n the previous post I mentioned that I went on a short trip to the north of Paris by myself (leaving my wife to help babysit the grandchildren in the city). The next day I took an impromptu trip to the Mustard Capital of the World, Dijon; this time with my wife.
Though it was a long journey, we made a day trip out of it. France has an amazing train system of very fast trains leaving from a number of stations in Paris. We got up early and took the subway to the Gare de Lyon train station, where we boarded a train that at times was traveling nearly 200 miles per hour to our destination. I bought the train tickets the day before at the Chantilly train station, because it was far less crowded than the stations in Paris, and I did not want to chance buying them the morning of the trip. That night, when I got back to Paris, I also booked through GetYourGuide (I had had success online with them before) a full-day private tour (with an English-speaking guide) of the world-famous Burgundy wine region; including Dijon and Beaune. We got confirmation from GYG that we were booked and that we would receive an email from our local guide. The tour was expensive, but it was the only thing available on short notice and I had experienced that outside of Paris (with my almost nonexistent French) getting to see and do what you want efficiently can be problematic.
Unfortunately for us, that email never came. So, as we were approaching Dijon Station, I gave the local guide a call. The person who answered the phone could not speak English and got someone else to try to help. He said they never got the booking (even though I had a confirmation number) and he was unable to help us. He hung up, and I was worried we would never get our money back. Though it took a little more time, I was able to speak on the phone to an agent at GYG and she explained that there was a glitch and she would check into it and get back to me. She quickly investigated and responded still before we arrived at the station. She apologized for the inconvenience, while assuring me that the money would be returned within five business days. (It took less.)
The weather was nice when we arrived in Dijon. The station was small, but just outside the exit there was a tourist information center. The young lady greeted us with a cheerful, bon jour, looking pleased to have someone to help. I asked in French if she spoke English. She responded with an even bigger smile in perfect American English that she would be happy to help us. She had worked for a few years as an au pair in northern Virginia near our previous home there. She gave us confidence that there was plenty to do in Dijon (where she was born and raised) within walking distance and circled a few of her favorite spots on the map. She asked us if we would like her to book a taxi for a late afternoon trip to one of the nearest wineries and she made all the arrangements. We had a good time walking around the historic town. We had the good fortune to walk into a church where a choir was practicing for an upcoming concert and they were truly outstanding, complemented by the acoustics of the building. We then went to The Palace of the Dukes and States of Burgundy, where they had a free art museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon). We stopped at a few shops including places to taste various types of mustard. Finally we made our way to the newly opened Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin, where we had lunch before meeting our driver for the short trip to The Château de Marsannay. After our tour of the Château, our driver returned and brought us back to La Gastronomie to taste more mustards, wines, and other traditional foods of the region where we spent the rest of our time in Dijon before the short walk back to the station to catch our train returning to Paris.
Click here for photos from the day. Dijon really deserves more time than we had, but we came mostly to be with family. We had places to be and people to see. And if you are wondering, Yes I do like mustard–even more now that I have been to Dijon! Hopefully we will make it to Beaune and more of the Burgundy region in the future.