Dijon Is More Than Mustard

Dijon is a charming city filled with romantic half-timbered buildings and patterned roof tiles. The capital of the Burgundy region in eastern France, it has been a seat of power in the area for over a millennium. Of course Dijon is famous worldwide for the eponymous spicy condiment which was developed here, but mustard is only a minor attraction. It impresses visitors with two cathedrals over 700 years old and an expansive art museum housed in a 600 year old palace. Like many French cities, it features an excellent pedestrian-only downtown. We found it to be pleasant and inviting with unique architecture that captured our attention.

Our winter visit meant that the city of 160,000 was quite sleepy for most of our time there. Unlike in Paris, Dijon has a true off season and we were in the middle of it. Friday and Saturday afternoons had locals filling the downtown for shopping and socializing, but aside from those times, it often felt like we had the place to ourselves. There were rarely any types of crowds and when we visited the museums and the churches were mostly empty.

We spent our first week in town contributing to the off season vibe. It turns out that our sightseeing pace in Paris completely wore us out. We basically hibernated upon our arrival in Dijon, barely venturing out of our apartment aside from grocery shopping and a quick stroll around downtown. But once we regained the energy to properly explore it, we found a lot to like.

Dijon’s architecture varies pretty significantly from our previous French stops. It felt more like a classic Medieval town with a touch of Bavarian style. There were numerous half-timbered buildings that were very fetching. Many older residences were built with very steep roofs like they were expecting a lot of snow, although we saw none during our winter visit. They often had patterns built into their shingles too, adding to the uniqueness. 

Église Notre-Dame

Dijon’s version of the Notre Dame church dates from the 13th century. It has an outside that’s adorned with dozens of strange gargoyles in the shape of human heads. It’s something I would expect in a nightmare or horror movie instead of as an homage to a loving supreme being. It’s a somewhat grotesque façade, but it sure is interesting. Inside is much more stereotypical and pleasant with high arched ceilings and impressive stained glass.

Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne

The Cathedral of Saint Benignus of Dijon, more commonly known as the Dijon Cathedral, is the second prominent worship building still in use. Construction on this one also began in the 13th century. Classically designed, this worship building is more attractive on the outside than the Notre Dame on the other side of downtown. Inside is also bigger and brighter, with high ceilings and a massive organ.

Musée Des Beaux-Arts 

The Dijon Fine Arts Museum is where all of the best art of every style is found. And it’s definitely an eclectic mix. There are religious paintings and carvings. It has a small temple with two massive marble sarcophagi in the middle. Impressionists have a prominent section. There are also many great sculptures. It even has contemporary art on the top floor, which is a mix of any and all mediums.

The art is housed in a palace dating back to the 14th century that was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy and later the King of France, which is an excellent venue choice. But the building itself is kind of a maze and covers several different levels with multiple access points and stairways throughout. It’s entirely possible to miss whole sections of it if you’re not paying attention. Aside from the semi-confusing layout, we had a lot of fun exploring the variety of styles. And I’m pretty sure we saw it all.

Musée Magnin

Set in an old mansion, the Magnin Museum displays the personal collection of siblings Maurice and Jeanne Magnin. Their collection of art and furniture are displayed in multiple staged rooms with lots of fancy wallpaper and carved moldings. The art is mostly classical style, so we enjoyed the atmosphere more than any actual piece of art. But it was really fun to see the art in a setting of how it might have been shown in an aristocratic household.

Jardin Botanique de l’Arquebuse

We both really liked Dijon’s botanical garden, even if our enjoyment was more conceptual. It has a large section with planters featuring row after row of hundreds of varieties of edible plants. While our winter visit meant little actual growth aside from some kale and radishes, it’s easy to imagine how great this would be in other seasons. As we walked through we could see where all of the different vegetables, fruits, and herbs would have been. I have to believe that for kids growing up in the city, it would be very instructive to see their food’s origins. And this being France, the garden also included dozens of different varieties of grapes in their own separate area.

Ouche River

The Ouche River flows through the southwest side of Dijon. There are a couple of nice walking paths that follow it and a canal that runs parallel. Our favorite stroll along the canal came when a nutria decided to swim with us while we were walking. It stayed right with us for 50 yards or more wanting to make friends with us. Okay, maybe it was headed to the lady down the way feeding the ducks, but it could’ve been a genuine moment.

Where We Stayed

We rented a one bedroom apartment on the top floor of a building about 15 minutes from downtown. It was a 3rd floor walk up (4th floor in America) that offered great views of the downtown skyline, which is basically the spires of several cathedrals. We scored a great off season rate of $1425. It was a nice place that had good natural light and a comfortable bed. Our host also decided to provide pick up and drop off service at the train station, which was quite the treat.

What We Spent

Dijon was a very affordable stay for us. We took advantage of the off season to get a deal on our apartment. A lot of our time was spent resting at home or walking around, so we didn’t spend much in the way of activities either. The best museum and all of the churches were free. The total amount we spent in Dijon came to $2213. After including our regular bills for insurance and mail service, our overall spending for our 28 day stay was $2428, or $87/day.

We enjoyed our off season visit to Dijon. The city was a great place to rest and regroup after our frenetic sightseeing pace in Paris. I really liked the varied architecture with the steep roofs and half-timbered buildings. It had a very different feel from our previous stops in France which was appreciated. The downtown was inviting and the ancient cathedrals were impressive. I’m happy to report that Dijon is a lot more than just mustard.