Dijon (France)

Dijon city is located in eastern France, in a plain drained by two converging rivers - Suzon (crossing it north to south, mostly underground) and Ouche (on the city's southern side). Dijon is the capital of Cote-d'Or departement and also of the French region Bourgogne-Franche-Comte. The city covers a total area of 40 km2 (16 mi2) and has population of around 155,000.

The earliest archaeological finds within city limits date to the Neolithic period. Later, Dijon became a Roman settlement called Divio, situated on the road out of Lyon to Paris. From the early 11th until the late-15th centuries the province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy and the city was a place of tremendous power and wealth, one of the greatest European centers of learning, science and art. 

The city of Dijon has retained various architectural styles from a lot of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic, Renaissance. Many still-inhabited houses in the central district date from the 18th century and earlier. The architecture of Dijon is distinguished by Burgundian polychrome roofs (toits bourguignons) made of tiles glazed in green, yellow, black and terracotta and arranged in geometric patterns. The city has a large number of churches, such as Notre Dame de Dijon, Saint Michel, Saint Philibert and Dijon Cathedral, dedicated to apocryphal Saint Benignus, which crypt is more than 1,000 years old. 

Every year in autumn Dijon holds the International and Gastronomic Fair. With more than 200,000 visitors and 500 exhibitors per year, it is one of the 10 most important French fairs. Every 3 years Dijon is also home to the famous international flower show Florissimo. The city is famous with the Dijon mustard (since 1856). The historical downtown Dijon became UNESCO Site in 2015.

From Dijon, cruise passengers are offered bus tours to Chateau de Longecourt en Plaine (13th-century built fortified mansion / castle with gardens).