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| Dijon City (Department 21 Côte d'Or) |
| Capital of the Burgundy region, shop till you drop in this chic town centre, lap up the culture and dine in style. |
.jpg "Dijon Burgundy France © Mike Long") |
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What you find within this Dijon-City section
Property prices in the Dijon-City area
Dijon being the beautiful capital of Burgundy, and where many businesses are situated, has a limited supply of housing. You find here the highest prices in euro per square meter, but then still at a third of the prices in Paris. Even if you do not consider it as an area to come to live to, it is an excellent base to explore Burgundy.
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Accessibility
Being the capital of the Burgundy region, Dijon is served with an excellent road and rail network. By road there are motorways passing through on each axis: the A31 links from the north and Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium; the A36 comes from Germany and Switzerland in the east; A6/E15/A31 comes up from the south, and the A38 links in from the west. Journey time to the Channel ports is 6 hrs, Paris is 3hrs, Amsterdam 6hr 30.
Equally by train, there are TGV services linking in to Eurostar to Brussels and the UK with a total journey time to the latter via Lille of 5hrs 30. The TGV to Paris takes 1hr 45. There are good connections to Beaune, Chalon-sur-Saône and Lyon. Also services from Lausanne, Zurich, Besançon in the Jura and north to Nancy. Night trains (couchette) bring you to the Alps (St Gervais) and to Italy (Venice, Milan and Rome).By air, the TGV at Paris Charles de Gaulle provides a direct service to Dijon. Lyon airport is a 2 hr drive and Geneva airport is about 3 hrs. A new possibility to fly cheaply is at the international airport Bahle-Mulhousen-Freiburg, with several connections between London and Liverpool. At 2.5 hours drive from Dijon.
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Dijon Inner City
The gracious buildings in the centre of Dijon give the regional capital its prestige and status. Half timbered buildings, wide boulevards and narrow cobbled streets are invigorated by the patterned tiled roofs for which the town is famous. Anyone interested in the history of the 13th and 14th centuries will be fascinated by the rise and fall, the wealth and greatness that was centred around this town at the height of the dynasty’s power. Government offices now occupy part of the Palace of the famous Dukes of Burgundy but their legacy carries on. ext |
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Quality Shopping
Dijon is chic but traditional. For shopping it is excellent. In the centre of town you have the classy department store Galeries Lafayette; there are clothes boutiques, specialist food shops from chocolate shops and patisseries to the most famous mustard shop, Amora Maille where you can take your own pot, or buy one on the spot, and have it filled with fresh mustard from a hand pump.
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Gourmets Top Market
The beautiful market is an event in itself. Built in the style of the Paris market halls of the mid 19thC, this is a classic building with glass and ironwork which is architecturally very pleasing. What is on display is positively mouth watering. Here the top chefs go to purchase the freshest and best in the covered market and the surrounding stalls around the edges and on market days, the atmosphere is vibrant. |
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Outer city
Fanning out from the centre of the town, there are light industrial areas with hypermarkets, do-it-yourself suppliers, car showrooms etc. You will find everything in these surrounding areas such as Quetigny and Chenôve. There is no heavy industry in Dijon, but in the suburbs the industries include pharmaceutical products, machine tools and foods. There is also an important military airforce base. South of the city, the wine industry for which the region is known, begins in earnest with Vougeot and Nuits-St-Georges. |
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Cultural High life
Dijon has a very lively theatre and concert programme and cultural events are planned throughout the year. The Zenith is the venue for pop concerts, there are Gastronomic Fairs, Antiques Fairs, art exhibitions, and, being a major university town, there is varied nightlife and lively bars. The Dijon Prenois racing circuit offers vintage motorbike and car club meetings.
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Main Tourist Attractions
The town attracts a large number of tourists for the superb Museum of Beaux Arts where the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy are on view, and the Archaeological Museum which is well worth visiting for the building it is housed in, St Bénigne. There are well known Michelin starred restaurants to try, plus a huge variety of multi cultural eating spots in every price range. However, the town centre never feels ‘overrun’ with visitors, always maintaining a rather gracious air. This town will suit anyone who enjoys the stimulation of city living but without the hassle often experienced elsewhere and from the point of view of transport, hospitals, shops, restaurants and culture all services are here. |
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