Bourgogne-Franche-Comté · France
Dijon travel guide
Dijon is a city in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, home to about 162,000 people.
- Best months
- June to September
- Nearest airport
- DLE43 km · Dole Tavaux Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
- Language
- French
About
About Dijon
The surroundings is also an important wine production region, and Dijon has historically been the centre for regulatory bodies for wine production (some wine classification systems were invented here) and therefore the historical centre of Dijon forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Climats, terroirs of Burgundy". Dijon was for some time the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy. Burgundy was a great power during the 14th and 15th centuries, when the dukes controlled a large part of what is now northeastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Dijon
See
There is a self-guided walk in the city, called Parcours de la chouette, shown by owl arrows and numbered owl plates in the ground. There are 22 stops of interest. The book with the description of stops is available at the tourist office for €2.50, there is also an app on the Google Play store for €2.99 or on the App Store for €1.99. But it's not mandatory.
- La Chouette
- Place François Rude
- Ducal Palace
- Les Halles centrales
- Saint Bénigne Cathedral
- Notre Dame
- Well of Moses
- Musée des Beaux-Arts
- Musée d'Histoire Naturelle
- Musee de la Vie Bourguignonne
- Musee d'Art Sacré
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Dijon
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Dijon are June to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; October is the wettest, with about 83 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Dijon: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Dole Tavaux Airport (DLE), about 43 km from the city centre in a straight line; Geneva International Airport (GVA, 145 km) is also within reach.
Getting in
There are two train stations in Dijon: Dijon-Ville and Dijon-Porte-Neuve. The main one by far is Dijon-Ville, the other being way smaller, without any personel and used only for some minor lines. The train à grande vitesse (TGV) speeds travellers from Paris (only 100 min) and other major French cities to Dijon. There are also regular train services to a variety of destinations, including, but not restricted to, Italy (Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome among them), Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium.
Getting around
For most purposes, walking is the best way to get around the center of the city. A comprehensive network of buses covers farther local destinations. If you want to get a bit outside of the downtown (like to get to the well of Moses) it's often easier and faster to use a bicycle.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
DLE · Dole Tavaux Airport
GVA · Geneva International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Dijon
Eat
Many of the dishes that Americans think of as traditionally French originated in Burgundy, for example 'coq au vin'. One great strategy is to order the fixed-price (prix fixe) menu, usually three courses including dessert. It provides a good sense of what the restaurant is like. Jambon persillé (terrine/meatloaf of parsleyed ham) and pain d'epices (gingerbread) are local delicacies of the region. There are 23 Michelin-starred restaurants in the area.
Drink
Dijon is well known for cassis, a sweet black current liqueur that is a bright reddish-purple in colour. If you are of legal drinking age in France a traditional Dijonnaise cocktail is called a "Kir", a blend of cassis and a local white wine (traditionally "Aligoté") - you can also order it made with champagne for a tasty and festive "Kir Royale". Make sure that you try the wonderful local wines - Burgundy has the highest number of Appellations of any French region. Of course the reds are terrific, and Americans unfamiliar with wine history might be surprised to find that white burgundies compare favorably with California chardonnays - they are, after all, from the same grape.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Dijon: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Dijon?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Dijon are June to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; October is the wettest, with about 83 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Dijon?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Dole Tavaux Airport (DLE), about 43 km from the city centre in a straight line; Geneva International Airport (GVA, 145 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Dijon?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Dijon
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.