Friday, April 29, 2022 - Dijon, in case it rains

 The weather is promising rain today, making Dijon an attractive option for today's adventures. We'll take our raincoats and should it rain, there are museums and the indoor food market at Les Halles to keep us dry.

Dijon is only 37 km (about 22 miles), mostly on highway today. But once to the outskirts of Dijon, it took about 15 minutes to get into the center of the city. This is a true city with a population of about 150 000. From the 11th to the 15th century, Dijon was a center of wealth and power as the seat of the Dukes of Burgundy which made it also a center for the arts, science, and learning. Today, buildings in the city center reflect the  architecture of these centuries, meriting a designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. 

Google maps

First order of business was to find parking somewhere near the covered market. We found an underground ramp not far (we think) from our target market. Two small elevators later, we emerged in a small alley. By following people with shopping bags through another small alley, we found the market, which today (Friday) overflows into all the streets outside the market hall. 

And, miracle of miracles, right next to the entrance, Janis found a vendor selling Lucques olives. We hadn't intended to shop, but, I mean, you have to buy Lucques olives when you see them. And some pimento spread too. 

The Halles de Dijon were inspired by plans made by the Eiffel Company and finished in 1875. It houses 246 food vendors. Many more vendors of food, clothing, used goods, housewares, and even musical instruments fill the streets outside the 4 main entrances. 

The building is a large rectangular metal frame with glass walls and multiple entrances along each side.

 Inside is a paradise for market shoppers. Meat, fish, cheese, bakery, patisserie stalls are numerous, as are fresh fruit and vegetable stalls.

Bresse chickens are a speciality, considered the best tasting chickens in the world.

cheese

seafood

olives and spices

fruits and vegetables

We're late in the morning - the market closes at 12:30 - but the aisles are crowded with shoppers carrying bags or baskets or pushing the small grocery carts that is likely in the house of every French family. These wire-frame two-wheeled baskets with a waist-height handle usually sport some kind of canvas liner to keep food from falling through the frame. 

woman with a blue shopping cart

There is an etiquette to shopping a market as evidenced at many of the stalls where people line up for their turn. Janis noticed that some vendors had long lines while others had no line. We suspect the long lines are for superior goods, or perhaps for unusual items not carried by other vendors. 

We easily found duck breast and made a mental note of where to find it next time we come to Dijon. Dave found a jar of duck rillettes (shredded cooked duck to be spread on bread for apéros). As we strolled the last aisle, we saw Carpentras strawberries and a very good salesman. 

We bought them even though they were more than the grocery store charged. But it was so fun to talk to this vendor. He even offered the guys some wine from a bottle he had stashed behind the counter. Two glasses magically appeared which were sprayed and wiped with a towel before filling them with wine. It's fun encounters like these that make our trips to France magical. 

Clark, Dave, and the fruit and vegetable vendor

In the center of the market is a cafe/wine bar called La Buvette (snack bar). It's clearly popular as all the tables are filled. 

sign on the side of La Buvette

La Buvette café, in the center of the Dijon indoor market

Done at the market, Dave put our purchases in the car while we slowly moseyed up the street toward the tourist bureau which was open, miracle of miracles, since it was already past noon. 

Maps in hand, Dave started us on a walking tour of the old part of the city, which again had us on lots of wrong streets as the Michelin map isn't very detailed. But we see the sights the ordinary tourist never gets to see. The first street is a shopping street most notable (to us) for the large Galeries Lafayette department store and the Maille mustard shop. Maille developed what we know today as Dijon mustard in 1856 by adding verjuice to the recipe. Verjuice is an acidic juice of unripe grapes. Today, Chardonnay wine is used instead of verjuice. 

Dijon Mustard available here

Galeries Lafayette - Dijon

We needed to eat lunch and found our way to the plaza in front of the tourist bureau. Sunny and busy with wide stone benches, it's a good place to eat our sandwiches. 

Dave, Clark, and Janis at our lunch bench

We were in an area of pedestrian streets, but buses were allowed. These buses are all electric and free. If only we knew where they were going, it could be fun to ride them. 

electric bus in Dijon

On the same plaza where we ate lunch, we saw a row of rental electric bikes (although we didn't see anyone actually rent one). 

rental bikes

And there were several Uber Eats bicycle delivery men who whizzed by so fast, I couldn't get a photo. We also saw a bicycle postman delivering mail. Scooters are a big thing here, especially electric ones. They weave quickly in and out of the crowds of people on the plaza. 

Back into the streets of the old town, there are just so many old buildings to see - some half-timbered 15th century, others 18th century classic stone. Decorations in carved stone or wood abound. Streets are paved in very bumpy cobblestones. You would feel that you are in another century, except for the dress of the people around you. 

old buildings in old streets

stone carving

wood carving

We made our way to a public restroom. This one also has a cleaning cycle turning a 5 minute stop into a 10 minute test of patience. 

inside is a toilet and sink

locked during cleaning cycle

We made our way back to the town center via the Rue de la Chouette (Owl street). Owls were prominently displayed on walls, in windows, and on markings on the street pointing out a particularly interesting sight. 

plaques in the street where you should stop to look at an historic building

All leading to a carved owl in a niche of the church wall. This owl is supposed to give you good luck if you stroke its head with your left hand. Millions of people must have stroked this owl, because unless you were told, you would never recognize this as an owl. 

Good luck for Janis!

I later read that someone had taken a hammer to the owl, defacing it more than it had been by luck-seeking travelers.

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Espoir (Our Lady of Good Hope) is 13th century Gothic with later 15th century additions and 19th century restorations. 

view from the back of Notre Dame de Bon Espoir in Dijon

It's difficult to get far enough away from the church to get a photo of Notre Dame de Bon Espoir

It is known for its Madonna, an 11th or 12th century wood carving, one of the oldest in France. The Madonna had a baby Jesus, but that disappeared during the French Revolution. (The Madonna was saved because a parishioner took it and hid it at his house until the end of the Revolution.) 

11th century statue of Notre Dame de Bon Espoir

Likewise, the tympanum above the main doors was destroyed during the Revolution. 

There are only 5 lancet stained glass windows original to the church (13th century). New windows, including the rose windows, were created in the 19th century. 

19th century rose window

13th century lancet windows

Close-up of one of the lancet window panels

A beautiful tapestry now hangs under the organ. It is one of two such tapestries. The first now hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts. It celebrates the deliverance of Dijon, unharmed, from the Swiss after a ceremony where the statue was paraded  around Dijon on September 11, 1513. The second tapestry, now hanging in the church celebrates the deliverance of Dijon, again unharmed, from the Nazis and the arrival of French troops on September 11, 1945.

Outside, there are two amusing features to make you smile. One is the double row of gargoyles that stare down at you. 

looking up at a double row of decorative gargoyles

close up of two of the gargoyles on Notre Dame de Bon Espoir

The other is a figure called Jacquemart, an automaton who strikes the church bell on the hour. Later, figures were added for his "wife," Jacqueline, who also strikes the hour and for their two "children,'' Jacquelinet (a boy) and Jacquelinette (a girl) who strike the quarter hours. 

The Jacquemart bell

The final stop is the ducal palace. It's huge, mostly 17th and 18th century (although much older parts exist). While it was the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy and hence the center of government for Burgundy, the dukes themselves never actually lived in the palace. Today, it houses the fine arts museum, government offices, and the tourist bureau. It opens onto a wonderful plaza in classical style that invites one to linger in this open space. 

panorama of the ducal palace. It's too big to fit in one photo. Clark and Lynn

There are 3 of these fountains on this plaza. Just right for kids.

This carving inside the courtyard amused me.

The courtyard of the Ducal Palace, looking towards the Museum of Fine Arts.

The back side of the ducal palace

We managed to avoid the rain for the whole day, and just as we left Dijon, the rain began, so we drove home in the rain, smiling at our good timing and good luck. By the time we were ready to grill sausages for dinner, the rain had stopped. A perfect day in France.