Discovering Dijon

Today we spent the day exploring Dijon. unfortunately, Katie wasn’t feeling well so she had a quiet day in the apartment. Ian and I headed off, starting with a coffee at our local café. We decided we would follow the ‘owl trail’ and just see where it went. It took us to the Place de Libération, which looked lovely with blue sky and sunshine. We continued to follow the owl signs down lovely streets, past nice squares and interesting buildings. We then came upon the Musée de la Vie Bourguignome, a museum that shows the life of the people of Burgundy. The museum was free - we have found several museums in France are free, which is fabulous. We spent about 90 minutes looking at artefacts and scences of what life was like in the past; it was well done and very informative.

After we left the museum, we picked up the owl trail again which took us down to the Cité Internationale De La Gastronomie & Du Vin. This Cité shares and promotes the values of the ‘Gastronomic meal of the French’ and the ‘Climats, terroirs of Burgundy’, which have been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. Inhabiting the site where the Hôpital Général once stood and very close to Dijon’s old town, the Cité is a striking new setting that celebrates modern architecture while safeguarding local heritage. It is a place that encourages people to engage around food, highlighting local produce and encouraging the sharing of skills and knowledge. There are a number of exhibitions to visit, you can take a cooking or wine-tasting class, do some shopping or indulge in tasting local produce at one of the many restaurants. We ate at Le Comptoir de la Cité, which specialises in local produce and local dishes. I chose Coq au Vin and Ian a local egg dish poached in cheese sauce.

After lunch we went to a couple of exhibitions, one on the world of French gastronomy and one to stimulate the five senses. We then decided to head back into town to the market, but by the time we got here it was already closed. We then found a wonderful patisserie where we were able to buy a selection of their pasties in miniature form but with the same impeccable details, and they were absolutely fabulous. We also wandered around the old town near our apartment and found some great streets full of medieval buildings in good condition as well as a selection of very interesting shops with unusual offerings.

For our final dinner we returned to Les Ducs Cafe where we had a delicious meal with some lovely wine. We then went home to pack and get prepared for our train trip to Avignon.Läs mer