Dijon Sights

  1. Archaeological Museum

    The Musée Archéologique displays some truly surprising Celtic, Roman and Merovingian artefacts, including a particularly fine 1st-century bronze of the goddess Sequana standing on a boat. Upstairs is an early-Gothic hall which once served as the dormitory of a Benedictine Abbey. Its splendid ogival arches are held aloft by two rows of columns.

    Read more about Archaeological Museum

  2. Cathédrale St-Bénigne

    Situated above the tomb of St Benignus (who is believed to have brought Christianity to Burgundy in the 2nd century), Dijon's Burgundian Gothic-style Cathédrale St-Bénigne was built around 1300 as an abbey church. Some of Burgundy's great figures are buried inside. The crypt is all that's left of an 11th-century Romanesque basilica.

    Read more about Cathédrale St-Bénigne

  3. Église St-Michel

    Église St-Michel began life as a Gothic church but subsequently underwent a façade-lift operation in which it was given a richly ornamented Renaissance west front considered among the most beautiful in France, perhaps because it looks like it should be in Italy. The two 17th-century towers are topped with cupolas and, higher still, glittering gold spheres.

    Read more about Église St-Michel

  4. Hôtel de Vogüé

    The 17th-century Hôtel de Vogüé is renowned for the ornate carvings around its exquisite Renaissance courtyard - definitely worth a peek into.

    Read more about Hôtel de Vogüé

  5. Maison des Cariatides

    Many of Dijon's finest hôtels particuliers (aristocratic townhouses) are north of the Palais des Ducs on and around rues Verrerie, Vannerie and des Forges, whose names reflect the industries that once thrived along them (glassmakers, basket-weavers and metalsmiths, respectively). The early-17th-century Maison des Cariatides, its façade a riot of stone caryatids, vines and horns, is particularly fine.

    Read more about Maison des Cariatides

  6. Maison Millière

    Perched high atop the roof of the 15th-century Maison Millière are figures of an owl and a cat.

    Read more about Maison Millière

  7. Musée Archéologique

    The Musée Archéologique displays some truly surprising Celtic, Roman and Merovingian artefacts, including a particularly fine 1st-century bronze of the goddess Sequana standing on a boat. Upstairs, the early-Gothic hall (12th and 13th centuries), with its ogival arches held aloft by two rows of columns, once served as the dormitory of a Benedictine abbey.

    Read more about Musée Archéologique

  8. Musée de la Moutarde

    Homage to Dijon's most famous export can be paid at the Musée de la Moutarde. Reserve at the tourist office.

    Read more about Musée de la Moutarde

  9. Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne

    The Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, in a 17th-century Cistercian convent, explores village and town life in Burgundy in centuries past with evocative tableaux illustrating dress, headgear, cooking, traditional crafts and the like.

    Read more about Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne

  10. Musée des Beaux-Arts

    Housed in the eastern wing of the Palais des Ducs, the Musée des Beaux-Arts is one of the most outstanding museums in France. The wood-panelled Salle des Gardes (Guards' Room), once warmed by a gargantuan fireplace that's as Gothic as Gothic can be, houses three impossibly intricate gilded Gothic retables from the 1300s and the late-medieval sepulchres of two Valois dukes.

    Read more about Musée des Beaux-Arts

  11. Advertisement

  12. Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne

    Once home to the region's powerful dukes, the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne is in the heart of old Dijon. Given a neoclassical façade in the 17th and 18th centuries while serving as the seat of the States-General (parliament) of Burgundy, it overlooks place de la Libération, a semicircular public square designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (one of the architects of Versailles) in 1686.

    Read more about Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne

  13. Tour Phillipe le Bon

    The 15th-century Tour Philippe le Bon is 46m-high and naturally affords fantastic views over the city. Rumour has it that on a clear day you can see all the way to Mont Blanc. Face your vertigo and see for yourself.

    Read more about Tour Phillipe le Bon