Dijon, France

Dijon , is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or departement and of the Bourgogne region. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population (2005): 150,800 for the commune; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area. The city of Dijon offers very interesting historical visits, cultural activities and fine restaurants. Not only famous for mustard, it was also the birth place of Gustave Eiffel, who built the Eiffel tower in Paris.

The city is now the most important between Paris and Lyon, with major road communications and the high speed train called the TGV, getting to and from Dijon is easy. The city has the largest amount of buildings more than 300 years old, which are still standing, this make the old town centre very agreeable to walk around, for example the Rue de la Chouette and Verrerie are very charming, with half-timbered houses and narrow cobbled streets.

Places to visit in the city would be the catherdral Notre Dame, Saint Michel, the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, the old shopping streets with the indoor market, and also the main Burgundy vineyards begin just to the south of the city.
The town has a gourmet reputation and the choice of restaurants is vast, dishes for all tastes from all over the world.

Main sights : Dijon boasts a surprisingly large number of churches and cathedrals, including St. Bénigne, Notre-Dame, 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 (found mainly in the city's core district) 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 (see below). 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 "must see" 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.