Musée Du Temps

What Musée Du Temps does

Musée Du Temps is a municipal museum operated by the Ville de Besançon, France, dedicated to horology and the history of time measurement. The institution is housed in the historic Palais Granvelle and holds permanent collections centered on watches, clocks, and timekeeping instruments, alongside signature installations such as a Foucault pendulum and the Amédée Bernardi astronomical clock (created 1929–1949) with 75 animated automata. The museum operates as part of the Musées d'Arts & du Temps ensemble alongside the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie, and reports to Mayor Ludovic Fagaut as publishing director.

Its programming is built around permanent collections, temporary exhibitions (e.g., the Amédée Bernardi exhibition, the "Transmissions" cross-border show with the Swiss Musée international d'horlogerie), age-segmented workshops (Le Calendrier d'Amédée for ages 3–6, Les Petits Automates for ages 7–10), guided tours (Montres et merveilles, architectural tours), and annual cultural events such as Les 24h du temps and Nuit européenne des musées. Digital engagement includes a 360° virtual tour, downloadable at-home activity sheets, and iCal event export.

The business model combines several small revenue streams: standard admission fees with free entry for under-18s and on the first Sunday of each month, paid workshops at €5 per child, guided tours at approximately €9, privatization for private events, and mécénat (patronage) arrangements. Operational and ticketing infrastructure is provided by Grand Besançon Métropole, the museum's parent municipal authority. Customer segments span families with children, school groups, adult cultural visitors, visitors with disabilities (via adapted tours), and local Besançon residents. The museum employs 14 staff and reports no privately disclosed financials, consistent with its public-sector status.

Name

Musée Du Temps

Legal name

Ville de Besançon

Website

https://mdt.besancon.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Musée Du Temps is a municipal museum in Besançon, France, dedicated to horology and the history of time measurement. Housed in the historic Palais Granvelle, it serves families, schools, adults, tourists, and accessibility audiences through permanent collections, guided tours, workshops, and annual cultural events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services (Horology)

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Historical Sites (712120), Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD), UNESCO & Protected Landmark Sites (THAJACAI)

Keywords

• Horological museum collections
• Watchmaking heritage exhibitions
• Cultural education programs
• Museum guided tours
• Historical timepiece preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Besançon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission Fees: Ticket sales for museum entry with various pricing tiers including free admission for youth under 18 and first Sunday of each month.
2. Workshop and Activity Fees: Paid workshops and activities including children's workshops (€5 per child) and specialized creative sessions.
3. Guided Tour Fees: Revenue from guided tours such as 'Montres et merveilles' and other specialized tours, priced at €9 for some tours.
4. One Time License: Revenue from festival partnerships such as Festival Drôlement bien where museum offers free admission to ticket holders.
5. Private Events and Mécénat: Museum offers privatization services for private events and accepts patronage/mécénat arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Musée du Temps is a municipal museum dedicated to horology and the history of time measurement, housed in the historic Palais Granvelle in Besançon. It exhibits permanent collections of watches, clocks, and timekeeping instruments (including the Amédée Bernardi astronomical clock and a Foucault pendulum), and delivers paid guided tours, workshops for children and families, temporary exhibitions, and annual cultural events such as Les 24h du Temps and the European Night of Museums.

Product overview

The Musée du Temps de Besançon is a municipal museum dedicated to horology and the history of time measurement, housed within the historic Palais Granvelle. The institution offers a dual product architecture consisting of its permanent collections (historical timepieces, watchmaking heritage, and the Foucault pendulum) and rotating exhibitions (such as the Amédée Bernardi astronomical clock with automatons). Cultural programming includes structured workshops for children (Le Calendrier d'Amédée for ages 3-6, Les Petits Automates for ages 7-10), family activities (sensory tours, daily life explorations), and adult offerings (guided architectural tours, horological master classes). The museum also hosts the annual Les 24h du Temps festival and participates in European cultural events like Nuit européenne des musées. Digital engagement includes downloadable DIY activity sheets and calendar export capabilities. Educational outreach extends through school programs and territorial actions across the Besançon region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Association Valentin Haüy (AVH) DoubscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for accessible visits for visually impaired visitors. The museum offers adapted tours with audio description conducted by trained mediators. Contact: Miléna Buguet, Accessibility Coordinator.
• Maison des SéniorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for adapted visits for visitors with motor disabilities. Offers participatory discovery of museum objects at each visitor's own pace.
• Atlas de la Fondation PlurielcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for adapted visits for visitors with intellectual disabilities, providing simplified discovery experiences of museum collections.
• Festival Drôlement bienminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual comedy festival partnership where festival ticket holders receive free admission to the museums. Museums are open during the festival period (typically January).
• Musée international d'horlogerie de la Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership for the exhibition 'Transmissions. L'Immatériel photographié' (May-November 2021). Cross-border collaboration between Swiss and French horological institutions.
• IUT Besançon-Vesoul-Dole (Université Marie et Louis Pasteur)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-year students in Génie Mécanique et Productique (GMP), parcours Innovation pour l'Industrie, display their engineering projects at the museum, showcasing horological innovation.
• Les Amis des MuséesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFriends of the museum association that supports museum activities and promotes museum membership and engagement.
• Grand Besançon MétropolecoreOthersTechnical maintenance provider (Direction des Systèmes d'Information) and ticket booking platform provider for the museum.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Musée des Arts et Métiers: Paris-based science and technology museum that includes horology within a much broader collection of scientific instruments. Overlaps thematically (timekeeping, scientific instruments) but serves a much larger general audience.
• LVMH Watchmaking Cultural Initiatives (incl. La Fabrique du Temps): LVMH's horology cultural umbrella across brands like TAG Heuer, Bulgari, and Hublot. Adjacent incumbent in the luxury horology cultural space with educational exhibits, though commercial rather than public-museum oriented.

Direct peers

• Patek Philippe Museum: Geneva-based museum dedicated to Swiss watchmaking heritage, covering centuries of horological artifacts. Operates in the same thematic niche — high-end horology museum experiences — though driven by a single brand rather than a public institution.
• Musée international d'horlogerie: The Swiss national horology museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a directly comparable thematic museum dedicated to watchmaking and timekeeping history. The two institutions already collaborate on joint exhibitions (e.g., 'Transmissions').
• Cité du Temps: Paris-based horology and time-themed cultural space hosting watch exhibitions and brand showcases. Comparable thematic focus on time and watchmaking, with stronger Parisian location and luxury brand partnership model.
• Deutsches Uhrenmuseum: German watch museum in Furtwangen (Black Forest), the German horology heartland. Direct thematic peer operating a public horology collection with educational programming in a comparable mid-size city.

Emerging players

• Beyer Zürich Watch Museum: Zürich-based private watch museum hosted inside the historic Beyer chronometer shop. Comparable horology focus and educational programming, but commercial and significantly smaller scale.
• Glashütte Original Museum: Brand-driven watchmaking museum in Glashütte, Saxony (German horology region). Comparable thematic positioning around a specific horology heritage location, with educational and tourism programming.
• Omega Museum: Biel/Bienne-based brand museum operated by Omega, a Swatch Group brand. Comparable as a horology museum experience, but commercial and brand-driven rather than public and educational.

Others

• Smithsonian National Museum of American History: Large general history museum that includes horology artifacts (notably the Waltham watch collection). Tangentially related as a public museum with significant timekeeping holdings, though with vastly broader scope and scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/museedutempsbesancon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mus%C3%A9e-du-temps

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Musée Du Temps