jacolis

Hi all,

We are staying with friends near Joigny (2 hrs from Dijon) and then planned to drop off our rental car and hop on the TGV to Avignon.

I had wanted to drive to Beaune and spend the day/evening before catching the TGV to Avignon (short hop from Beaune to Macon to get on the TGV line). But we realized there is no Avis in Beaune. So now we are thinking of spending the night in Dijon instead.

I had really wanted to see the Hospices de Beaune. There seems to be some interesting things in Dijon too though (Owls Trail, etc). If you could only see one of DIjon or Beaune for the day, which would you pick? We are a family of 4 with two kids (ages 8 and 10).

Any views on whether we should:

1. Drive to Beaune from Joigny; spend the afternoon and drive to Dijon. Return rental car and have dinner in Dijon. Spend the night in Dijon. Catch TGV next morning direct to Avignon; OR

2. Drive to Dijon, drop off rental car. Take 18 minute train to Beaune and spend rest of day/evening in Beaune.

Thanks in advance!

Lisa

tuscanlifeedit

Lisa

I am no expert in this area, but I can promise you that the Hospice d'Beaune was one of the best things I've ever seen.

Beautifully preserved, very easy to visit, large, interesting, gorgeous with fabulous art to add to all that.

I would tell anyone not to miss it, especially if you are already interested. I've honestly seen nothing like it.

Our landlords in Reims insisted that we go on our way south, and I am so glad that we did.

StuDudley

Along with Toulouse, Dijon is our second favorite city in France (after Paris). Lots of stuff to do there. We've spent many days in Dijon, and also stayed near Beaune for 2 weeks about 6 years ago. IMO, option 1 is the best choice.

This may not work for your 2 kids - but this restaurant was one of our favorites in Burgundy:

Stephane Derbord in Dijon – one of the top 5 meals of all time in France (we dine out about 40 times per year in France)
Michelin 1 star

First round of Amuse Bouches
Bite sized squares of Croque Monsieurs
Carp mousse with black & white sesame seeds
Parmesan chip and a bite sized tomato “truffle” with a semi-liquid center
Second round of Amuse Bouches
Sushi (California roll) with cockle, with Asian spices & bean sprouts
Potato puree
Leek Mousse with green beans
55E menu
-Smoked sander – thin rolls stuffed with finely julienned vegetables served with tart greens (incl dandelion greens) topped with paper thin lengthwise sliced carrots. The plate was edged with a piping of honey mustard and crumbled hazelnuts
-Perch with a wild mushrooms and green beans served in a deep plate with a “soup de poisons” reduction sauce
-cheese chariot
-Poached , pealed pear with a red wine sauce in pain epice with sage ice cream – all very refreshing

65E menu
-Sauteed scallops, each served on a cucumber “coin” with a topping of lemon cream & caviar, with julienned apples & dandelion greens
-Sandre on a bed of spinach with a butter sauce accompanied by a small tomato stuffed with diced cepes on a squash “coin”
-Filet of Cerf, served with berries & a dark berry reduced sauce with green beans & wild mushrooms with a ‘grain” of some sort
-Cheese chariot
-Pre-dessert refresher
-Chocolate fondant – top & bottom layers of dark chocolate “sandwiching” lighter chocolate mousse with dark chocolate wafers & vanilla ice cream
-Post-dessert refresher

Stu Dudley

jacolis

Thank you both. We will try to drive to Beaune first and then go to Dijon for later afternoon/evening so that we can see the hospices. The building itself looks interesting -- plus I think the kids would find it interesting to learn about the medical pratices of the day!

According to Google maps it is about 40 minutes from Beaune to Dijon. How is the traffic driving into Dijon old town (we are staying at the Hotel du Palais)?

Thanks for the dinner recommendation, Stu. My kids are really good eaters and will eat anything -- we would just need to budget for a 200 Euro meal for the four of us! (translated into Canadian dollars...).

StuDudley

Driving into Dijon is not difficult. We have usually parked near the train station - where you would return the car anyway.

Stu Dudley

socialworker

I just looked at this thread as we are planning a trip and trying to decide on the final itinerary. If I am not mistaken, I think it was you, Stu, who recommended Madrona Manor in Healdsburg and it is one of our all time favorites, so we will probably make the next leg of the trip we are planning include several nights in Dijon--which was already on the table as one of the choices--as I know that we like what you like!

Jean

We also found the Hospices de Beaune (Hotel-Dieu) and its history very interesting. The city hosts a baroque music festival in July, and a couple of performances are held in the inner courtyard. The historical center of Beaune is very small and easy to explore, probably only 1 km. north-south and east-west.

I haven't used the trains much in France. But when I was planning our trip to Burgundy, I found that Chalon-sur-Saone would be a good car-to-train point. It's less than an hour south of Beaune, has an Avis office at the train station, and it's smaller than Dijon. With a car, smaller towns are always my preference. Anyway, we ended up doing something else, but you might want to add this option to your thinking.

StuDudley

>>I think it was you, Stu, who recommended Madrona Manor in Healdsburg and it is one of our all time favorites<<

Yep - that was me. We returned from 4 weeks in Provence & Cote d'Azur on July 1 last year. We dined at several fabulous Michelin 1 star restaurants while there. On July 4, our very close friends had their annual July 4 "gala" at their home in Healdsburg, which is adjacent to the Madrona Manor. So about 10 months ahead of this gala, we reserved a room at the Madrona Manor for 2 nights. We had dinner there the first night. Their restaurant is a Michelin 1 star, and the meal we had was better than most of the 1 stars we dined at in France.

Stu Dudley

jacolis

Hi all,

We are back from our trip and I just wanted to report back -- we did indeed visit the Hotel Dieu - it was very interesting. We found parking just a few minutes walk from the Hotel Dieu. An audio guide is included with admission -- there was even a separate audio guide for the kids from the perspective of a "little boy working in the kitchen". We had a delicious lunch at La Dilettante (amazing charcuterie, cheeses, salads). I also tried a glass of one of the best reds I have ever had on the recommendation of the proprietor. We took the scenic route through the Cote d'or up to Dijon.

Am SO glad we spent the afternoon/evening in Dijon. It is a great city! Really enjoyed following the owl's trail (downloaded it onto our iPhones). Then we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink (a kir, bien sur) at a cafe in the pl de la Liberation while the girls played in the fountain.

Didn't end up at Stephane Derbord (although it sounded wonderful!) since they dont open for dinner until 8 pm and we normally dine with the kids at 7. The kids asked for Italian (after 2.5 weeks in France they wanted pasta!) and I found a great little Italian resto above a delicatessen called La Dolce Vita 2 minutes from the pl. de la Liberation.

Highly recommend including Dijon on a Burgundy itinerary!

Adelaidean

Nice to hear that you liked Dijon. When I first added it to my bucket list I thought 'nice place for a few days', then I kept discovering more lovely sights/ nearby towns/ etc and it's kind of morphing into a 'base' for a future itinerary. Thanks for reporting back.

cocofromdijon

Thank you for the feedback Jacolis, I'm glad to read that you liked my beloved Dijon. Checked Derbord's website and it seems they open at 7.30pm, too bad you couldn't go.

aussiedreamer

bookmarking for restaurants