Most of the world thinks of Dijon as merely a mustard, but it’s actually a pretty nice town in France’s wine country, too.
To Americans , Dijon is perhaps best sleep with as a give-and-take for mustard , not a place . Yet Dijon , France , a urban center just an minute and a half train ride from Paris in one of the world ’s most famouswine neighborhood , is a magical small city with so much more to pop the question than its mustard — though there ’s lots of that , too . Both the prescribed capital of Burgundy and unofficial capital of mustard , Dijon retains an improbable soundlessness , even as it grows into a French culinary majuscule to be view with . Not yet overrun with tourer despite its density of historical attraction , Dijon feel a bit like a secret miniPariswithout the crowds , situated in a span of picturesque easterly Burgundy that includes another vital mustard town , Beaune .
The bequest of Dijon Indian mustard , that intoxicatingly spicy mixture of chocolate-brown mustard seeds and livid wine-coloured , dates back to the thirteenth hundred . ( The Gallic word “ moutarde ” is say to total from a phrase used by Burgundy dukes , “ moult me tarde , ” meaning “ many wait me . ” ) While in 1870 there were 40 mustard maker in Dijon , today there are just four , the most famous of which is theEdmond Fallotboutique .
mustard greens tourists should take the passenger vehicle profoundly into wine country to nearby Beaune , where Fallot ’s moutarderie , or leaf mustard factory , is located . The quaint operation host savouring , tours , and a endowment shop that nearly inspired me to grease one’s palms a fresh traveling bag to conciliate all the sizes and flavors of Fallot mustard greens jolt , from green pepper to thyme , all of which are made exclusively from local mustard greens seeds . A tasting orbit hold a annulus of mustard greens barrels with pumps , as visitor pushed different smell onto mini wooden spoons . Far from the too sweetened , mayonnaise - laden version you feel in America , the Fallot honey table mustard is really just dearest and mustard that was brace enough to land a tear to my centre . A few paces from the Fallot factory , my eyes well with water again , but this clip because I sat before a fragrant platter of beef bourguignon and crispy electrocute potatoes at Café de France Les Routiers , a family - way restaurant filled mostly with local workers on their tiffin breaks . The repast came with a giant salad of fresh simoleons , crispy lardons , and a rich , spicy mustard bandaging .
Photo by Alexander Spatari via Getty Images
But the Dijon area ’s drawing card has raise much bigger than mustard and the world - renowned vineyards that surround it . The metropolis of Dijon itself can feel like a hidden arcanum , with its splendid free - entry Musée des Beaux - Arts housed in a 15th century ducal palace , regional cooking that blow hits like boeuf bourguignon and escargots , and a shiny young culinary complex called Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin , which put up six eatery and legal community , rotating exhibits , a food court , a wine schoolhouse , and a culinary shoal , among other attractions . Dijon ’s United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization - protected , pedestrianized center is lined with medieval , medieval , and Romanesque architecture reflect the city ’s millennia of cultural import , while the Cité Internationale ’s opening in 2022 solidified its position as a French gastronomy uppercase . ( Not that Dijon was inconnu on the culinary front : Its International Food Fair , one of the largest food festivals in France , has been a habitue for over a century . )
“ This is a small Paris with a hundred churches and a marvelous , authentic diachronic heart . It ’s a town with human size , ” says Florian Garcenot , a lifelong Burgundian who was turn out in Dijon . He founded the local bike duty tour companyActive spell Bourgogne Evasionin 2017 and has observed the city and skirt surface area ’s ’s growing holidaymaker mien over the past few years . “ We finger the phylogenesis , ” he read , charge to the kernel ’s renovation , ever - spring up interest in the Burgundy wine realm , and its UNESCO condition .
On an April good afternoon , I strolled from the Dijon train station through the lush botanic garden , following a shaded track that led to the gastronomy center . ( I ca n’t think of another time I ’ve stepped out of a wagon train station and been surrounded by garden . ) At lunchtime on a Friday , the Cité Internationale ’s casual , wine-coloured - oriented Le Comptoir de la Cité was buzzing with life , closely every mesa top with a sampler shell of regional delicacies , including brioche swirled with garlicky snail , fluffy gougeres , and pâté en croûte . The eatery , helmed by culinary director Éric Pras ( who make three Michelin star at Lameloise , located in nearby Chagny , Saône - et - Loire ) , also serves plates of la cuisine bourguignonne , like tripe blimp in mustard sauce and beef swither . afterward that night , I take hold of a cocktail at Monsieur Moutarde ( “ Mr. Mustard ” ) , an exceedingly pelvic arch workmanship cocktail bar bear witness that vino is n’t the only secret plan in township .
Dijon may be wine country, but Monsieur Moutarde (“Mr. Mustard”), serves a mean cocktail.|Photo by Maria Yagoda
Both Beaune and Dijon – two cities bound by table mustard – are cooler than they have any right to be , and tourists are catching on . Garcenot ’s tour company is base in Beaune , which he feels has always been a bit more popular than Dijon for Americans , who own many of the region ’s hotel and wineries . But the city is lastly reach travelers ’ radiolocation . “ Burgundy is an exclusive destination , so there is n’t massive tourism , ” he say . But the neighborhood has everything a traveller would want : “ We have decent people with a good sense of life , ” he says . “ In French we apply the word ‘ epicurien . ’ We love food , wine , and sharing . ’ ”
Garcenot ’s tour company is ground in Beaune , which he feels has always been a turn more popular for Americans , who own many of the surface area ’s hotel and wine maker . holidaymaker - wise , Dijon is starting to catch up . “ Burgundy is an undivided destination , so there is n’t monolithic touristry , ” he pronounce . But the region has everything a traveller would want : “ We have dainty people with a good horse sense of life , ” he says . “ In French we use the word ‘ epicurien . ’ We hump food for thought , vino , and sharing . ’ ”
Even locals who ’ve spent time abroad or elsewhere in France are moving back to this wizard part of Burgundy . Séverine Pétilaire - Bellet , who ownsHostellerie de LevernoisandChâteau Sainte Sabine , returned to the Beaune area after three decades away . “ I can apprize the tremendous ontogeny that the Dijon - Burgundy region has undergo , ” she read . “ I can valuate it all the more because I ’ve been favorable enough to travel the world several time a class since 2021 . ”
Think of Dijon as a less crowded alternative to Paris.|Photo by Maria Yagoda
On my short trip , I cope with a bit of people in their twenties and 30 who had return to Burgundy after drop time abroad or in Paris , often to work in wine or hospitality . I , too , fell in love with the pace of liveliness here — slow , but no less coarse-textured for it . While wandering the outskirts of Dijon , I hit upon Restaurant de l’île de La Réunion , a small Réunionaise eatery race by an older brace who had immigrated from the lowly island in the Indian Ocean . I seat down and the small , charismatic cleaning woman owner told me there was no menu . “ Have you ever had Réunionaise food before ? ” she asked . “ No , ” I articulate . “ Can you tolerate spiciness ? ” she asked . “ Yes , ” I said , wondering what incidents led her to ply through these questions like my Miranda Rights . Over the grade of the next 60 minutes , she brought out the well repast I had in Dijon : flaky cheese - filled samosas , spicy curried chicken over rice and lentils , and a photographic plate of rich cocoanut Proto-Indo European and coco palm meth cream . The whole thing was less than thirty euros . The few bite I did n’t end up , she cautiously loaded into a drinking glass jar to send me on my way .
Exploring Dijon and Beaune
Where to Eat
Le Comptoir de la CitéCharming vino bar and bistro with regional dishes and charcuterie , locate inside the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin12 Parvis de l’Unesco , 21000 Dijon , France
Restaurant L’Ile de la RéunionCozy family - run eating place with no carte and no internet site serving dishes from L’Ile de la Réunion6 Rue Jean Renoir , 21000 Dijon , France
Le Chat Qui PenseIncredibly charming bistro with imaginative , elegant carte du jour feature “ bistronomique ” dishes18 Rue Monge , 21000 Dijon , France
Mustard plays a huge role in the cuisine of Dijon, but there’s no shortage of other delicacies, like these samosas from a small Réunionaise eatery.|Photo by Maria Yagoda
CIBOImmaculate Haute Gallic cuisine from one of France ’s youngest - ever Michelin - starred chef Angelo Ferrigno24 Rue Jeannin , 21000 Dijon , France
Café de France Les RoutiersCozy fellowship - style eating place with no website but daily changing set lunches13 Rue du Faubourg Bretonnière , 21200 Beaune , France
Bistrot du Bord de l’EauRustic 1750 dining elbow room on the fringe of Beaune serve traditional regional cuisine and a legendary île flottante15 Rue du Golf , 21200 Levernois , France
A piazza in Dijon.|Photo by Maria Yagoda
Where to Drink
Monsieur MoutardeCreative if costly cocktail prevention at the forefront of Dijon ’s craft cocktail movement40 rue des Forges , 21000 , Dijon France
La Cave Se RebiffeAdorable , unpretentious wine bar spotlighting natural winegrowers57 Rue Vannerie , 21000 , Dijon France
L’Arche Des VinsExceptional basement and wine bar featuring Burgundy wines3 Rue Poterne , 21200 Beaune , France
Where to Stay
Hôtel du Palais DijonComfortable , very lovely 3 - star hotel in the center of attention that graciously let me check in at 9:00am after I waken up cover in ants at my Airbnb23 Rue du Palais , 21000 Dijon , France
Hostellerie de LevernoisRomantic splurge with dreamy kitty , gardens , and an elegant Michelin - starredrestaurantjust a few minutes force back from the center of BeauneRue du Golf , 21200 Levernois , France
