Dijon and Beaune in a day
Plans for one day in Dijon and Beaune: the covered market of Les Halles, the church of Notre-Dame with the lucky stone owl and the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy with its Fine Arts Museum in Dijon, then the wine road to the Château du Clos de Vougeot and on to Beaune for its collegiate church and the glazed-tile roofs of the Hospices. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 1 days
Dijon and Beaune in 1 day
Day 1
Les Halles de Dijon (covered market)
Iron-and-glass covered market of the nineteenth century, full of Burgundy cheeses, mustard, snails and charcuterie on market mornings.
Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon and the Owl (la Chouette)
Thirteenth-century Gothic church with rows of gargoyles and a Jacquemart clock; touch the small stone owl on its side wall for luck.
Palace of the Dukes and Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon)
Seat of the Valois dukes of Burgundy, now the town hall and a free fine arts museum with the dukes' carved tombs.
Route des Grands Crus: Château du Clos de Vougeot
The Cistercian monks' walled vineyard on the Côte de Nuits wine road, with a château and huge medieval wine presses to visit.
Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Beaune
Romanesque collegiate church in the heart of Beaune, known for its fifteenth-century tapestries of the Life of the Virgin.
Hospices de Beaune (Hôtel-Dieu)
Fifteenth-century charity hospital with patterned glazed-tile roofs, a great hall of curtained beds and Rogier van der Weyden's Last Judgement.
When to go to Dijon and Beaune
Spring and early autumn are pleasant for walking both towns, and the grape harvest in the Côte d'Or vineyards usually falls in September. Summers are warm and winters cold and grey. The Hospices de Beaune wine auction, on the third Sunday of November, fills Beaune with crowds for the weekend.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Dijon and Beaune on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Dijon and Beaune on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Dijon and Beaune on GetYourGuide
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for France from Airalo
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Tips for Dijon and Beaune
- A car makes this plan work: the Clos de Vougeot is on the wine road about 25 minutes from either town; without one, take the train between Dijon and Beaune (about 25 minutes) and skip it.
- The Fine Arts Museum in the Palace of the Dukes is free and closed on Tuesdays; the climb up the Tower of Philip the Good is a guided visit at set times.
- Les Halles de Dijon is a morning market on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; come early, as the stalls pack up around lunchtime.
- Follow the bronze owl arrows set in Dijon's pavements: the Owl's Trail links the old town's sights on foot.
- The Hospices de Beaune open every day; many cellars in Beaune's old town offer tastings, and booking ahead is wise at weekends.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon and the Owl (la Chouette): Benh LIEU SONG, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Beaune: Timothee Boissy-Ganivet, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Hospices de Beaune (Hôtel-Dieu): Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Les Halles de Dijon (covered market): Николай Максимович, CC BY 3.0
- Palace of the Dukes and Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon): Christophe.Finot, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Route des Grands Crus: Château du Clos de Vougeot: Jebulon, CC BY-SA 3.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
