How did you find Dijon?

to clarify not how you actually found Dijon to get there but how did you like the town? Worth a detour or if just on the way to somewhere else? And there's a lot of else in Burgundy!

We would make it a focal point and not just a pass-through. We were 5 nights in Paris,9 nights in Provence at 2 different locations and then 4 nights in Dijon. We chose Dijon because we were going to be in France at grape harvest time and we like wines. We heard about Cocos flat in Dijon from the Fodors web site . Also we knew that there were lots of Vineyards near Beaune and that Dijon was 20 minutes by train to Beaune. We found a wine tour that turned out to be wonderful and the hosts picked us up at the train station in Beaune. Also we did several things with COco being our guide. It was a great location.
The flat is across the back street to The Museum of Fine Arts in Dijon and there are many other museums and old churches and architecture to see. Also great shopping if you like to shop.

Right now I am sitting at the flat in Dijon writing this email to you and we leave in the AM. We had 3 full days here and would have liked one more.

i hope this answers all your questions.

Thanks, nsalerno - it's always good to read about the less visited corners of europe - gives the more adventureous of us ideas for the next trip. i had never thought of staying in dijon, so will definitely consider it next time.

Thank you for your nice comment!
But I can say that even if each Fodorite is special to me they all have something in common : they liked Dijon, they're great and deserve the best.

As they say, or i say, Dijon gives a hoot! Take the owl trail that Coco once highly recommended thru town.

I agreed about Dijon, Coco, and her flat. I stayed there 3 night last spring. I am planning on going back there next September during wine and food festivals. Also, to visit Switzerland while we are there.

ttt

I totally agree with nsalerno. myhomeindijon is a delightful place to stay. Dijon and all of Burgundy have so much to offer.

annhig, I've just seen a posting on Lonely Planet asking how to entice people to come to a fantastic place with a lot to see.
I think I already have an answer here, you're the living proof (if I may say that!) thank you!

Amen

of course you may, coco. The way my work is going at the moment, my retirement may be getting rather closer than i thought, and Burgundy is now high on my list of places to check out.

Yesterday we returned from 2 weeks in Burgundy near Beaune, plus 2 weeks in Beaujolais near Julianas.

Dijon was spectacular !!!. My wife & I spend 2 months in France each year, visiting new areas and returning to some old favorites. We both feel that Dijon is our favorite city - after Paris. They seem to know how to do things "right" there. We visited Beaune on Saturday (the 16th) for their Journees Patrimoniales "event", and spent the next day (Sunday) in Dijon touring all the sites open for their Patrimoniales. Dijon did an excellent job in putting together a program to "show off" the city. On that Sunday, there was also a special bicycle event that brought lots of people into the city for a "fun" bike tour through town. The course wound around the old part of the city & even through some parts of the Palais des Ducs. Coco alerted us to the Journees Patrimoniales, and it was one of the highlights of our trip.

The following Saturday afternoon, we spent another half-day in Dijon. This time they were having a music festival, and there must have been over 100 hurdy-gurdies, huge pipe organs, small organ grinders, people in constume singing along with the organs, etc. We also went on the Owl Walk - which was excellent.

Mid-week we dined at Stephane Derbord restaurant, and it was probably the best meal we had on our trip. We're big "foodies" and Burgundy has some other supurb restaurants, also.

As we walked around Dijon, I remarked to my wife that everything seemed to be "perfect" in Dijon. No run-down buildings, lots of pedestrian-only streets, lots of high class shops, quiet streets & corners to get away from the crowds if necessary, few tacky souvineer places, beautiful architecture (medieval, half timbered, Belle Epoque, Hausseman, etc), and the city was very clean.

We took the TGV out of Dijon (to Paris) for our flight home, and we drove into Dijon early that day to see if the city was as "alive" on a non-event day as it was when there was some type of special thing going on. To our surprise, the Saturday street market as in full swing. I think the market actually detracted from the enjoyment of the City by obscuring all the lovely buildings & store fronts - so we headed over to the covered "les Halles" food market (spectacular) and avoided the huge crowds at the street market (mostly in-expensive clothes).

Stu Dudley

Stu: any word on expectations for Burgundy wine this year? Last year i guess was Wunderbar - any insights into 2006?

Welcome back, STU.

>>Stu: any word on expectations for Burgundy wine this year? Last year i guess was Wunderbar - any insights into 2006?<<

The vendage was in full swing when we were there. The noise woke us up at 6:30am a few times. The Beauljolais & Burgundy areas had a horrible August this year (lots of rain - only 3 days of sun) & it rained & drizzled a few times during the vendage. I don't know how the rainy August & rain during the picking contributes to the quality of the grapes. We actually stayed at a Gite in a winery in Beaujolais, and the proprietor said that the rain during harvest would not be welcome - they would have to go through a process of drying out the grapes before crushing, if the bunches had much rain water in them.

I was amazed at how good & affordable the Beaujolais wines(red & white) were, and how expensive the Burgundys were.

I live in the San Frncisco area, and the Red Michelin Guide to SF came out yesterday. There was only 1 three star restaurant in the Bay Area (French Laundry). Several of our top rated restaurants (Chez Panisse, La Folie, Fleur de Lys, Gary Danko) only achieved 1 star. Lots of grumbling in the media. My wife & I went to La Folie (our favorite here) just before departing for our 4 week trip to Beaujolais & Burgundy. While in France, we dined at about 20 different restaurants - 6 one stars, and the rest no-stars. My wife & I both commented that about 75% of these restaurants were better or equal to La Folie in SF. We had some fabulous 6 course meals, for what we pay for just an appetizer & entre in SF.

Stu Dudley

Welcome back Stu or should I say good bye !
I realize you saw almost everything that was going on in Dijon !

The market you saw last Saturday was actually what we call « la grande Braderie » the big sale which takes place only once a year !

Last year it was as the same time as les journées du patrimoine mid september. It was when I met nukesafe, his wife and friends who were going to their barge trip. We had some cake tasting along with a nice american couple on honeymoon, Rachael and Justin.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34686300
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34693566

Where were you staying near Beaune, is it a gîte de France ? What else did you see, abbeys, castles ?

I’m very happy you enjoyed your stay in Burgundy!
(but it is a pity we didn't meet)
coco

Want to share those restaurant names , Stu?

Ditto, restaurant names are critical.

>>Where were you staying near Beaune, is it a gîte de France ? What else did you see, abbeys, castles <<

We stayed in a Gite in St Romain - the "haute" section of town. They had their patrimoine also - down the road from our Gite. There were vineyards all around us, and the propriator is a winemaker in Mersault.

Glad that street market is just a once-a-year event - it was a little overwhealming.

We visited the chateaux of Sully, Brandon (got a tour from the owner - we were the only ones on the tour), Couches, Tanlay, Ancy le Franc, Bussy-Rabutin, Bazoches, Rochpot, Vougeot, & Commarin - plus about 10 others in the Beaujolais region Saw the Abbey of Fontenay. Visited Auxerre, Autun, Troyes (wonderful), Provins,
Langres, Sens, Beaune, Noyers (very nice), Flavigny (disappointing), Saumr en Aixois (better from the outside than inside), Vezelay, and lots of little wine towns.

Restaurants - in approx order of preference:
Stephane Derbord in Dijon
Host. du Vieux Moulon in Bouilland
Charlemagne in Pernard Verglesses
Remparts in Beaune
Dilignece in Mersault
Les Gourmets in Marsanny
Rotisserie du Chambertain in Gevery-Chambertain
Le Montrachet in Pulignt Montrachet

Plus about 12 others in Beaujolais, Troyes, Macon, & Bourges (overnight trip).

Stu Dudley

<I highly recommend Dijon as well of course!
Pal I can't believe it was at the bottom of your list!
coco>

j'espere que tu sais que ma liste n'etait pas un ordre - je n'etait pas mettant les day trips en ordre especiallement - of course i hope you know my list was in no order, just a list - or bien sur Dijon would not be last! I think i was working out of Paris farther and farther.

I've seen the pictures on your excellent web site and they show how 'soo-pear' Dijon is!

Pardon mon francaise - tu sait je parle francaise comme une vache espagnol comme je t'ai dit autrefois.

Pas de problème Pal, I was just teasing you. Je sais que tu aimes Dijon (not as much as I do of course!)
Bonne soirée!

coco: Est-ce que tu es deja allee au Etats-Unis? Jusqu's curious moi. A bientot!

In my dreams only...
Is it an invitation?

Oui, s'il tu es vengtieme ans plus vielle ou je suis vengtieme plus jeune et tu es "single" oui, puis peut-etre.

just kidding, kind of. Acutally i don't live in a place most tourists would want to go, but i do have two upstairs rooms where the three French sisters stayed that would welcome you et toi famille, bien sur!

Let me translate: si tu étais plus vieille de vingt et célibataire et moi plus jeune de vingt, oui peut être...
Merci pour l'invitation, how many buckets of mustard shall I bring you?
Bon week end!
coco, too young tonight

Coco- trop jeune ce soir, trop jeune demain et trop jeune tous les temps! C'est dommage! Just joking of course

I understand people who speak a foreign language welcome the opportunity to do so. However, I believe it is innapropriate and bad manners to do so on a forum such as this when most people cannot understand. This is not the place for messages between only those few who can speak French.

Just to wish "un joyeux anniversaire" to nsalerno!
It means "Happy Birthday" for those who don't speak French...

Hi david,

You copy the offending text to http://www.freetranslation.com/
and see what it means.

This isn't exactly a dinner table where some people are isolating themselves by speaking a strange tongue.