France: Diving into Dijon

 

Dining is a major pasttime in Dijon and in the warmer months it's outdoors.

     Dijon is not one of the must-see destinations in France but it is a very pleasant place to visit with its clean pedestrian streets lined with lovely restaurants and bistros, many housed in magnificent old buildings. 

       We arrived here by train from Lyon on Monday, May 16, as part of our spring 2025 trip to Europe. We stayed three nights at Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge, a well-located boutique hotel that houses William Frachot, a Michelin two-star restaurant.

     We mostly spent our time here wandering the streets in this mid-size city of about 160,000 residents. This is the home of Dijon mustard, of course, and there are several shops and many different brands.  We sampled various iterations of Dijon mustard and came home with several souvenir-size bottles. It's also a wine town and in a just world it would have its own appellation. We went to one winery, a bit south of the city, Chateau de Marsannay, where the tastings included some wonderful Burgundys. 

      Dijon's cuisine and wines are celebrated and monetized at the International City of Gastronomy and Wine, a decent destination for foodies and oenophiles. We spent some time browsing before selecting what to taste at the wine bar La Cave.

      We had three dinners in this capital of gastronomy, first at Le Petit Roi de la Lune (the Little Moon King), housed in a half-timbered building a short walk from our hotel.  We shared an order of snails (this is Burgundy, after all), Jane had tuna, and I had Iberian pork.  Add a white Burgundy and that's a meal fit for un petit roi. 

      Diner the second night was just a little farther away at Le Fine Heure (the Late Hour) where we had  snails en cassolette. Jane had canard magret (duck breast) and I had beef Bourguignon. Desserts were pears poached in red wine and a satisfying chocolate fondant. On our third night we thought we might try William Frachot at the hotel, but neither of us saw anything we wanted on the menu, so instead we went next door to a pizza place where we were reminded again not to order pizza in France. A disappointing end to what was really a nice time in Dijon.

Here are some photos:

The International City of Food and Wine attracts foodies and oenephiles to a wide 
variety of vendors. It's a short walk from the center of town.

La Cave is the wine bar at the International City complex. It's housed in what looks like a
converted warehouse behind the newer main building.

The Porte Guillaume arch was built just before the French Revolution
and has been renamed and modified since. Its got its current 
name in the 1800s to honor a local clergyman.

Although Thomas Jefferson has nothing to do with the history of the arch, this
plaque celebrating him was added in 2009. It cites his authorship of the American
Declaration of Independence as a precursor to France's Declaration of the Rights
of Man, along with his long ties to France. 

The Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy takes up a large part of central Dijon.The oldest
part dates to the 1300s but most of what we see here is neoclassical construction from the 1700s.
Today the building houses the Dijon town hall, the municipal archives and an art museum.

A handfull of half-timbered buildings have survived
into the 21st century in central Dijon.

Pedestrian streets encourage strolling.

How many centuries have these figures watched over Dijon?

Out of fear of war with Germany, French officials in 1938 resolved to try to save
the country's art treasures, one of which was the "Departure of the Volunteers
1792," the most famous image on the Arc d'Triomphe. There was great fear
that the Nazis would try to destroy such landmarks. So a plaster cast of the 
sculpture was made; the original carving was by the Dijon sculptor Francoise
Rude. Now this plaster cast is exhibited in a small space in Dijon 
devoted to Rude's works.

This is another plaster cast of a Rude work, "Napoleon
Awakening to Immortality," which was created in 1847,
comissioned by someone who had served under 
Napoleon. It shows the emperor rising from the
 dead and casting off his burial shroud. 

A spot for drinks in Dijon's public market. 

Jane struck up a conversation with one
of the vineyard workers at Marsannay.

Judging by its thickness, I guess some of the Marsannay vines are
quite old. We were there in May 2025.

The tasting room and the cellar tour at Marsannay
were friendlier than the price list.

The wines we tasted. 

Jane visited Dijon as part of a bike tour of Burgundy about 35
years before our visit . She stayed at the Grand Hotel
la Cloche a few steps from the Porte Guillaume. We
stopped in at the hotel's excellent bar.