There are three [url=http://www.visitdijon.com/en/dijon_office_de_tourisme.htm]tourist offices[/url] in the city:
* At the train station (on the right when getting out of the station):
** April to September: Monday to Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Sundays and public holidays 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
** October to March: Monday to Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Sundays and public holidays: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
* Behind the "Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne" (11 rue des Forges):
** April to September: Monday to Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Sundays and public holidays: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
** October to March: Monday to Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., Sundays and public holidays: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
* There is another one at the well of Moses.
They have free maps of the downtown area, including a map and guide for the self-guided walking tour of Dijon. The walking tour uses a small brass pavement marker with an owl design to note the path along the sidewalks of Dijon. Larger numbered owl markers correspond to different stops on the tour, and the guide pamphlet will have descriptions of the art, history and architecture of that stop.
The train à grande vitesse (TGV) speeds travellers from Paris (only 100 min) and other major French cities to Dijon. There are also regular train services to a variety of destinations, including, but not restricted to, [wiki=1007e1b7f894dfbf72a0eaa80f3bc57e]Italy[/wiki] ([wiki=437d461430ecc08e2d51abbcf5ce9b3c]Milan[/wiki], [wiki=42dc29389d6318f0fe5b21396ce73b22]Turin[/wiki], [wiki=bbf5e1be3178100ef6a81c2e4ba0304e]Florence[/wiki] and [wiki=1f49f770adc6c84629f50ce3ca2a2109]Rome[/wiki] among them), [wiki=3ad08396dc5afa78f34f548eea3c1d64]Switzerland[/wiki], [wiki=06630c890abadde9228ea818ce52b621]Luxembourg[/wiki] and [wiki=6c1674d14bf5f95742f572cddb0641a7]Belgium[/wiki].
There is also a [url=http://www.region-bourgogne.fr/Aller-retour-Dijon-Paris-a-15-euros-le-week-end,610,4082,intl:en]special return ticket[/url] on the TER from Paris (Train Express Régional) that is slow (3 h) but costs only €18, and lets you spend 24hg in Dijon, including a saturday night. The train departs from Paris-Bercy on saturdays at 3.20 pm, arriving in Dijon at 6.14 pm, the return departs from Dijon on Sundays at 7:46 p.m., arriving in Paris-Bercy at 10:44 p.m. You can buy this at station ticket offices in Paris Bercy train station or Paris Gare de Lyon only. Similar trains leave Dijon Saturday morning for Paris and return in the evening.
There is an [url=http://www.dijon.aeroport.fr/content?id=29]airport[/url] in Dijon. However, it only offers small planes from and to Bordeaux, Toulouse and Nantes, operated by [url=http://www.easternairways.fr/]Eastern airways[/url], five days a week, only one flight each day.
There are a few TGV high-speed trains directly from the center of Dijon to Paris CDG airport; otherwise, Air France operates busses from CDG to Paris Gare de Lyon from which there are frequent TGV trains to Dijon.
[url=http://www.eurolines.fr/FRA/contacts/nos-bureaux/fr-dijon/]Eurolines[/url] connects Dijon to some major European cities, mostly outside of France.
Dijon is well connected to the freeway and highways networks, where you can drive cars. Note that traffic is limited in the centre of the city, so you will probably want to park your car for the duration of your visit, except to access the Well of Moses, which is on the outskirts of the city.
For most purposes, walking is the best way to get around the center of the city. A comprehensive network of buses covers farther local destinations.
If you want to get a bit outside of the downtown (like to get to the well of Moses) it's often easier and faster to use a bicycle.
* Similar to the Vélib service in Paris, Vélodi is a bike loan service. There is bike stands throughout the city, allowing you to pick a bike and then leave it in another stand. You have to pay at a stand (with credit card, you must have at least €150 on your credit card account as that amount will be charged unless you return the bike in the next 24 h) €1 for 7 days, and then you'll be charged €0.50 for each 30 min of bike use (the first 30 min are free), and it gets more expensive after 2 h of use. Not the best idea if you want to visit the city with a bike, but still a good deal to get back home late at night, but be sure to check where's the nearest stand you can use as they are not available on the outskirts of the city.
* Simpler and cheaper is the bike rental offered by this non-profit association who is a self-repair bicycle workshop, but they also rent bikes to non-members. It's €6.50 for the day or €11 for a week-end.
* If you're here on a long term basis, there is even another service called [url=http://www.divia.fr/531-DiviaVelo.html]DiviaVélo[/url] (€15 for one month).
The city offers the Diviaciti, a free, frequent shuttle bus for visitors that connects many of the downtown destinations in a loop, along with several parking areas. But be wary that the shuttle is only a minibus and is often congested with locals.
If you happen to arrive by train, take note that the orientation maps can be a bit misleading. For some reason, maps are oriented with west, rather than north, in the upward position.
The owl (la chouette) is the icon of Dijon, sculpted on the side of the Notre-Dame church, perhaps as early as the 16th century, but mentioned for the first time in the 18th century. The story says it can grant you a wish when you touch it with your left hand when passing it from left to right.
* Place François Rude (also known as Place du Bareuzai) is a central place with beautiful traditional houses, a fountain with a sculpture, with an old carousel, and a lot of cafés and bars. Popular among locals on summer days.
The Ducal Palace (Palais Ducal), a beautiful building, has an important museum collection containing priceless treasures and art from Roman times through contemporary art. If you visit nothing else in Dijon, visit this museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts). Like almost all museums in Dijon, it is free.
* The Philippe Le Bon tower in the Ducal Palace. You can climb its 316 steps to have a view on Dijon. Though it will cost you €3.00 and it is limited to 19 people, only at restricted hours for security reasons.
* Palais de Justice (rue du Palais) built in the 16th century.
* Auditorium (modern).
* Les Halles is an indoor market.
Most museums are free for everyone. English and french audio guide is available most of the time.
* The Musée des Beaux-Arts is an art museum, located in the Palais Ducal and has a permanent exhibition of medieval art. On the upper floor, there are lots of paintings by local artists and Flemish painters. The museum sometimes hosts temporary exhibitions of modern art. The most famous part of the museum is the Guard Room with tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy. On the last floor there is more recent art including Picasso, Monet and Courbet as well as more recent work.
* Museum d'histoire naturelle (in the Arquebuse gardens), hosts permanent exhibitions on animals, mummies, etc.
* Pavillon de Raines in the Arquebuse gardens hosts temporary exhibitions on scientific topics, animals, etc.
* The planetarium in the Arquebuse gardens have different showings on astronomy.
* Musée de la vie bourguignonne.
Jardin Darcy (on the Darcy place) is a beautiful park near the station and it's a great place to have a rest and to see how French people enjoy themselves. (But before you sit down on a bench, you should make sure that there are no pigeons on a branch above you). You can see the famous white bear of François Pompon (although this one is a replica made by Henri Martinet; the original is at the Orsay museum in Paris).
* The Arquebuse is a large garden, situated just below the train station, built in the 18th century on this place where Arquebuse knights met in 15th century. It contains the botanic gardens (Jardin Botanique), the museum d'histoire naturelle, the planetarium and the pavillon de Raines.
[wiki=e9da33d8b5f37d1f705ffdcb4cca2232]Beaune[/wiki] is a beautiful town with many wineries and excellent examples of typical regional architecture. In particular make sure you see the Hôtel-Dieu.
Small restaurant at the end of a ruelle. Cozy and convivial, decorated with kitsch old french ep records like Claude François, you'll be able to order very big plates based on potato, salad and cheese around an apéro maison. Quite cheap but good luck to eat all your plate. But if you can't eat it all, they will give you a doggy bag. Be sure to call before coming, as the restaurant is small and sometimes crowded on saturday evenings.
Very good and not expensive place to eat next to the market. Around 10 different dishes to pick from off of the menu. All of them quite quite good and authentic.Can get busy during lunch time. People that work there are very efficient and friendly.
*Nice and yet not expensive restaurant. Excellent quality, good deal of what you get/pay. They have "tous les midis" menu (all middays) at 10€ and "Formage Express" at 13.90€.
At nights Day specialty+Nice "Demi" red wine (french for "Half bottle", approx 4 large glasses)+Dessert at €40. Very nice service.
Hotel Le Jaquemart--1 star, no frills, but clean, quiet and very pleasant. A quad room is €70. The location cannot be beaten! In the centre of the antique, pedestrian area. Excellent boulangerie across the street and a nice, little restaurant (serving only mussels and pommes frites) down the street-- both great at what they do and good value.
Hotel Frantour des Ducs--3 star, €50-65 low season. Clean, centrally located at the end of the Rue de la Liberte.
Les Langrons [http://leslangrons.com/en/] A traditional stone-built cottage in the wineyards. 45 mins drive to Dijon. Ideal for a relaxing wine and dine holiday in a nice countryside. Weekly rental from 400 EUR/double room.