Local Knowledge

Taxis

In Dijon, there’s a taxi rank at the railway station. Otherwise, book one through Taxis Radio Dijon (+33 (0)3 80 41 41 12) or your hotel.

Tipping culture

A service charge is normally added to your bill (service compris) in restaurants and cafés but it’s still customary to leave a small tip. For taxi drivers, add 10 percent to the metered charge.

Siesta and fiesta

Shops increasingly stay open all day in the bigger cities, but many still take a lunch break, and shut their doors on Sundays. Banks are open Monday to Friday, some on Saturdays. Many restaurants close after 2pm and reopen in the afternoon around 4pm. It’s also common for restaurants to shut on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Packing tips

A corkscrew.

Recommended reads

Long Ago in France: The Years in Dijon by MFK Fisher celebrates the region’s cuisine. The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox is a novel set in a small Burgundian village at the time of Napoleon.

Cuisine

Burgundy’s top restaurants use prized local ingredients, including Charolais beef and Grand Cru wines. Say Dijon, and you think mustard. Grey Poupon, the famous original, is now mass-produced by Kraft; it’s worth scouring Dijon’s delis for local blends. Celebrated dishes such as boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin are claimed by the region, and it’s an excellent place to order escargots. The Morvan area produces wonderful goat’s cheese.

Currency

Euro.

Time zone

GMT +1.

Dialling codes

Country code for France: 33. Dijon: 038.

Do go/don't go

ummers are hot and sunny; winters are cold and clear. Spring sees more rainfall but fewer crowds in the towns and cities. The oak and maple forests look spectacular in autumn, and the wine harvest takes place in September and October.