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Dijon

I will be visiting the Beaune area next week with a focus on wine country and some local sights. I noticed that Rick does not have Dijon in his France 2015 book, making me wonder if a day to visit there might be better spent elsewhere. Beaune is a given and we plan to see Lyon sometime the week after. Recommendations?
Thanks!
Chris

Posted by
16893 posts

I quite enjoyed a day in Dijon, especially the grand architecture of the old town center (with self-guided walking tour map provided by the Tourist Information Office) and the Musee des Beaux Arts (free) for the memorable tombs of Dukes of Burgundy.

Posted by
120 posts

Laura already gave you great advice. I can add that it is way smaller than Lyon so you may walk everywhere, holding "the Owl's Trail" brochure to follow the 22 steps that show you the town main sites.
There are many museums, churches, pedestrian streets, parks (the botanical garden near the station, Darcy garden, Parc de la Colombière) and if you come on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, don't miss the food market (designed by Eiffel who was born in Dijon). You'll find more ideas on the TO website http://www.visitdijon.com/en/ and here http://tinyurl.com/pcwcl44. Why RS never visited Dijon is a real mystery to me!
Welcome to my beautiful town, capital of Burgundy (and now Burgundy/Franche Comté)

Posted by
10120 posts

We appreciate Dijon, the old capital of Burgundy, very much. It's extremely rich in museums and historical sites, as Coco says.
Beaune has been hoisted to tourist center status way beyond its historical importance, especially on this website, but it's a nice place to relax, see about two hours worth of sites, eat 'n drink, and putt-putt around the countryside.

Posted by
4324 posts

I'm not sure Beaune has been hoisted, it's a nice small city in a nice region of the country that's convenient for the surrounding wine region. It's walkable, has the hospice and wine cellar, and lots and lots of wine stores and bars.

Posted by
6431 posts

Beaune is a nice base for Burgundy, at least the southern part, and Dijon is well worth a day trip with about a 25-minute train ride and frequent departures. A short walk from the station into the pedestrian center with the fine Beaux-Arts Museum and some wonderful medieval streets. Whether you have this day for Dijon depends on how long you'll be in the area. We found it very worthwhile in a week's Beaune-based stay, along with many other places we went by car.

The RS guides leave out a lot of fine places, as I'm sure he would acknowledge. He chooses his priorities well, from what I've experienced, but omission doesn't mean a place isn't worth seeing. Besides, chacun a son gout.