10 Best Things to Do in Dijon
Updated: Feb 1
Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy region of eastern France, which is best known for its marvellous wines, Dijon mustard and blackcurrant liqueur - the one used in a popular "Kir" aperitif. Apart from this, Dijon is a nice place to spend a quiet weekend enjoying walks in the historical centre, delicious food and great wine. I hope this is enough to motivate you to visit this city.
So, what are the best things to do in Dijon? What should you see in one of the gastronomic capitals of Europe? In this post, you will find a list of the top things to do in Dijon.
Follow the Owls
While being in Dijon - look at the ground for the golden owls: apparently, the city adopted the owl as its symbol, and the city's self-guided walking tour is offered to the tourists with the help of owls - they mark the trail, that will help you to see the most popular places in Dijon.
Almost anywhere in the centre you will find an owl plaque - follow the direction, and you will find more, that will help you explore the main historical spots of the city without the risk of missing any of them. Some of the major sites include the Palace of Dukes of the Burgundy, Porte Guillaume, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Notre-Dame de Dijon, and the Halles (Market).
Recharge Your Batteries
Before you go exploring the historical centre of Dijon, think about having a cup of delicious coffee.
Coffee is not a speciality of Burgundy, and you definitely should not expect to see a lot of delicious coffee roasters there. However, there is one place in the city centre where they serve delicious coffee together with some basic breakfast options - Morning Glory Cafe. In my opinion, the best coffee in Dijon is served there.
It's a quite good, and quite popular place, so be ready to come early to get a table if you want to have breakfast, otherwise, order coffee to go. All main alternative milk options are also available.
Palace of Dukes & Musée des Beaux-Arts
Depending on where exactly you started, at some point, you should reach Liberation Square, where you will observe a remarkable architectural assemblage of the Palace of Dukes. In the past, it used to be the residence of dukes and housed the estates of Burgundy, now the palace hosts the Town Hall and Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts).
In this museum, you can find remarkable examples of paintings, including the art of Burgundian artists. It is worth visiting, especially if the weather is not so good and you have a spare couple of hours.
If you want to see the stunning panorama of Dijon and are ready to climb a few hundred steps - Philip le Bon (Philip the Good) Tower build in the middle of the 15th century. If not - visit the museum or continue following the owls.
Notre Dame & Rue des Forges
A couple of minutes of walking - and you will reach the Church Notre-Dame of Dijon, a masterpiece of 13th-century Gothic architecture. The western facade of the Church has more than 50 gargoyles that represent different people, animals and monsters. On the top of the Church, there is the clock with the 14th-century jacquemart - an automatic bell-ringer that hits the bell every hour with a hammer.
Once you explored the Church, try to get lost in the historical heart of Dijon: turn to Rue Musette or walk a bit down to reach Rue des Forges - one of the most picturesque streets of the town.
Reach the crowded Place of Francois Rude, have a stop to observe a beautiful historical building that reminds Alsace a bit, and then continue exploring the centre. Don't worry - if you feel lost, follow the owls, they will help you to come back to the centre.
Les Halles - the Main Market
Les Halles of Dijon (the halls), their remarkable iron structures were inspired by the ideas of Gustav Eiffel in late 186os and were built from 1873 to 1875 according to the plans of the engineer Louis-Clément Weinberger. In 1975, Les Halles was considered a part of the historical heritage of France.
Now Les Halles is a huge market located in the historical centre of Dijon and you can find there anything from amazing cheeses to seafood. Even if you do not want to buy anything, come to have a relaxing walk between the stands, enjoy the atmosphere and have a glass of wine before your lunch.
The market is open a few times per week (Tue-Thu-Fri-Sat) from 7:30 am to 1 pm, so if you want to avoid crowds try to come earlier.
Explore the Local Parks
in Dijon, there are plenty of parks where you can escape from the heat, do some sports or just enjoy a picnic after shopping in the Halles. For example, Jardin Darcy - the first public park created in Dijon, is the best starting point to follow the owls.
Jardin de l’Arquebus, which includes a botanical garden and serves as a home for the Museum of Natural History and is itself a perfect place to take a break from intense sightseeing and escape from the summer heat. Port du Canal, which used to be an important commercial dock, is now a nice park with a lot of swans and ducks to be observed and a long promenade to walk or cycle around.
Your Perfect Wine Break
The main reason, why the majority of tourists visit Bourgogne is its wine - Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, Côte de Nuits or Chablis. There are plenty of bars and restaurants where you can have the best wine experience in Dijon. Here are, some of the places that we tried during our weekend in Dijon:
- Dr Wine - an amazing wine bar with a selection of more than 500 wines from Burgundy and all over the world, with interesting formulas for lunch (from EUR18) and dinner (from EUR28). This place is worth it if you want to try good wine, hear a mini-lecture about the bottle you are going to try and pair it with nice food. It's advisable to book the table in advance, but we managed to get a table for Saturday lunch without any issues, as we came at 11:45 :)
- Le Jaquemart - a nice place where you can spend your afternoon drinking good wine and sharing a simple cheese and meat platter with friends. Nothing fancy or exceptional though, there is no super wide choice like in Dr Wine, they offer decent wine for decent prices. What else do you need if you just want to escape from the rain between your lunch and dinner?
- Le Comptoir de Soso - officially, it's a bar-restaurant for oysters, but we tried their selection of local wines with a mixed platter and were more than satisfied. It's a super small place with tables outside only, so perfect for warm summer evenings. Nice food, good wine, casual atmosphere - it's an ideal place to spend your first evening in Dijon.
Don't forget to visit one of the wine boutiques of Dijon to learn more about local wine, get professional help to pick up the one for your family or friends and maybe even participate in a free wine tasting.
We checked out the wine boutique of Dr Wine (located just 10 metres from the restaurant) and also - Les Clos Vivants, where we finally bought a few bottles of local wine of different price ranges.
Best Dinner Ideas
There are tonnes of nice restaurants to pair traditional Burgundian cuisine with local wines. What are the best dinner restaurants in Dijon? The question is tough - there are plenty of nice options.
As for us, we went for our Saturday dinner at La Fine Heure (surprisingly, this place was super close to our hotel), and enjoyed our 3-course dinner for around 35 EUR with nice local wine. The dinner was very good, and I would come back again.
Our alternative option was restaurant L'evidence, but unfortunately, they are closed during the weekend. Other options that we considered were CIBO, L'Essensiel, and Le Piano Qui Fume - based on the menu and feedback their places seem to be good as well. If we come back to Dijon, we will visit one of them for dinner.
Dijon at night
After a nice dinner, come back to the city centre to enjoy beautiful buildings under the moonlight. Check out what Porte Guillaume looks like once the sun goes down. You can do the same owl trail that you did during the day, to get a different perception of Dijon, worth and to enjoy it even more than before.
Cocktails time
Before it gets too late, check out the best places for cocktails in Dijon. Our favourite is L'Archipel Cocktail Bar - super close to Jardin Darcy and Porte Guillaume. We tried three cocktails, and they all were amazing (prices are around 10-12 EUR per cocktail).
A bit more expensive, but a very good alternative is La Gobeleterie, which is close to Les Halles, in the centre, and they serve high-quality cocktails for a bit higher price (13-15 EUR average).
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I hope this list of ideas on how to spend the weekend in Dijon will be useful for you, and motivate you to visit the capital of Burgundy. It is worth it, and I think everyone can find his personal best things to do in Dijon - a perfect weekend escape destination for foodies and wine lovers.
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