--- title: "Jardin Darcy, Dijon: The Polar Bear Garden by the Station" description: "Dijon's first public garden, built over Henry Darcy's reservoir, with a polar bear honouring Pompon. Free, 20 to 30 minutes, with a driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/jardin-darcy lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/jardin-darcy.png --- # Darcy Garden (Jardin Darcy) > Darcy Garden: Dijon's first public garden, built over Henry Darcy's reservoir and guarded by a polar bear. Darcy Garden is in Dijon (Côte-d'Or), 44 min by road (48 km) from Beaune. Allow 20 to 30 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €120 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Jardin Darcy, on Place Darcy at the western edge of the old town, was Dijon's first public garden. Its Italian-style terraces, balustrades and cascades sit on top of a 19th-century drinking water reservoir. At the entrance, a white polar bear pays tribute to the Burgundian sculptor François Pompon. ## Key facts - Type: Nature & viewpoints - Where: Dijon · Côte-d'Or - Location: 35 km north-east of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.3243, 5.0320 - 44 min from Beaune - Allow 20 to 30 minutes - Dijon - Official website: [dijon.fr](https://www.dijon.fr/dijon-a-votre-service/nature-et-animaux/parcs-et-jardins/) - From Beaune: ≈ 44 min · 48 km - €120 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 44 min by road (48 km), €120 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History In 1838 the Dijon engineer Henry Darcy designed a reservoir here as part of a new water supply. An underground aqueduct about 12 kilometres long brought spring water from the Rosoir spring in the Suzon valley, and the reservoir holds 2,300 cubic metres. Water arrived in 1840, making Dijon one of the first cities with running water. The reservoir now stores water for the tram's grass tracks. In 1880 the architect Félix Vionnois laid out a garden on top of the reservoir, in the Italian style, with terraces, pools, fountains and cascades. The polar bear at the entrance is a 1937 copy by Henry Martinet of Pompon's famous work, whose original is in the Musée d'Orsay. Garden and reservoir have been listed together as a historic monument since 2015. ## What you will see Climb the steps beside the cascades, then rest on a bench among the flower beds. Children like the playground and the bear. Across the square stands the Porte Guillaume, a triumphal arch of 1786 named after Abbot William of Volpiano. On some dates, free guided visits take you down into the vaulted, circular reservoir beneath the garden, 28 metres across. ## Planning your visit The garden is free and only a few minutes' walk from Dijon-Ville station. The Owl's Trail officially starts here, so it makes a good place to begin a walk. Visits to the reservoir are occasional and announced by the tourist office. Check the official website for opening times. ## Did you know? Henry Darcy's experiments on water flowing through sand, published in 1856 in his report on Dijon's public fountains, gave the world Darcy's law, still a basis of groundwater science. ## Around Darcy Garden What to combine with Darcy Garden on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon) (1 km away): Burgundy's historic capital, city of the Valois dukes and northern gateway to the Route des Grands Crus. - [Marsannay-la-Côte](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/marsannay-la-cote) (7 km away): Gateway to the Côte de Nuits and Burgundy's only village appellation making red, white and rosé. - [Fixin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/fixin) (10 km away): A quiet wine village with Napoleon in the woods, a Romanesque church in the vines and firm reds. ### Châteaux - [Château de Montmusard](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-montmusard) (2 km away): The surviving wing of a daring neoclassical pleasure house designed by Charles De Wailly. - [Château de Fontaine-lès-Dijon (Maison natale de saint Bernard)](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-fontaine-les-dijon), 3 km away: The hilltop birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, overlooking Dijon. - [Château de Marsannay](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-marsannay) (7 km away): A modern wine château at the northern gateway to the Côte de Nuits. ### Things to do - [Porte Guillaume](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/porte-guillaume-dijon) (1 km away): An 18th-century triumphal arch on Place Darcy, built on the site of a medieval city gate. - [Saint-Bénigne Cathedral, Dijon (Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cathedrale-saint-benigne), 1 km away: A Gothic abbey church turned cathedral, above a round crypt from around the year 1000. - [Hôtel des Postes de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-des-postes-dijon) (1 km away): Dijon's grand post office of 1909, on the site of the vanished castle, with a clock framed by Day and Night. ### Restaurants - [William Frachot](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/william-frachot-dijon) (1 km away · 2 MICHELIN stars): Dijon's two-star table, reinventing Burgundy's classics inside the Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge - [Loiseau des Ducs](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/loiseau-des-ducs-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): The Loiseau signature in Dijon, served beneath the vaults of a sixteenth-century mansion - [La Maison des Cariatides](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-maison-des-cariatides-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A chef couple from Le Bristol regains a star behind one of Dijon's most ornate Renaissance façades ### Events - **Saturday, 10 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Show les papilles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/show-les-papilles-dijon): Dijon's free festival of taste at the Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Sunday, 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon des Grands Crus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-des-grands-crus): A marathon on the closed Route des Grands Crus, from Dijon to the Clos de Vougeot and back. (Sport · Dijon) - **Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon des Vignerons Indépendants de Bourgogne et du Jura](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-vignerons-independants-dijon): Some sixty independent growers from Burgundy and the Jura pour and sell their wines in Dijon. (Wine festival · Dijon) - **Saturday 31 October – Wednesday 11 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/foire-gastronomique-dijon): Burgundy's great food fair, held every autumn in Dijon since 1921. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of January.** · [Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/feeries-de-noel-dijon): Chalets, vin chaud, an ice rink and a big wheel across the heart of Dijon. (Christmas · Dijon) - **Usually from late November to early December.** · [Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/nuits-d-orient-et-d-ailleurs-dijon): Dijon's winter festival of music, dance and art from the Orient and beyond. (Culture · Dijon) - **Each year on the weekend after the Saint-Vincent Tournante, usually a Saturday in late January or early February.** · [Saint-Vincent de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-de-dijon): Dijon honours the patron saint of winegrowers with a parade and a tasting village. (Tradition · Dijon) - **Usually a weekend in early June.** · [Grand Prix de l’Âge d’Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/grand-prix-age-d-or-dijon-prenois): France's oldest historic motor racing meeting, on the hills just outside Dijon. (Sport · Prenois) - **Every Sunday from late June to late September.** · [Le Brunch des Halles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/brunch-des-halles-dijon): Summer Sunday brunches cooked by local chefs under Dijon's iron market hall. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Every two years, in even-numbered years; recent editions were held in early July. The next is expected in 2028.** · [Les Fêtes de la Vigne de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fetes-de-la-vigne-dijon): Dijon's international folk festival, born in 1946 and held every two years. (Culture · Dijon) - **Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Golden Coast Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/golden-coast-festival-dijon): Three days of French and international rap in a park on the edge of Dijon. (Music · Dijon) - **Usually a Sunday in mid September.** · [Vélotour Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/velotour-dijon): A playful bike ride through Dijon that opens places normally closed to cyclists. (Sport · Dijon) - **Usually the third weekend of September, during the European Heritage Days.** · [Fête de la Pressée](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-pressee-chenove): The dukes' giant wine presses come back to life in Chenôve's old village. (Tradition · Chenôve) - **Usually the last days of September and the first days of October.** · [Tribu Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/tribu-festival-dijon): Dijon's festival of world music, jazz and adventurous sounds, at the turn of October. (Music · Dijon) ### Guides about Darcy Garden - [Burgundy with children](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-with-children) ## Questions about Darcy Garden ### How far is Darcy Garden from Beaune? Darcy Garden is about 44 min from Beaune by road (48 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €120 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Darcy Garden take? For the visit, allow 20 to 30 minutes. ### When is Darcy Garden open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (dijon.fr) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Darcy Garden? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:jardindarcy): €120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - --- Canonical page: