--- title: "Lejay Lagoute, Dijon: Crème de Cassis Tour and Booking" description: "The Dijon house that presents itself as creator of crème de cassis in 1841. Visits in French on set dates, booked in advance. Driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/lejay-lagoute lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/lejay-lagoute.png --- # Maison Lejay Lagoute > Maison Lejay Lagoute: the Dijon house behind the original crème de cassis, first perfected in the city in 1841. Maison Lejay Lagoute is in Dijon (Côte-d'Or), 46 min by road (51 km) from Beaune. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €120 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Lejay Lagoute is the Dijon liqueur house that presents itself as the creator of crème de cassis, in 1841. Its production site on rue Étienne Dolet opens for guided visits on set dates, showing how blackcurrants become the liqueur behind the kir. Visits are in French and are booked through the Dijon tourist office. ## Key facts - Type: Food makers - Where: Dijon · Côte-d'Or - Location: 40 km north-east of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.3428, 5.0642 - 46 min from Beaune - Allow 1 to 1.5 hours - Dijon - Official website: [destinationdijon.com](https://www.destinationdijon.com/visites/lejay-lagoute-createur-de-la-creme-de-cassis/) - From Beaune: ≈ 46 min · 51 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): 46 min by road (51 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 Crème de cassis is made by steeping Burgundy blackcurrants in alcohol with added sugar. Its modern recipe appeared in Dijon in 1841, when the Dijon café owner Auguste-Denis Lagoute spent three years perfecting a formula that could be produced on an industrial scale. Several Dijon houses then shared the trade, among them Lejay-Lagoute, L'Héritier-Guyot, Gabriel Boudier and Briottet. Lejay Lagoute still makes its liqueur in Dijon today, with a recipe it says is unchanged since 1841. Before the liqueur, Burgundy growers often planted blackcurrant bushes at the ends of their vine rows to make ratafia, a homemade cordial, the ancestor of the liqueur. Crème de cassis is the essential ingredient of the kir, usually mixed with Bourgogne Aligoté. The drink is named after Félix Kir, mayor of Dijon from 1945 to 1968, who habitually served it to visiting delegations. ## What you will see The guided visit takes you inside the site where the liqueur is made, to learn the secrets of how it is produced. The house presents the tour as both instructive and gourmet, a chance to understand a product closely tied to Dijon. Afterwards, Lejay Lagoute products are sold at its shop, the Chocolaterie de Bourgogne on rue de Cluj, and in other Dijon shops. ## Planning your visit Visits run on set dates, roughly once a month in the afternoon, in French, and must be booked through the Dijon tourist office. Places are limited. The site is in the north-east of Dijon, a short drive from the centre. Please enjoy alcohol in moderation. Check the official website for dates. ## Did you know? Cassis de Dijon, the first crème de cassis, created in the city in 1841, became a protected geographical indication in August 2013, more than 170 years later. ## Around Maison Lejay Lagoute What to combine with Maison Lejay Lagoute on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon) (3 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) (10 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) (13 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), 4 km away: The hilltop birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, overlooking Dijon. - [Château de Vantoux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vantoux) (7 km away): An early 18th-century château north of Dijon, built for a first president of the Parlement. ### Things to do - [Monument à Sadi Carnot](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/monument-sadi-carnot-dijon) (2 km away): A marble and bronze memorial of 1899 to the assassinated President Sadi Carnot, rising from the fountains of Place de la République. - [Hôtel de Vogüé](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-de-vogue) (3 km away): An early 17th-century magistrate's mansion with a glazed tile roof, just behind Notre-Dame. - [Fallot Shop and Workshop, Dijon (La Boutique Atelier Fallot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fallot-dijon), 3 km away: An independent family mustard house, with a tasting shop and workshop near the owl. ### Restaurants - [L’Aspérule](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-asperule-dijon) (2 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Keigo Kimura's intimate Dijon dining room: French technique, Japanese restraint - [La Maison des Cariatides](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-maison-des-cariatides-dijon) (3 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A chef couple from Le Bristol regains a star behind one of Dijon's most ornate Renaissance façades - [CIBO](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/cibo-dijon) (3 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred table in old Dijon that sources everything within 200 kilometres ### 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) ## Questions about Maison Lejay Lagoute ### How far is Maison Lejay Lagoute from Beaune? Maison Lejay Lagoute is about 46 min from Beaune by road (51 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 Maison Lejay Lagoute take? For the visit, allow 1 to 1.5 hours. ### When is Maison Lejay Lagoute open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (destinationdijon.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Maison Lejay Lagoute? 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:lejaylagoute): €120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - --- Canonical page: