Opening hours and tickets
- Opening hours
- By appointment only
- Guided tour
- Adults €12, reduced €6
Checked on on the official site.
Palais de justice de Dijon
The 16th-century home of the Parliament of Burgundy, now the court of appeal, with a gilded chamber and a great vaulted hall.
- Heritage site
- 43 min from Beaune
- By appointment only
- Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes
€120one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Where
- Dijon · Côte-d'Or
- Official website
- destinationdijon.com
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 43 min by road (47 km), €120 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour, €560.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
Behind a Renaissance gable on rue du Palais stands the building where the Parliament of Burgundy sat from the 16th century until the Revolution. It is still a working court, the Court of Appeal of Dijon, so the inside can only be seen on guided tours run by the tourist office. They take in the great Salle des Pas Perdus, the Chambre Dorée and the assize court.
What you will see
The guided tour starts in the Salle des Pas Perdus, also called the Salle Saint-Louis, a vast hall under a wooden vault shaped like an upturned ship's hull. The Chambre Dorée has a ceiling of 35 coffers carved with royal emblems, later reworked with the L and A of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, and grisaille windows showing Faith, Hope and Charity. The assize court, built from 1862, reuses the ceiling of the old Chamber of Accounts, with the arms of France and Navarre.
History
The Parliament of Burgundy, the province's highest court, grew out of the council of the dukes. After the duchy was joined to the French crown in 1477, Louis XI moved it to Dijon, where it was installed in November 1480. When plague struck in 1499 the magistrates withdrew to Beaune, and they only agreed to return in 1507 on the promise of a new building. The Chambre Dorée was built from 1518 to 1522, the Tournelle chamber from 1549, and the great hall and the Renaissance facade were finished in 1580.
The Parliament shared the government of the province with the governor and defended its privileges, at times against the king. Louis XIV came in person to hold a lit de justice here on 15 November 1658. The Parliament was suspended on 3 November 1789, and the building became a court of law. Since 1989 the other courts have moved to a modern judicial centre, and only the Court of Appeal sits here. The palace has been classified as a historic monument since 1926.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
Visits are by guided tour only, in French, run by the Dijon tourist office on a few set dates each month, with more in July and August. The tour lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and costs €12 for adults and €6 for children aged 4 to 18. Book online or with the tourist office, and meet at 8 rue Amiral Roussin. As this is a working court, bags cannot be left at reception, and the tour is not recommended for wheelchair users. The facade on rue du Palais can be seen at any time.
Around here
What to combine with Palais de justice de Dijon on the same day, nearest first.
Dijon
1 km awayMarsannay-la-Côte
7 km awayFixin
10 km away
- Christmas
Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon
Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of JanuaryDijon - Tradition
Fête de la Pressée
Usually the third weekend of September, during the European Heritage DaysChenôve
Questions
Palais de justice de Dijon is about 43 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.
Did you know? In the Salle des Avocats, once the Tournelle chamber, a door from the reign of Henri II bears an H and a C for Catherine de' Medici, together with a reversed C that tradition reads as the initial of his mistress, Diane de Poitiers.
Sources
Palais de justice de Dijon with a private driver
€120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests