Dijon itself is a very historic town, once the seat of the Ducs of Bourgogne - and the grand Palais des Ducs in the attractive Place de la Libération serves as testament to Dijon’s proud history. I was lucky enough to be offered a room in the school for free, but at weekends it could get depressingly quiet. However, when not travelling, Dijon had a lot to offer such as the relaxing Parc Darcy in the day and several classy bars in the same area by night (it even had an Irish bar called O’Kil where people were encouraged to speak other languages – a perfect chance to get a cheeky break from speaking French but also a great place to meet Dijonnais). One of my biggest concerns at the start was my complete isolation from any other actual English people, but this is not really a disadvantage, far from it – in the end my French benefited and I made lots of French friends.
Useful local words: “Ché pas” – a juxtaposition of “je ne sais pas”, “oh la!” and “bah ouais”.
What not to pack: Mustard – the town’s many boutiques live off Dijon’s most famous export and it can of course be found everywhere! In all seriousness, however, whilst I would say don’t pack too many clothes, pack enough as I didn’t find the prices that cheap in Dijon for new clothes when I needed some: whilst food is a reasonable price, luxuries seem a fair bit more expensive in Dijon.
What to pack: Winter clothes. Continental Dijon can get bitterly cold in the Winter and was permanently caked with shin-deep snow for a long period between the start of December and February.
Couldn't have done without: Heating in my room during the winter! The usual essentials: iPod, Skype, a Nationwide FlexAccount which (at the start of my Year Abroad) charged nothing extra for foreign withdrawals. And finally, Flunch – a cheap option for meals – a meal plus sides à volonté for as little as 5€.
Word of advice: If you’re wanting to travel a lot – the SNCF has special offers at certain times for both Paris (15€ return on Saturdays from Dijon to Paris Bercy – though you do have to leave Dijon before 6am); and Burgundy (on the Journées des Patrimoines in September an unlimited weekend ticket is available to explore Bourgogne and the Cote d’Or for just 5€).
Pete Gentle, French and Chinese, Manchester UniversityUseful local words: “Ché pas” – a juxtaposition of “je ne sais pas”, “oh la!” and “bah ouais”.
What not to pack: Mustard – the town’s many boutiques live off Dijon’s most famous export and it can of course be found everywhere! In all seriousness, however, whilst I would say don’t pack too many clothes, pack enough as I didn’t find the prices that cheap in Dijon for new clothes when I needed some: whilst food is a reasonable price, luxuries seem a fair bit more expensive in Dijon.
What to pack: Winter clothes. Continental Dijon can get bitterly cold in the Winter and was permanently caked with shin-deep snow for a long period between the start of December and February.
Couldn't have done without: Heating in my room during the winter! The usual essentials: iPod, Skype, a Nationwide FlexAccount which (at the start of my Year Abroad) charged nothing extra for foreign withdrawals. And finally, Flunch – a cheap option for meals – a meal plus sides à volonté for as little as 5€.
Word of advice: If you’re wanting to travel a lot – the SNCF has special offers at certain times for both Paris (15€ return on Saturdays from Dijon to Paris Bercy – though you do have to leave Dijon before 6am); and Burgundy (on the Journées des Patrimoines in September an unlimited weekend ticket is available to explore Bourgogne and the Cote d’Or for just 5€).
To find out more about the country, visit our France page.
