Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy (Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne)

What you will see

Walk into the Place de la Libération, the former Place Royale, now a pedestrian square with fountains set into the paving. The Cour d'honneur opens straight onto it. Inside, the ducal kitchens and the great hall with the dukes' tombs are part of the free Fine Arts Museum. From the tourist office on rue des Forges you can step into the richly decorated 18th-century Chapelle des Élus, and book the climb up the Tour Philippe le Bon.

History

Philip the Bold received the duchy of Burgundy in 1363, settled in Dijon and soon began rebuilding the old palace of the Capetian dukes. The Tour de Bar was begun in 1365. In the 15th century his grandson Philip the Good added vast kitchens, a new ducal lodging with a great hall for feasts, and the tall lookout tower that still rises above the city. The palace was one of the seats of the rulers of the Burgundian state.

After the death of Charles the Bold in 1477, Burgundy passed to the French crown and the palace became the King's Lodging, used by the governors of the province. In the late 17th century the Estates of Burgundy settled here. Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Louis XIV's first architect, unified the buildings behind one classical front and designed the Place Royale, now Place de la Libération. Jacques Gabriel's grand staircase followed in the 1730s, and the town hall moved in during the 19th century.