Today we had a picnic celebrating the last day of Montessori Pre-K with our little ones. One of the fathers was from Dijon France and we had quite a discussion because some of the recent threads here about that town. He went into detail about the charming little town and how much everyone here would be sure to enjoy a visit. He said that it is a small jewel of a town, very friendly and not the least bit intimidating. I told him that I would pass on this information. He said that Dijon was a two hour train ride from Paris and well worth the visit. I think I will take him up on it.

I agree and I know that Coco would love to read this when she gets up. See you in September.

It is a great town, and only 1 1/2 hours by train, maybe they are faster now than when he lived there. The architecture in Dijon is amazing, so old and pieced together from different eras, great food and, of course, our one and only...drum roll....COCO.

I think that Dijon is also a great day trip from Paris, if that is all that you have time for.

Great! What are the directions to his house?

I'm hoping to make it to Paris in January, with Dijon at the top of my list of possible daytrips. I've had my eye on Dijon for a while now.

Dijon is a great town. I went to the Universite de Dijon one summer, unfortunately now too many years ago to count. I kept in touch with the family I lived with there. When my daughter did her junior year at the Universite de Montpellier, she visited with them.

I almost had a heart attack when I read the title of your posting Dottee. I thought PalQ invited everyone in my rental apartment (I know he could do something like this n'est-ce pas Pal? ;-) )


I'm sooo happy Dijon is being revealed to the world! You make my day.

I'm taking advantage of this posting (if you don't mind) to show you the small videos I made recently about Dijon. The quality is so so but it will give you an idea of certain areas in the center.

http://tinyurl.com/3cok34
http://tinyurl.com/yow6w3

Hi girls! Another sunny and warm day is starting (28°c), gardening and deck chair (and internet of course!) today 8-)

Apres Londee, you're most welcome in Dijon and keep in mind it can snow in January, we had quite a lot of it last year. (almost nothing this year and in March)

Have a great day everyone! ><
coco

I was in Dijon on the 11th with my friend Louisa, my second visit there and love it! We enjoyed seeing the architecture, the Musée des Beaux-Arts located in the Palais des Ducs (a must-see are the ducal tombs and the kitchens), and especially their wonderful market day at Les Halles Centrales - Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am to noon, and Saturday from 8am to around 5pm. We took the TGV from the the Paris Gare de Lyon, which took about 1 hour 40 minutes. Walking from the train station to the market was just about 10 minutes. We also climbed the Tower of Philip the Good, 316 steps, for some fabulous city and roof views. Had a great lunch at Bistrot Les Halles (10, rue Bannelier; Tel: 03 80 49 94 15). There are a few good shopping streets, such as Rue de Liberte. Contact the tourist office and they’ll send you a nice city brochure that includes a self-walking tour. www.dijon-tourism.com. There are other museums in town, but couldn’t get it all in on our day trip.

Monica

Hi Monica and thank you for your nice comments. You should have told me you were going to Dijon!
I'll be at the market with Betty1 tomorrow but I don't think we'll climb the tower of Philippe Le Bon ! You're brave!

Nah, that tower isn't that tall. Try the 498 step tower in Bologna!

Monica

<I almost had a heart attack when I read the title of your posting Dottee. I thought PalQ invited everyone in my rental apartment (I know he could do something like this n'est-ce pas Pal?>

no pas - jamais jamais jamais pourrai-moi faire des choses comme ca! Des choses si demonalique! - jamais jamais....
Je demande un apology!
Passez une bonne vacanelles!

ttt--not the tower...

Take a deep breath Pal and have some rest!
Bon week end!

Ron, too hot today to climb the tower but we walked a lot.

Dijon is a fabulous town with a beaut relaxed feel to it. The people are really lovely and it is not apparant that the folk are jaded from the effects of tourists (but we have been quick to mention that we were Australian and one of us can speak French!).

We have been here 3 weeks and found that Dijon has ample to see and explore. We have found Dijon to be ideal 1) as a place to reveal the essence of Burgundy through its food, wine, and of course, its people, and 2) to explore the villages of the Cotes de Nuits and Cotes de Beaune.

The Centre Ville of Dijon is provisioned as a town (butchers, grocers, banks, markets) but has the feel of a village (and I can assure you that the villages aren't provisioned as a town).

We are in Coco's apartment, Centre Ville, and it is great - a nice comfortable place to settle into after a long trip, or day out and about. It was well stocked on arrival which was welcomed after a 30 hour commute by plane, train and automobile.

It seems you can be sure of getting excellent accommodations and excellent service or whatever you call it at Coco's - the value of Fodorites recommendations is huge - for one if the flat were anything below expectations it would take probably just one Fodor complaints to cast doubt on it and no one has ever had anything to say about it but raves, both about the flat and Coco. It seems in this case you get more than what you pay for and are not treated as a one-time throw-away guest. Bravo to Coco.

I am traveling with my daughter to Paris this year...second time for me and first for her. We are going in the first part of November. I would truly love to get outside of Paris to get a feel for a different part of France, and I am already enchanted with Dijon, just from the the things I've read and heard. But is it worth it to do this during an off-time of the year?

Coco, great video. Nice music on the second link. Artist?

November is not a bad time to go. Do it. I rather travel when it is cooler. Rain, that is another story!

Dottee, November is a cool month to travel and if you check the guestbook in Nov 2006 you'll have an idea about the weather at that time.

Degas thank you. I'm not sure you know Yann Tiersen but his music is the soundtrack of a famous French film. Any idea? ;-)

Coco,
I love the video and music on the second link as well!

DH and I were in Dijon 15 years ago, on a grey & rainy day in August - your lovely video makes me realize how much we missed of the flavor of Dijon. And now I have ANOTHER place to add to my "I have to return to" places in France....!

Paule

Merci beaucoup Paule,
If you ever come back to Dijon, you'll see how it changed in the Ducal Palace area.
No idea for the music?