A weekend in Dijon, France - city of the owl (and mustard)

What comes to your mind when you hear "Dijon"? I'm almost sure it's MUSTARD. The city in eastern France is well known for its spicy mustard. But that wasn't the main reason why a good friend of mine and I decided to do a weekend trip to Dijon. From Switzerland, its is reached in no time (less than 2 h from Basel) and it has the perfect size for exploring it in a weekend.

We stayed in a small air b'n'b in the center of town which was fantastic. The day we arrived, there was a festival going on ("Fête de la musique") and we enjoyed it very much to be in the middle of the rumble!

Dijon is a very beautiful city and listed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2015. Strolling around the old town, admiring the eclectic architecture and to sit down for a good glass of regional wine - that's the perfect way to spend a weekend for me!

In Dijon you won't miss the big market hall, called "Les halles". This huge market hall has everything you need and every sunday they organize a brunch with a different theme. When we were there, the theme was called "Milonga" and some people were dancing tango next to the long tables where the other people were eating brunch. What a great idea!

A very good way to explore Dijon and to learn about the town is the "Parcours de la chouette" ("Owl's tour"). If you're walking through Dijon, you will sooner or later discover a little golden owl on the cobblestones. This little owl guides you to several stations in the old town. In the tourist information you can get a little guidebook (cost 3.50 Euro) that gives you the most important information about the stations. After a bit more than 1.5 hours, you've seen the most important things in Dijon.

Oh, and off course you will see the original owl of Dijon - it is told that if you touch her with your left hand, happiness will find you.

La chouette de Dijon - the owl of Dijon

Musée des beaux-arts

Archeological museum

Another very nice way to see Dijon is to do a tour to the top of the "Tour Philippe Le bon". Once you managed the 316 steps you will have a fantastic view over the town. Make sure you do a reservation in advanced as the tour starts only at defined hours and with small groups.

Off course, Dijon is very well known for its food and drinks. If you're a fan of good wine, you will love it here. The region between Dijon and Beaune is well known for the "climats", a region with 1247 vineyards of which every one of them produces different wine. Very famous wines are produced here, so make sure you try some of them when you're in Dijon.

I really recommend Dijon to those people who like to discover cozy, little towns and want to do a relaxing weekendtrip rather than a full planned trip with a lot of "To do's". Dijon is small and you can see most of the things in one day. So you better prepare for a relaxing weekend with a lot of time to sit in cafés and winebars and enjoying life! Stress can wait.

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