Named in 2008 the “City of Art and History” by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, Dijon, the capital of Bourgogne, is extremely vibrant! The city offers visitors a great architectural and cultural heritage, and a good variety of fine restaurants, small bistros, many boulangeries, charming little markets, and pâtisseries.
Dijon inaugurated in May of this year (2022), a center dedicated to wine and food called A cité international de la gastronomie et du vin de Dijon (International City of Gastronomy and Wine). With 70,000 m2 of built-up area, the center is made up of renovated historic buildings from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries and contemporary buildings.
The initiative began in 2013, when former President François Hollande decided to build four “Cities of Gastronomy” to celebrate the “French gastronomic culture,” declared a World Heritage Site in 2010.
The CIGV, as it is called, is located in the heart of Dijon and has many attractions: exhibitions, culinary and wine schools, workshops, stores, bookstores, cinema, and restaurants, two of which are signed by three-Michelin-starred chef Eric Pras, and which has a wine cellar offering glasses of 250 different wines.
Each attraction provides a unique experience. The gastronomic city, for example, features eight stores dedicated to craftsmanship (coffee, pâtisserie, chocolate, cheese, mustard, tableware, etc.). Built by producers, artisans, makers and farmers from all over France, its purpose is to promote the best of gastronomy to all those who pass by.
Gastronomos provides tailor-made tours for you to experience the best of French culture.
In addition, the CIGV opens the doors to the great hospitality school: FERRANDI. Already present in Paris, Saint-Gratien, Bordeaux and Rennes, FERRANDI is now in Dijon, in the heart of Bourgogne. The school offers training courses in cooking and pâtisserie, in French and in English. Whether you are an amateur, a future creator or an experienced professional, you now have the opportunity to exercise your passion under the guidance of great chefs.
“Through the City, we are celebrating France’s legendary lifestyle, which supports our values of sharing and enjoying life together,” said Dijon Mayor François Rebsamen.
The city can also be proud to have two UNESCO intangible heritage inscriptions; in addition to the gastronomic culture of the French, Dijon has also been designated as a driving force in terms of “enhancing and promoting the culture of vines and wine.” This has been reinforced by the inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List of the Bourgogne vineyard climates.
Gastronomos provides experiences for you to know the best of French wines.
The CIGV provides different experiences according to one’s desires: whether it be workshops or a cooking school; gastronomic experiences or wine tasting workshops; a walk through the stores or a break in the bookstore. The International Gastronomy and Wine City wants to provide knowledge and culture. Its main goal is to raise awareness of this iconic and award-winning city, and to celebrate the French art of living.
Below is a video of the Ville de Dijon channel that makes a choreographic and poetic immersion of the different areas of the International City of Gastronomy and Wine
