Birthhouse of Victor Hugo

The birthplace of Victor Hugo in Besançon is a first-floor apartment containing four rooms with their original architectural features intact. The spaces display furnishings and objects from the period, alongside documents and literary materials connected to the writer's formative years.

Victor Hugo was born here on February 26, 1802, during a period when Besançon was an important cultural center. The building became municipal property in 1932 and opened to the public as a museum in 2013 to preserve his legacy.

The rooms reflect the daily life of an educated family in early 19th-century France. Walking through them gives a sense of how such households organized their domestic and intellectual spaces.

The museum offers guided tours for school groups and individual visitors to explore the rooms and their contents. Facilities and accessible entry are available for visitors with mobility concerns or disabilities.

The ground floor contains a reconstructed pharmacy called the Jacques Pharmacy, which originally operated continuously from the early 1800s until 1909. This restoration offers visitors a view of the neighborhood's commercial life during that era.

Location: Besançon

Official opening: September 13, 2013

Address: 4 rue Ernest-Renan

GPS coordinates: 47.23480,6.02918

Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:04