If you take a day trip from Dijon to Beaune, this brasserie is worth your while.
Mussels, mussels and nothing more than mussels. Very good and original sauces. Open for lunch 12-2 and then dinner 4-10:30. Sunday 12-2 only and closed on Monday.
When in Dijon and paying homage to all the goodness of the region\\\'s mustard this is a must stop.
The Owl Trail guides you to 22 of Dijon's best sites in the city center.
By Sarah–
Dijon is only an hour and forty minutes from Paris and is a great respite from the busy city. This city that was once a rich capital of art and culture has plenty to do and see and without the expensive price tags of Paris.We left Paris Wednesday morning and took the train out of Gare de Lyon straight into Dijon. The tickets were purchased the day of the trip, although we could have possibly found them a bit less expensive had we planned further in advance. When we first started to look we found one way tickets for just over 30 euros. That makes the transport around 60, although as I stated for the day off we ended up paying 90 euros round trip per person.
As for accommodation, we found Dijon-rentahome.com lists many quality apartments throughout Dijon. We selected a two bedroom on Rue Verrerie and found the location to be perfect. The apartment was extremely comfortable and affordable. It is well equipped with everything you need for a few days to a few weeks. For the four nights we ended up paying 440. The owners Beatrice and Max have created a wonderful atmosphere and are a great source for local information. The neighborhood was central and rich with a lot of fun discoveries such as a wonderful boulangerie and numerous shops. The street where our apartment was located is called L’Bout d’la Rue (52, rue Verrerie, 03.80.71.37.92) which had a lovely mussels restaurant (yes nothing but mussels in many varieties of sauce). We tried the crepe restaurant across the street, but believe it or now we needed reservations and it was booked. Finally, although we did not try it, around the corner looks to be an interesting cooking school named Atelier des Chefs.com. The cooking school will do courses in English and seem very accommodating.
When we arrived in Dijon we made a quick stop at the helpful Tourist Office and tried a place called Le Concorde. Located at 2, Place Darcy this typical French brasserie that is perfect for a drink and bathroom stop. We weren’t hungry so we didn’t sample the food but if you are hungry the plate of the day always comes recommended. The day we were there it was roast beef and mashed potatoes for only 9 euro! A steal.
There is a plenty to do in Dijon. We found the city planned tour where you follow a path marked by the city good luck charm, the owl, with an accompanying book. The tour takes you around the city with local history and interesting facts. We slowly walked along the clearly marked path with a few stops into churches and cafes and had a pleasant afternoon. Well worth your time is a visit to this hat shop which was amazing to all of us – Chapellerie Bruyas (65, rue des Godrans, 21000 Dijon, 0380304923). You should also visit the Boutique Maille at 32 rue de la Liberté. Maille is the famous mustard brand that comes from Dijon and as you would expect they have a pretty nice shop set up displaying all the history of the brand and plenty of opportunities to buy specialized mustard jars and other accessories.
Worth your time is a day trip out to Beaune. We took a train around 11h, returning 
at 16h. The town is a quaint, picturesque, small town France at its best – once you are inside the walls. We walked the town, visited the wine museum and did a great lunch. If you are a fan of wine this is town for you. Tons of tasting locations and, if a bit rustic, an interesting wine museum. For the approximate 6 euros entry you find out all kind of remarkable facts. If you are not a huge wine enthusiast we would recommend you skip it. Towards the end of the tour we did lunch at Le Galion (5 place Ziem, 21200 Beaune, 03.80.22.65.21). We had salad with warmed camembert, tuna tartar salad, and beef bourgogne. It was a beautiful tranquil square, tasty marvelously presented food for a variety of pallets, and helpful wait staff. If you visit walk the town, check out the ramparts and go to a few of the wine tasting establishments.
In Dijon, we sampled some good restaurants but highly recommend a visit to the local market called Les Halles. It runs Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and is a spectacle of French cuisine. The architecture of the building is interesting as it was designed by Gustave Eiffel. For lunch (and unplanned dinner) we purchased pungent cheeses, wonderful pates, sausage, fresh fruit, veggies (asparagus of the woods which was a discovery for us) and a few bottles of wine (a great wine shop is La Carte des Vins, 1 rue Musette, 21000 Dijon, 0380304501, www.achat-dijon.com).
If you do not have the space for eating your own purchases or just want a night out try a walk down Rue Admiral Roussin. There are 4-5 different restaurants that are good and you can’t make a wrong choice, from Italian to crepes to local French food. We tried the Italian restaurant and Le Petit Roi de la Lune (28, rue Admiral Roussin, Dijon, 0380498993). All of the choices were excellent and the service helpful.
One of the highlights of the trip was a tour of the region provided by Max (owner of the apartment). We visited a number of wineries, received personal tours and tutelage about the region, ate a typically delicious Burgundian meal and ended with a short tour of the canals where Beatrice and Max call home. Although not ready to rent when we were there was a barge docked near their home. If you want to do the Burgundy area at a leisurely pace you might also think about renting it out for a short stay.
All in all our visit to Dijon was excellent. The weather turn out perfectly, we walked a ton and then made up for it by eating and drinking the local specialties!
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