Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne region. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy.

Dijon boasts a large number of churches and cathedrals, including St. Bénigne, Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Étienne, and St. Michel. The crypt of Dijon Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Benignus, dates from 1,000 years ago, and the city has retained many architectural styles from many of the main periods from the past millennium, including Gothic, Renaissance and Capetian. Many of the still-inhabited houses in the city's central district date from before the 18th century.

Dijon was spared the destruction of various wars such as the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, despite the fact that the Prussian army invaded the city. Therefore, many of the old buildings such as the half-timbered houses dating from the 12th to the 15th century are undamaged, at least by organized violence.

There are many museums in the city, including one dedicated to mustard and steak. Another is the Musée des Beaux Arts in the old part of the Ducal Palace. It contains, among other things, ducal kitchens that date back to the mid-1400s, and a collection of European paintings from the early Renaissance to the Impressionistic periods. Among the more interesting of Dijon's sights is the Ducal Palace, the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the States of Burgundy", which is one of only a few remaining examples of the Capetian period in the region. Another is a curious carving of a little owl, la chouette, on the church of Notre Dame on the rue de la Préfecture. It is reported that this has become regarded as a good-luck charm: people touch it with their left hand and make a wish. The current carving is a copy as the original was destroyed the night of January 5 or 6 2001 by vandals. The current version is now protected by video surveillance.

Dijon is located approximately one hour and 40 minutes southeast of Paris by the TGV high-speed train via Gare de Lyon. By car, it is about three hours from Paris. For comparison, Lyon is 180 km away and two hours distant - although there is no high-speed train link between both cities. Nice takes about six hours by TGV and Strasbourg about three hours at regular train speed.