Dijon was the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy, who in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were richer than many kings, and the city still carries the marks of that time. The Palais des Ducs, now a town hall and fine arts museum, stands on a wide, curved square, and the narrow streets of the old centre are lined with half-timbered houses and carved doorways. On the wall of the church of Notre-Dame, a small stone owl, the chouette, is worn smooth by the hands of visitors who stroke it with the left hand for luck.
The city is also famous for mustard, which has been made here since the Middle Ages, and for crème de cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur that, mixed with white wine, makes a kir, named after a mayor of the city. You can buy both in shops around the covered market, designed with the help of Gustave Eiffel's workshop, and it is the best place for a lunch of cheese, ham and bread.
For riders, Dijon is the northern gateway to the Route des Grands Crus, the stretch of road, mostly the D974, which runs south along the foot of the Côte d'Or through the most famous vineyards in France: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune. The climats, the small named plots of vines that make Burgundy so particular, were recognised by UNESCO in 2015. The road is gentle, with stone walls, church towers and low sun on the vines, and it is at its best in September and October, when the harvest is under way and the leaves turn red and gold.
Fuel is plentiful in the city and its suburbs, with big stations around the ring roads, and finding food is no challenge. Parking a bike in the centre is usually easy, but note that parts of the old town are pedestrian. Keep a clear head in the evening, since the same road that you ride in the morning leads past dozens of cellars, and a tasting is only polite if you leave the glass half full.