Getting Around Dijon
Dijon is a compact, walkable city, and for most visits the simplest strategy is to explore the centre on foot and use the Divia public transport network for anything farther out. Buses and trams are operated by Divia, and the network is designed so that park-and-ride lots on the outskirts connect with tram and bus lines into the middle of town.
Walking
For most purposes, walking is the best way to get around the centre of Dijon. The historic core is dense with sights, and traffic in the centre is restricted and mostly reserved for pedestrians, which makes strolling between the Ducal Palace, the churches and the old townhouses easy and pleasant. If you are heading somewhere on the edge of the city, such as the Well of Moses, walking becomes less practical and you will want another mode.
Trams and Buses
Dijon's urban buses and trams are run by Divia. A comprehensive network of buses covers destinations farther out from the centre, and trams serve as the backbone linking the city with peripheral areas and park-and-ride facilities.
Tickets and passes are sold under the Divia fare system. A single ticket is valid for one hour, and there are also multi-ticket recharge packs as well as 24-, 48- and 72-hour tickets for visitors who plan to move around a lot. You can buy tickets on board from a bus driver for a small surcharge, or load them onto a reloadable card. There is also a free city bus that circulates around the city.
For visitors, the most useful option is often the Diviacity, a free, frequent shuttle bus that loops around many of the downtown destinations and connects several parking areas. It is a minibus and can get crowded with locals, but it costs nothing and saves tired legs.
- Buy a reloadable card if you plan more than a couple of journeys; single tickets bought from the driver cost slightly more.
- Day and multi-day tickets are available if you intend to use the network repeatedly.
- If you arrive by train, be careful with the orientation maps: they are oriented with west, rather than north, at the top.
Bicycles
If you want to get a bit outside the downtown area — for example to reach the Well of Moses — a bicycle is often easier and faster than walking. Dijon has a self-service bike scheme, DiviaVélodi, with stands throughout the city that let you pick up a bike at one stand and leave it at another; a related service, DiviaVélo, is aimed more at residents and longer stays. Payment is made at the stand by credit card, and a substantial deposit is charged unless the bike is returned on time, so you need a card with sufficient funds available.
A simpler and cheaper alternative is the bike rental offered by La Bécane à Jules, a non-profit self-repair bicycle workshop that also rents bikes to non-members. Rates are modest, with a day rate and a weekend rate.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
The source material for Dijon does not describe taxi ranks or ride-hailing services in detail. In practice, visitors should expect to arrange taxis through their hotel or a local taxi company, and to use standard ride-hailing apps where available. For most trips within the centre, walking or the Divia network will be quicker and cheaper than a car, since central traffic is restricted.
Arriving by Train
Dijon has two train stations: Dijon-Ville and Dijon-Porte-Neuve. Dijon-Ville is by far the main station; Dijon-Porte-Neuve is much smaller, has no staff and is used only for some minor lines. High-speed TGV services connect Dijon with Paris and other major French cities, and there are also regular train services to a range of destinations including Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium. From Paris, TGV journeys are fast, while TER regional trains take longer but have fixed prices, with a discount for passengers under 26. Similar TGV and TER options connect Dijon with Lyon.
If you arrive at Dijon-Ville, you are well placed for the centre: the station sits close to the downtown area, and the orientation maps there are worth reading carefully because they are oriented with west at the top rather than north.
Arriving by Plane
Dijon-Burgundy Airport is a former military air base whose military function ended in 2016. It does not see any commercial flights, though it can accommodate general aviation. Its entrance is in the commune of Ouges and is mainly accessible by road.
Public transport to the airport is limited. There is a bus stop for an Express Divia bus near the terminal that leads to Dijon-Ville train station, but the service runs only a few times a day, on weekdays only, and is mainly used by local workers. If you must rely on public transport, the nearest stop on a main Divia bus line is about a fifteen-minute walk away to the north-west along the road.
Because Dijon-Burgundy Airport has no commercial flights, most visitors actually arrive via Paris. There are a few direct TGV high-speed trains from the centre of Dijon to Paris CDG airport. If you land at Paris CDG and need to reach Paris Gare de Lyon, from which frequent TGV trains run to Dijon, you have two main options:
- Take an Air France bus linking CDG airport to Paris Gare de Lyon.
- On a budget, take the RER B suburban train, which stops directly at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The safest way to reach the RER B from Paris Gare de Lyon is to take the automatic line 14 of the Paris Métro to Châtelet–Les Halles, where you change to the RER B.
Arriving by Bus or Car
Long-distance coaches such as Flixbus connect Dijon to major European cities. By road, Dijon is well connected to the freeway and highway network, but traffic is restricted in the centre of the city and mostly reserved for pedestrians. If you drive, plan to park for the duration of your visit in one of the park-and-ride lots close to the tram or bus lines and continue by public transport — except if you are heading to the Well of Moses, which lies on the outskirts of the city.