Getting to Dijon is easy from many parts of France and Europe. Fast TGV trains connect Dijon with Paris and many other French and European cities. British travelers can use the Eurostar train from London with transfers in Paris. Burgundy is in the heart of France with excellent highways going to all parts of the country with fast travel times to Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and channel ports for travelers from Great Britain. Surprisingly, cheap flights are not available to Dijon but airports in Paris, Lyon, and Geneva are within reasonable traveling distance.
Driving to Dijon in Burgundy, France
Dijon is the capital of the département Côte-d’Or and the région Bourgogne (Burgundy) at the geographical center of France. Dijon is at the crossing of several important highways making driving to Dijon from many parts of France very fast.
Distances and driving times by car to Dijon on major highways (autoroutes) are:
- Paris – 320 km / 3h00 (very much subject to traffic conditions)
- Lille – 500 km / 4h30
- Calais – 573 km / 5h30
- Reims – 300 km / 2h45
- Troyes – 180 km / 1h45
- Beaune – 50 km / 0h45
- Lyon – 200 km / 2h00
- Avignon – 420 km/ 4h00
- Marseilles – 500 km / 4h30
- Besancon – 100 km / 1h00
- Strasbourg – 330 km / 3h15
- Geneva – 260 km / 2h30 (or 200 km / 3h00 on country roads)
Dijon has many parking garages in or near the old town. Free Diviaciti Navette buses take visitors up to ten times per hour to the town center on a circular route past many of these parking garages and many of Dijon’s top sights.
By Train to Dijon in Burgundy, France
Dijon has excellent rail connections to all parts of France. Fast TGV trains are useful for traveling long distances but for shorter day trips local trains are needed (and cheaper).
Direct TGV trains connect Dijon with Paris-Gare de Lyon (1h40), Lyon-Part-Dieu (1h40), Avignon (3h), Nice (6h15), Nancy (2h15), Metz (3h), Belfort (2h20), Besancon (0h53), Chalon-sur-Saone (0h38) and Beaune (0h19). The last three towns are better reached on cheaper local trains.
Direct TGV trains are also available to Bern (3h) and Lausanne (1h45) in Switzerland. London can be reached in five to six hours – the stations transfer in Paris from Paris-Gare de Lyon TGV station to Eurostar’s Paris-Gare du Nord station is a bit cumbersome but not particularly complicated.
Regional trains are cheaper than high-speed TGV trains, do not require reservations, and for local journeys are often only marginally slower. Very frequent local trains connect Dijon with Nuits-St-Georges (0h15), Beaune (0h25), Chalon-sur-Saone (0h45), and Besancon (0h55). Regional trains are also available to Lyon-Part Dieu (2h), Paris-Bercy (3h), and Grenoble (3h40).
Cheap Flights to Dijon in Burgundy, France
Currently, no scheduled flights go to Dijon. This is rather embarrassingly as seemingly every second French town and region can be reached on cheap flights operated by low-cost airlines. (Cheap flights to London were suspended around two years ago and Air France stopped domestic services too.)
Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Geneva, and Lyon-St Exupéry Airports are the closest airports to Dijon. Car rentals are available at all airports but small groups may also consider airport shuttles and minibus transfers as options when traveling from these airports to Dijon.
For long-distance and intercontinental flights, the best option is to fly to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and continue from there by road or rail to Dijon. Driving the 350 km from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to Dijon takes just over three hours. Twice daily, TGV trains connect Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV station directly with Dijon in less than two hours. Otherwise a transfer in Paris is required with total traveling time around three hours.
Geneva Airport (GVA) in Switzerland is another alternative for flying to Burgundy. From Geneva Airport, it is a two-and-a-half-hour drive on the autoroute to Dijon but much faster to areas in southern Burgundy. The best rail option is to use the TGV via Lausanne for a total traveling time of 2h45 from Dijon to Geneva Airport (GVA).
Lyon-St Exupéry Airport (LYS) is a good alternative for drivers as the airport is a two-hour drive from Dijon. By rail, the journey is more cumbersome and can easily exceed three hours.
Autoroutes and TGV trains offer fast ways to get to Dijon. However, to enjoy the beauty of Burgundy, visitors will have to use smaller country lanes and local trains to reach more remote medieval villages, impressive forests, monasteries, chateaux, and the famous Burgundian vineyards. Taking the slow road from Paris along the old N6 rather than the A6 is a very pleasant option and passes by sights including Fontainebleau, Sens, Auxerre, Abbaye de Fontenay, and Semur-en-Auxois.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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