Hôtels Particuliers

Many of Dijon's finest houses lie north of the Palais des Ducs on and around rue Verrerie, rue Vannerie and rue des Forges, whose names reflect the industries that once thrived there (glassmaking, basket-weaving and metalsmithery, respectively). The early-17th-century Maison des Cariatides, its facade a riot of stone caryatids, soldiers and vines,is particularly fine. A bit to the west you'll find the 13th-century Hôtel Aubriot and the Renaissance-style Maison Maillard, all garlands and lions. Go inside the truly splendid 17th-century Hôtel Chambellan, from whose courtyard a spiral stone staircase leads up to remarkable vaulting.

Behind Église Notre Dame, the 17th- century Hôtel de Vogüé is renowned for the ornate carvings around its exquisitely proportioned Renaissance courtyard. It's worth walking through the pink stone archway for a peek. Figures of an owl and a cat perch high atop the roof of the 15th-century Maison Millière, which was a setting in the 1990 film Cyrano de Bergerac with Gérard Depardieu.