--- title: "Owl’s Trail, Dijon: Parcours de la Chouette Walking Route" description: "Bronze owl arrows lead through 22 numbered stops in old Dijon. Free, about an hour on foot, booklet at the tourist office. With a driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parcours-de-la-chouette lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/parcours-de-la-chouette.png --- # The Owl’s Trail (Parcours de la Chouette) > The Owl’s Trail: Follow bronze owl arrows set in the pavement on a self-guided walk through old Dijon. The Owl’s Trail is in Dijon (Côte-d'Or), 44 min by road (48 km) from Beaune. Allow 1 to 2 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · Private driver from Beaune: €120 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Parcours de la Chouette, or Owl's Trail, is Dijon's self-guided heritage walk. Bronze arrows stamped with an owl are set into the paving of the historic centre. The classic route has 22 numbered stops and takes about an hour on foot, linking the city's main monuments. ## Key facts - Type: Activities - Location: 35 km north-east of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.3221, 5.0409 - 44 min from Beaune - Allow 1 to 2 hours - UNESCO World Heritage - Where: [Dijon · Côte-d'Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon) - Official website: [destinationdijon.com](https://www.destinationdijon.com/activites-loisirs/parcours-de-la-chouette/) - 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 The trail takes its name from the small stone owl carved on Notre-Dame, Dijon's mascot and lucky charm. The traditional route has 22 stops. In 2011 three extra loops added 15 more, reaching the Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Zola districts and leading out to the Well of Moses at the Chartreuse de Champmol. A booklet describing every stop is sold by the tourist office. ## What you will see Pick up the booklet and follow the arrows at your own pace. The route takes in rue des Forges and its fine town houses, Notre-Dame and its owl, the Maison Millière of 1483, the courtyard of the Hôtel de Vogüé, the church of Saint-Michel and the ducal palace. It continues to Saint-Philibert and the cathedral of Saint-Bénigne, the Jardin Darcy and the covered market. Each stop has a short explanation in the booklet. Followed in the booklet's order, the trail starts in the Jardin Darcy, by the Pompon bear, and leads along rue Verrerie, the antique dealers' street, past Notre-Dame with its Jacquemart and 51 gargoyles, and to the cathedral of Saint-Bénigne, whose 93-metre spire was added in 1896. The extra loops cross the Parc de l'Arquebuse to the Cité de la Gastronomie et du Vin, or lead to the Couvent des Bernardines, now the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne. At the owl itself, the custom is to lay your left hand on it, close your eyes and put your right hand on your heart, and never to touch the salamander carved beside it. ## Planning your visit The trail is free to follow, and the booklet is sold at the tourist office on rue des Forges and its other desks. No booking is needed, and the booklet exists only on paper; the tourist office also takes bookings to climb the 316 steps of the Tour Philippe le Bon. Wear comfortable shoes, as many streets are paved. Allow an hour for the main loop, an hour and a half to two hours for all the loops, and longer if you go inside churches and museums. The loop to Champmol is easier with a car. Check the official website for details. ## Did you know? The owl that gives the trail its name is only about 35 centimetres tall. Tradition says you should stroke it with your left hand, the hand of the heart, while making a wish. ## Around The Owl’s Trail What to combine with The Owl’s Trail 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) (1 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 - [Rue des Forges](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/rue-des-forges-hotel-chambellan-dijon) (1 km away): A medieval street of merchants' mansions behind the Palace of the Dukes, with a Gothic courtyard hidden at No. 34. - [Tower of Philip the Good (Tour Philippe le Bon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/tour-philippe-le-bon), 1 km away: Climb 316 steps up the dukes' 46-metre tower for a sweeping view over Dijon's rooftops. - [Church of Notre-Dame, Dijon (Église Notre-Dame de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/notre-dame-dijon), 1 km away: A 13th-century Gothic church with a famous clock, false gargoyles and Dijon's lucky owl. ### Restaurants - [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 - [CIBO](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/cibo-dijon) (1 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) ### Guides about The Owl’s Trail - [Burgundy with children](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-with-children) ## Questions about The Owl’s Trail ### How far is The Owl’s Trail from Beaune? The Owl’s Trail 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 The Owl’s Trail take? For the visit, allow 1 to 2 hours. ### When is The Owl’s Trail 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. ### Is The Owl’s Trail a UNESCO World Heritage site? Yes. The Owl’s Trail is part of a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ### Can a private driver take us to The Owl’s Trail? 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:parcourschouette): €120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - - --- Canonical page: