10 largest cities in France
Paris
Marseilles
Lyon
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Nice
Nantes
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Orleans
Reims
Avignon
Dijon is a French commune, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department
and capital of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It is located
between the Paris basin and the Rhône basin, on the
Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean axis, 310 kilometers south-east of Paris
and 190 kilometers north of Lyon.
Its inhabitants, called the
Dijonnais, numbered 156,920 in 2017. The urban unit, which for its
part had 245,875 inhabitants, is the first agglomeration of the
region in terms of number of inhabitants. The city is at the center
of an intercommunality, Dijon Métropole, comprising 23
municipalities and 253,638 inhabitants and an urban area of
387,382 inhabitants.
Historical capital of the Duchy of
Burgundy, city of a hundred spiers under the Ancien Régime, heir to
a rich historical and architectural heritage, Dijon is a tourist
city whose appeal is reinforced by the gastronomic reputation of the
region. The historic center of the city is the second component of
the climates of the Burgundy vineyards, registered since July 4,
2015 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
City of congresses, the
Burgundian capital is also a green city with an important tertiary
sector, as well as a regional economic center with a diversified
fabric, with a traditional agrifood center (Dijon mustard, Dijon and
kir crème de cassis, gingerbread , Lanvin chocolate, etc.) and a
renowned pharmaceutical sector.
By car
Dijon is served by highways:
from Paris by the A6
then the A38;
from Lyon or Metz / Nancy by the A31;
from
Besançon by the A39.
By train
Dijon is well served by the TGV; it only takes 1 hour
40 minutes to come from Paris (Gare de Lyon). Travel times will be
shortened in the years to come. If you want to travel economically,
take the normal train (TER, Corail), but it will take 3 hours. In
addition, the station is very well served by trains from provincial
towns: it takes 2 hours 15 minutes to come from Nancy, 1 hour 40
minutes from Lyon, 1 hour from Besançon.
On a boat
Dijon
Marina - Boats can arrive in Dijon via the Burgundy Canal: the city
has a marina. This is the old commercial port, inaugurated in 1832.
By plane
Dijon-Bourgogne Airport - The medium-sized Dijon
Bourgogne airport is no longer served by regular lines.
The
nearest operational airport is Dole Jura.