Exploring Northern France: Dijon

I’m sharing more today from trip to Northern France! After first visiting Reims, we went to Dijon.

The food was excellent (as it was everywhere in France, but especially at Loiseau des Ducs), and the food shopping was excellent too. The big marketplace we visited was bustling, and everything looked so fresh!

Of course, you have to have Dijon mustard when in Dijon.

And more wine! More vineyards! This time, they’re producing Burgundies.

As we explored, it’s hard not to notice that everything is more charming in France. Take this perfectly adorable orange bicycle, in front of a perfectly lovely doorway, for example.

See also: a perfectly blue vintage car, in front of a perfectly lovely lunch spot.

Carol, Dave, and Jordan climbed the Tour Philippe le Bon, for a view of the town. It’s 150 feet high, and after climbing to the top of Reims Cathedral the day before, my six-months-pregnant belly and me were out. Instead, I went by myself to the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, which was just down the street from our hotel. I mean this in the best possible way — because I really liked it — the first floor was a little creepy. It was empty (though more people did filter through as I was there longer), and the first floor starts out with wax figures wearing period clothing, staged in sets, with French phrases in whimsical calligraphy floating across the glass displays of disembodied hands and other body parts.

I was super into it. The second floor was equally interesting, albeit it in a less creepy, more conventional way. There were various recreations of old-fashioned shops.

For a foolproof way to see the sights in Dijon, follow the Owl’s Trail. The Dijon Office of Tourism has maps with more information too, and you can follow short or long loops of the trail to see the historic city. And don’t forget to find the owl (La Chouette) on the corner of the Notre Dame in Dijon — rub it with your left hand and make a wish!