The Owl’s Trail (Parcours de la Chouette)

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.

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.