Around Dijon - France in Two Parts: Burgundy and then south - CycleBlaze

October 11, 2011 to October 13, 2011

Around Dijon

Map for Part 1: Dijon to Beaune
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WEATHER: Mostly cloudy

Breakfast in the comfortable dining area of Evasion Loft.
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On Tuesday morning, after another good breakfast, we cycled to the busy Lyon train station for our 1 1/2 hour journey to Dijon. The Lyon station is great for bikes as there are ramps up to every platform. Because we had inadvertently booked a TGV train (which does not allow bicycles) we had to fold our Bike Fridays and zip them into their traveling bags. The train was not crowded, and we had good views of the countryside as we ate our lunchtime baguettes.

The Hotel B&B Dijon Centre was perfectly located for exploring the city and a very good value. Our room was small, but comfortable, with wifi and quite a decent buffet breakfast. We spent two days walking all around old Dijon, and learning a lot about the area at three museums: the Beaux Arts, the archaeological museum, and especially the Museum of Burgundian life with full-size models of rooms in houses as well as shops from several hundred years ago. We learned all about Dijon mustard production, and sampled various varieties at the Maille mustard shop nearby. Although we didn't cycle either day, we felt our time in Dijon was good preparation for our upcoming ten day loop around Burgundy. The weather had been mostly cloudy since we had arrived in France, but we were pleased to note that the forecast for the next few days was for sunshine.

The palace of the dukes of Burgundy. The Beaux-Arts museum is to the right in the building out of the picture.
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Typical street in old Dijon, but with un-typical roof tiles.
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Impressive arches in the interesting archeological museum.
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Today's ride: 4 km (2 miles)
Total: 26 km (16 miles)

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