Dijon

Dijon is the capital of Burgundy and the gastronomic heart of France — a city where mustard, wine and exceptional cooking are not tourist attractions but deeply embedded cultural values. It is also a beautiful city of well-preserved Baroque and medieval architecture, an excellent art museum and the sheer satisfaction of a city that takes quality of life seriously. The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, occupying the central Place de la Libération and its wings, is now the Musée des Beaux-Arts — one of France's finest regional art museums, with excellent Flemish and French painting and extraordinary medieval funerary sculpture (the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy are masterpieces of Gothic carving). The Darcy Gardens, the covered market (Les Halles Dijon) and the pedestrianised old town are all excellent. The owl trail (la chouette) — a self-guided walking route following small bronze owls embedded in the pavement — is an excellent way to discover Dijon's main monuments. The Maille mustard shop on the Rue de la Liberté offers an extraordinary tasting experience. A day trip to Beaune (30 minutes), with the Hôtel-Dieu and the wine auction of Les Hospices, and to the Route des Grands Crus (Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges) through the world's most prestigious vineyard landscape is essential from Dijon. Burgundy wine — Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — is at its greatest here.