Hotels in Dijon, France

A little about Dijon...

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne région. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population (2005): 150,800 for the commune; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area.

Main Sights:
Dijon boasts a surprisingly large number of churches and cathedrals, including St. Benigne, Notre-Dame, St. Etienne, and St. Michel. It is noteworthy that the crypt of Cathédrale Saint-Bégnine dates from 1000 years ago, and the city has retained many architectural styles from many of the main periods from the past millennium, including Gothic, Renaissance and Capetian. Many of the still-inhabited houses in the city's central district date from before the 18th century.
There are many museums in the city, including one dedicated to mustard. Another is the Musée des Beaux Arts in the old part of the Ducal Palace (see below). It contains, among other things, ducal kitchens that date back to the mid-1400s, and a collection of European paintings from the early Renaissance to the Impressionistic periods.

Among the more interesting of Dijon's "must see" localities is the Ducal Palace, the Palais des Ducs et des Etats de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the Estates of Burgundy" ( 47°19'19?N, 5°2'29?E), which is one of only a few remaining examples of the Capetian period in the region. Another is a curious carving of a little owl, la chouette, on the church of Notre Dame on the rue de la Préfecture. It is reported that this has become regarded as a good-luck charm: people touch it with their left hand and make a wish. The current carving is a copy as the original was destroyed the night of January 5th or 6th 2001 by vandals. The current version is now protected by video surveillance.

Transportation: Dijon is located approximately one hour and 40 minutes southeast of Paris by the TGV high-speed train (LGV Sud-Est). For comparison, Lyon is 180 kms away and two hours distant - although there is no high-speed train link between both cities. Nice takes about six hours by TGV and Strasbourg about three hours at regular train speed. By car, Dijon is about three hours from Paris.

Food and Drink: Dijon is famous for its mustard, even though nowadays around 90% of all mustard seeds used are imported, mainly from Canada. The term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method for the making of mustard, particularly strong if made in that fashion. Most Dijon mustard (brands such as Amora or Maille) is produced industrially, and in fact need not be produced around Dijon. However, Dijon mustard shops also feature exotic or unusually-flavored mustard (for example fruit flavored Dijon), often sold in decorative hand-painted faïence (china) pots.

As the capital of the Burgundy region, Dijon reigns over some of the best wine country in the world. Many superb vineyards producing vins d'appellation contrôlée, such as Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, are within 20 minutes of the city center. The town's university boasts a renowned œnology institute. The drive from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, passes through an idyllic countryside of vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and twelfth-century churches. The region's architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian roofs) made of tiles glazed in terra cotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns.

The city is also well known for its crème de cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, used in the drink known as "Kir" (white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon canon Félix Kir). The same drink made with champagne instead of white wine is known as a Kir Royal.