

So where is it? About 80km directly west of Basel (but about 100 km drive to the border).

The old town is nestled in the crook of the small river, overlooked by the citadel on the high ground on the ‘neck of the crook’. And higher hountry pretty much all around.

i took a short river cruise – a circuit possible because a river tunnel was cut under the citadel in the 1880s. Small locks to avoid a couple of low weirs on the river.

My hotel is on higher ground a couple of km north of the centre/river. Seems like it was once an area of big houses with fine gardens and tall stone walls. Some of the walls and gardens remain, though not so many of the houses. Now mainly multi-storey apartment blocks – unremarkable, in various levels of upkeep. But maybe some of the planning permissions required that the old gardens and trees be kept as public parks.

One of my main purposes for the day was to buy some Blutak (to use as mapboard markers). But where? Papers and magazines are sold with tobacco, not stationery.  Why can’t I find an Officeworks on the next corner? I trudged and trudged. Finally there was a ‘stationery’ sighting in the window of a bookshop.  I scanned the shelves. Didn’t look too hopeful. But I asked. After much description of the original purpose of Blutak, he produced Patafix. Seems like the same thing, but white.  Will see how it goes …