I had four hours in Dijon on a little layover trip on my way back to Paris from Strasbourg. The plan was lunch and a little walk about. Within the first 5 minutes I was trying to convince Francois to take over his boss’s job so we could move there. There’s something about the city. Francois described it as one of those little French villages you remember from classic films. I don’t know if that was it or if it was just the charm or rooftops accented with colorful yellow tiles that got me. So after lunch at l’Impressioniste, which I’m not sure if it was really the best place to go but it was good, I walked and walked and took pictures and walked some more. No map. No particular direction. Just an amble with my jaw gaping open at every turn. Around one bend was a gorgeous façade made from expertly placed bricks and crisscrossed with wood beams. And at the end of a street- a church with architecture I’d never seen before- round columns peppered with statues reaching toward the sky. A huge surprise was the enormous square I just happened upon- bordered on one side by a palace, and on the other cute restaurants with terraces and white umbrellas. Another place was so jumbled with a huge fountain, statue, and merry-go-round that I bet the crowds would be insane in the summer months- but it was Monday and the city was super quiet and most things closed.

I wish I’d planned my trip to the train station a little earlier because juste á côte was a botanical garden that I went to while slightly frantically trying to find the entrance to the train station- which I saw through a rose garden.

In conclusion (I never end things like that but it just felt right), I don’t really have any recommendations for the city besides just GO! And maybe make it a day other than Monday or Sunday so things will be open.