Jardin Darcy, Dijon

This morning we headed out to venture further out from the old town, wanting to see more of what Dijon has to offer. Being a Sunday it is so much quieter than yesterday and even though most shops are closed, it is still lovely walking the streets, admiring the buildings, the window displays, the gardens and statues.

We wandered past a few churches, whose exteriors caught our eye, but they were closed, which is probably a good thing. We have already visited way too many churches. Of course I still managed a couple of photos of their exteriors.

At the end of the historic centre is the Porte Guillaume, a monument dating from the 18th century in the site of an old door of the Middle Ages. It is like the entrance way to the older part of town and is quite striking against the blue sky.

From here we made our way to Jardin Darcy, a public garden dedicated to the hydraulician Henry Darcy. Built in 1880, it was the first public garden in Dijon, with many varieties of trees and flowers, balustrade terraces, fountains and statues.

Strangely enough there is a statue of a polar bear at the entrance to the park which seems so out of place. It is a reproduction of a statue called the White Bear by sculptor Francois Pompon. The garden is such a welcome relief against the streets of stone and marble, with its flowing fountain and beautiful flower beds in bloom. It so also one thing the French do well - they relax and use their public gardens, they gather with friends, sit quietly with a book, and soak up the sunshine. It feels so very French.

We strolled back into the historic centre, still admiring the very French feel of the place. Dijon is a beautiful town. We came across another unusual sculpture, Le Compteur du temps (The Time Counter). This contemporary sculpture by Gloria Friedmann consists of a sphere, three metres in diameter, on which sits a man looking at his clock. There are random clocks on the sphere which represents earth, showing the time in other cities. It is a bit random on the historic centre but I do enjoy the odd piece of contemporary art in the historic settings. It is such a contrast.Read more