Dijon, France
Self Catering Dijon Holiday Homes, Cottages and Gites to rent
Dijon is found in eastern France in the Côte-d'Or department in the Burgundy region. A stay in a Dijon holiday cottage means a visit to a destination rich in culture, history and gastronomy! Dijon is both the capital of the department and region.
Dijon was spared the destruction of the Second World War. Therefore, many of the old buildings such as the half-timberedhouses dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries are undamaged. The city has retained varied architectural styles from the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance.
When you rent a holiday home in Dijon you’ll notice that its architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons - made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns.
A stay in a Dijon holiday gite also means the opportunity to visit a large number of churches, notably Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel, Dijon Cathedral, the crypt of which, dedicated to Saint Benignus, dates from 1,000 years ago. The church of Notre Dame is famous for both its art and architecture. Legend has it that one of its stone relief sculptures, an owl (la chouette) is a good-luck charm: visitors to the church touch the owl with their left hands to make a wish.
Dijon is home to many museums, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon in part of the Ducal Palace. Dijon has numerous other museums including: the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, the Musée d'Art Sacré, and the Musée Magnin.
While Dijon is famous for its mustard; the city is also well known for its crème de cassis used in the drink "Kir", a mixture of white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon Félix Kir.
A stay in self-catering accommodation in Dijon means being in close proximity to some of the best wine country in the world! Many superb vineyards producing vins d'appellation contrôlée, such as Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, are within 20 minutes of Dijon. The road from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, passes through an idyllic countryside of vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and 12th century churches.
Dijon is located approximately 300 km southeast of Paris, which takes about three hours by car along the motorways A38 and A6.
The Gare de Dijon-Ville is the main railway station, providing connection in one hour and 40 minutes by the TGV high-speed train to Paris-Gare de Lyon.
Eastern Airways has regular flights to Southampton from Dijon’s airport. Otherwise Lyon and Geneva airports have a large selection of scheduled, charter and low cost flights.