--- title: "Dijon: What to See on a Day Trip from Beaune" description: "The dukes' capital and start of the Route des Grands Crus, with a UNESCO-listed centre, the Owl Trail and Les Halles. Private driver from Beaune in 40 min." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon lang: en updated: 2026-09-29 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/villages/dijon.png --- # Dijon > Dijon: Burgundy's historic capital, city of the Valois dukes and northern gateway to the Route des Grands Crus. Dijon is 40 min by road (47 km) from Beaune. Private driver from Beaune: €120 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Dijon was the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy, and its old centre still shows that wealth in palaces, churches and half-timbered houses. It is also where the Route des Grands Crus begins. Since 2015 its historic centre has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Climats of the Burgundy vineyard. ## Key facts - Type: City - Region: Dijon - Location: 35 km north-east of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.3218, 5.0416 - 40 min from Beaune - From Beaune: ≈ 40 min · 47 km - €560 for a [full-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) from Beaune, up to 4 guests ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 40 min by road (47 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 Dijon's great age came under the four Valois dukes, who ruled Burgundy from 1363 to 1477. Philip the Bold founded the Chartreuse de Champmol as the family's burial place. Philip the Good rebuilt the ducal palace and, in 1432, made its chapel the seat of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Their lands reached as far as the Low Countries. When Charles the Bold was killed at the battle of Nancy in 1477, Louis XI took the duchy for France. The dukes also shaped the vineyard. In 1395 Philip the Bold issued an ordinance banning the Gamay grape, often called the first wine quality policy in history. Much later, the growing city covered most of its own vines. In 1937 the Route des Grands Crus was created from Dijon to Santenay, and in 2015 UNESCO listed the Climats of the Burgundy vineyard, 1,247 named plots, together with the historic centres of Dijon and Beaune. ## The wines Dijon is not a village appellation in its own right, but it was once a real wine town. In the 19th century its vineyards covered about 1,200 hectares, before the city grew over them. A small east-facing hillside to the west survives as Bourgogne Montrecul, planted with Pinot Noir on limestone topped with gravel and red clay. It is one of the very few regional-level climats allowed to show its name on the label. ## What to see ### Palace of the Dukes and Musée des Beaux-Arts The former ducal palace now houses the town hall and the fine arts museum, home to the tombs of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless. Its 15th-century tower has 316 steps. ### The Owl and the Owl Trail A small owl is carved on a buttress of Notre-Dame church. Stroke it with your left hand, the side of the heart, for luck. Bronze owl arrows mark a 22-step walking trail. ### Les Halles Dijon's iron-framed covered market was built between 1873 and 1875. It opens on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings, when stalls fill with meat, fish, cheese and seasonal produce. ### Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin Opened in May 2022 in the former general hospital, founded in 1204, the Cité combines exhibitions, a food court, shops, cooking workshops and the École des Vins de Bourgogne for tastings and courses. ## Good to know Allow half a day. Walk the Owl Trail in about an hour, then have lunch near Les Halles on a market morning. On the way back to Beaune, add Marsannay and Fixin, the first wine villages south of the city. ## Did you know? The kir, white Bourgogne Aligoté with crème de cassis, was once called blanc-cassis. It now carries the name of Canon Félix Kir, mayor of Dijon until his death in 1968. ## Around Dijon What to combine with Dijon on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [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. - [Gevrey-Chambertin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/gevrey-chambertin) (12 km away): Nine grands crus, more than any other Burgundy village, led by Chambertin and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. ### 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. - [Château de Vantoux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vantoux) (8 km away): An early 18th-century château north of Dijon, built for a first president of the Parlement. - [Château de Couchey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-couchey) (8 km away): A medieval fortified house that grew into a château at the western edge of Couchey. ### Things to do - [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. - [Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy (Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/palais-des-ducs-dijon), 1 km away: The seat of Burgundy's dukes and later of its Estates, now Dijon's town hall and museum. - [Place de la Libération](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/place-de-la-liberation-dijon) (1 km away): Dijon's half-moon royal square, laid out by Louis XIV's architect in front of the Palace of the Dukes. - [The Owl’s Trail (Parcours de la Chouette)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parcours-de-la-chouette), 1 km away: Follow bronze owl arrows set in the pavement on a self-guided walk through old Dijon. - [Dijon Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-beaux-arts-dijon), 1 km away: One of the oldest museums in France, home to the tombs of the Valois dukes of Burgundy. - [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. - [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. - [Magnin Museum (Musée national Magnin)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-magnin), 1 km away: A brother and sister's art collection, shown as a private home in a 17th-century mansion. - [Maison Millière](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-milliere-dijon) (1 km away): A half-timbered merchant's house of 1483 beside Notre-Dame, on the street of Dijon's lucky owl. - [Fallot Shop and Workshop, Dijon (La Boutique Atelier Fallot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fallot-dijon), 1 km away: An independent family mustard house, with a tasting shop and workshop near the owl. - [Grand Théâtre de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/grand-theatre-de-dijon) (1 km away): A neoclassical theatre of 1828 with a portico of eight Corinthian columns, on the site of the dukes' Sainte-Chapelle. - [Palais de justice de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/palais-de-justice-parlement-de-bourgogne-dijon) (1 km away): The 16th-century home of the Parliament of Burgundy, now the court of appeal, with a gilded chamber and a great vaulted hall. - [Hôtel de Vogüé](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-de-vogue) (1 km away): An early 17th-century magistrate's mansion with a glazed tile roof, just behind Notre-Dame. - [François Rude Museum (Musée François Rude)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-rude), 1 km away: A full-size cast of the Marseillaise from the Arc de Triomphe, inside a former Dijon church. - [Dijon Covered Market (Les Halles), Les Halles de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/halles-de-dijon) (1 km away): Dijon's 19th-century iron market hall, busy with Burgundy produce four mornings a week. - [Saint-Michel Church, Dijon (Église Saint-Michel de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-michel-dijon), 1 km away: A late Gothic church behind a Renaissance façade with classical orders stacked one above another. - [Boutique Maille](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-maille-dijon) (1 km away): Maille's historic Dijon mustard shop, where fresh mustard is served from the pump. - [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. - [Dijon Archaeological Museum (Musée archéologique de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-archeologique-dijon), 1 km away: Gallo-Roman gods, Bronze Age treasure and medieval sculpture in the old abbey of Saint-Bénigne. - [Saint-Philibert Church, Dijon (Église Saint-Philibert)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-philibert), 1 km away: Dijon's only Romanesque church, once the winegrowers' parish, now closed for a long restoration. - [Dijon Museum of Sacred Art (Musée d’Art sacré de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-art-sacre-dijon), 1 km away: Treasures from the churches of Côte-d'Or, shown in the domed church of the Bernardine nuns. - [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. - [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. - [Museum of Burgundian Life (Musée de la Vie bourguignonne Perrin de Puycousin)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-vie-bourguignonne), 1 km away: Everyday life in old Burgundy, with costumes and a street of Dijon shops, in a convent cloister. - [Monument à Sadi Carnot](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/monument-sadi-carnot-dijon) (1 km away): A marble and bronze memorial of 1899 to the assassinated President Sadi Carnot, rising from the fountains of Place de la République. - [Darcy Garden (Jardin Darcy)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/jardin-darcy), 1 km away: Dijon's first public garden, built over Henry Darcy's reservoir and guarded by a polar bear. - [Consortium Museum](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/consortium-museum) (1 km away): A pioneering contemporary art centre founded in 1977, in a building remodelled by Shigeru Ban. - [Arquebuse Botanical Garden (Jardin de l’Arquebuse)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/jardin-de-l-arquebuse), 1 km away: A botanical garden, natural history museum and planetarium beside Dijon station. - [International City of Gastronomy and Wine (Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cite-gastronomie-vin-dijon), 1 km away: Burgundy's showcase of French food and wine, set in a hospital founded in 1204. - [Mulot & Petitjean Gingerbread Factory (La Fabrique de pain d’épices Mulot & Petitjean)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/mulot-petitjean), 2 km away: Dijon's historic gingerbread maker, with a museum space above the working bakery. - [Champmol Charterhouse and the Well of Moses (Chartreuse de Champmol et Puits de Moïse)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/chartreuse-de-champmol), 2 km away: Claus Sluter's Well of Moses, a masterpiece of medieval sculpture, in the dukes' vanished charterhouse. - [Colombière Park (Parc de la Colombière)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parc-de-la-colombiere), 3 km away: A 17th-century park laid out for the Princes of Condé, crossed by a Roman road. - [Maison Lejay Lagoute](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/lejay-lagoute) (3 km away): The Dijon house behind the original crème de cassis, first perfected in the city in 1841. - [Lake Kir (Lac Kir)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/lac-kir), 3 km away: Dijon's lake, opened in 1964 and named after the mayor who gave kir its name. - [Historic Village of Talant (Site historique de Talant)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/talant), 3 km away: A hilltop village founded by the dukes, with a Gothic church and views over Lac Kir. - [Wine Presses of the Dukes of Burgundy (Pressoirs des ducs de Bourgogne)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/pressoirs-des-ducs-chenove), 5 km away: Two giant 15th-century wine presses of the dukes of Burgundy, in the old village of Chenôve. - [Domaine du Clos Saint-Louis](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-du-clos-saint-louis-fixin) (10 km away): A five-generation family domaine in Fixin, with a vine-to-cellar visit and a tasting in a vaulted cellar. - [Saint-Antoine Church, Fixey (Église Saint-Antoine de Fixey)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-antoine-de-fixey), 10 km away: A small Romanesque church above the vines of Fixin, with a stone roof and a glazed-tile bell tower. - [Noisot Park and Museum (Parc et Musée Noisot)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/parc-noisot-fixin), 10 km away: A pine-covered hillside above Fixin, created by a loyal grenadier as a shrine to Napoleon. ### 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 - [L’Aspérule](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-asperule-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): Keigo Kimura's intimate Dijon dining room: French technique, Japanese restraint - [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 - [Origine](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/origine-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Lameloise-trained Japanese chef cooking Burgundy's seasons on place Wilson - [Auberge de la Charme](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/auberge-de-la-charme-prenois) (12 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred village inn above Dijon where Burgundy meets the spice routes of Asia - [La Table d’Hôte, La Rôtisserie du Chambertin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-d-hote-rotisserie-du-chambertin-gevrey) (12 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A starred tasting table in an eighteenth-century house in the heart of Gevrey-Chambertin ### 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 Dijon - [Burgundy day trip from Paris](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-day-trip-from-paris) - [Beaune or Dijon: where to stay](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-or-dijon-where-to-stay) - [Beaune in one day](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/beaune-in-one-day) - [Harvest and truffle season in Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-harvest-and-truffle-season) - [Burgundy wineries without a car](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-wineries-without-a-car) ## Questions about Dijon ### How far is Dijon from Beaune? Dijon is about 40 min from Beaune by road (47 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €120 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### Can a private driver take us to Dijon? 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=wine-tour&option=full&place=village:dijon): Full-day wine tour from Beaune: €560 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - - - - - --- Canonical page: