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Museum · Besançon, Borgonha-Franco-Condado
Maison natale de Victor Hugo
The Grande Rue apartment where Victor Hugo was born in 1802, now a museum about the writer and his fights for freedom, on the square where the Lumière brothers were also born.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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About Maison natale de Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, was born in Besançon on 26 February 1802, on the first floor of a building on the Grande Rue, where his father, an army officer, was stationed. The family left the city shortly afterwards, but the writer referred to his birthplace in his verses.
Since 2013 the apartment has been a museum. Rather than reconstructing the period house, it presents Hugo's struggles as a public figure: against the death penalty, against poverty, for children's education, for freedom of the press and for women's rights, using texts, drawings, objects and documents. On the ground floor of the building there is an old pharmacy, with its period counter.
On the same square, renamed place Victor Hugo, other local figures were born: the writer Charles Nodier in 1780, and the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, cinema pioneers, in 1862 and 1864. A plaque marks their house.
The museum is small and the visit is short, on the route between the Grande Rue and the cathedral.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
30 to 45 minutes.
Best time
Combine it with the climb to the cathedral and the citadel. Check opening days and hours before you go.
How to get there
It is at number 140 Grande Rue, on place Victor Hugo, about a 5-minute walk from the Porte Noire and the cathedral.
Tip
Look, on the same square, for the plaque marking the house where the Lumière brothers were born.
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about Maison natale de Victor Hugo
Was Victor Hugo born in Besançon?
Yes, on 26 February 1802, on the first floor of a building on the Grande Rue, now a museum.
What does Victor Hugo's birthplace show?
The writer's struggles as a public figure: against the death penalty and poverty, for education, for freedom of the press, and for women's rights.
Were the Lumière brothers born in Besançon?
Yes. Auguste and Louis Lumière were born in 1862 and 1864 in the same square as Victor Hugo's house.