We had been looking forward enormously to Dijon, and we were not disappointed. A marvellous city of about 155,000 (385,000 in the larger urban region), it was the traditional seat of the Dukes of Burgundy and has a rich historical, architectural and gastronomic heritage. The central city has a delightful scale, with many distinctive houses, buildings, churches and palaces, as well as some very chic pedestrian shopping streets. We spent days wandering the town, every moment bringing another visual treat.

Streetscapes

Shops, houses, half-timbered buildings, mansions of the rich, cafes and parks… Dijon streets offer hours of delight to the cyclist or flâneur.

Churches

Large and small, old and not so old, ornate and sparse, still operating or converted to theatres and museums…. Dijon has many churches.

Palaces

Although generally lumped together and physically connected, the Palais d’États de Bourgogne and the Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne are different, though adjacent. In any case, it’s an impressive complex facing an impressive square. The oldest Gothic-style parts are from the 14th/15th centuries as the seat of the original Dukes of Burgundy; the larger Classical-style part was built in the 17th and especially the 18th century, as royal residences after Burgundy was subsumed into the Kingdom of France.

Food

Dijon is noted for its gastronomic heritage and is the birthplace of crême de cassis and the kir cocktail, pain d’épices de Dijon (known as gingerbread, but without any ginger!), Lanvin chocolate snails and, of course, Dijon mustard. The most famous brand of the latter is Maille – which, after swallowing its Dijon competitors Amora and Grey-Poupon, was itself swallowed by the multinational Unilever, who moved the factory from central Dijon to the neighbouring town of Chevigny-Saint Sauveur in 2008 and, in fact, makes its mustard from seeds mainly imported from Canada. The only true moutarde de Bourgogne made using 100% local mustard seeds is from the Fallot company in Beaune,  45kms from Dijon. We like their mustard very much. But as tourists we made sure to visit the iconic Maille shop in Dijon.

The Dijonnais are serious about their food, as we could see clearly when we visited a cheese and charcuterie shop near the central market (Fromagerie Porcheret). Not only their fabulous range of fresh and mature cheeses and butter, and their great selection of cured meats, but also the glass-roofed cheese cellar under the shop floor and the magnificent hand-cranked charcuterie-cutting machine….

The Dijon Market

In a nation famous for its food markets, street or covered, the Dijon market at the Halles centrales is a stand-out. Our single complaint is that it is only open four days a week! What are we to do with ourselves on the other three days?

Such an abundance of beautiful foods – fish, meats, bread, cheeses, fruit and vegetables, spices, mushrooms….

And the joy spilled out of the hall…..

We were in heaven…. but a heaven we could revisit every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, we were only in Dijon for one week. We will be back.