This was taken peeking down a narrow street radiating off Place de la Liberátion, the major public square directly across from the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne. The morning light cast alluring shadows on the walls. Incidentally, Place de la Liberátion was designed in the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, whose other […]
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Dijon Houses
Part of Dijon’s charm is its many wood-frame merchants’ houses from the 15th and 16th centuries.
La chocolatière de Roger
A visit to France (or anywhere, really) would not be complete without sampling at least one chocolate shop. Patrick Roger, an award-winning chocolatier, turns out pralines, ganaches and a “best of”, which consists of seven varieties of cocoa. There are also delectable pastries, macarons and crusty loaves of bread. We discovered this by accident. During […]
Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne
Burgundy’s dukes used to call this showboat home. Now, it houses city hall and all its requisite administrative offices in the west wing and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in the east wing. The structure was originally built as a simple fortress built in the 9th century. Philippe the Bold rebuilt the ducal dwelling place in […]
Église St-Michel
This church started off in 889 as a small wooden chapel before the abbot of St. Stephen insisted on upgrading it in the 1000’s. By the 15th century, the church could barely contain its parishioners, so the choir was expanded. The Renaissance façade depicts biblical and mythological themes. The two 17th century towers are topped […]
Le Petit Roi de la Lune
Le Petit Roi de la Lune‘s interesting French-with-a-twist menu caught our eye as we wandered aimlessly around town seeking dinner. We had just passed up our targeted first-choice venue for being too stuffy but still wanted local cuisine. Le Petit Roi de la Lune was just what we were looking for: a casual, fashionable place […]
Église Notre Dame
This church has one of the liveliest facades I’ve ever seen. Look up and you’ll see three rows of animated gargoyles frolicking and leering down at you. Église Notre Dame was built between 1220-1240 and restored in the late 1800’s. The interior has a collection of 13th century stained glass windows supplemented with a number […]
Place François-Rude (or, du Bareuzai)
This small square is one of Dijon’s busiest, thanks to the welcoming outdoor cafes. I liked the timber-framed houses and the fountain with the figure of le bareuzai, a nickname given to the all-important Dijon winegrowers, treading grapes.
