Would you like to relax in the heart of the green spaces of the city of Dijon? We invite you to discover 

  • The Dukes' Square
  • The La Colombière park
  • The Arquebuse Park
  • The Darcy garden
  • The Kir Lake
Stature de Philippe le Bon - Dijon

The Dukes' Square

This small square located behind the Dukes' Palace is 150 metres from the hotel. 

Much appreciated by the people of Dijon for its setting and its freshness, you will find :

  • Large, rare, century-old trees: silver lime, purple beech, Japanese sophora, paulownia
  • A beautiful statue of Philippe Le Bon at the foot of the Philippe Le Bon tower
Parc de l'Arquebuse - Dijon

The Arquebuse Park

Created in 1833 and located 1.5 km from the Hôtel des Ducs (19 minutes on foot), you will find this beautiful park near the SNCF train station and the new Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin.

Also accessible by the City Bus (get on at the theatre stop located 50m from the hotel, get off at the Monge - Cité de la Gastronomie stop), you will find :

  • A botanical garden
  • An arboretum designed as an English-style park, with 170 species of local and exotic trees.
  • A rose garden with over 230 varieties of roses
  • A planetarium with a programme of scientific films accessible to all
  • A Natural History Museum with permanent and temporary exhibitions

We invite you to consult the dedicated website and to ask for a map at the park reception desk.

 

Parc de la Colombière Dijon

The "Parc de la Colombière"

This superb 33-hectare French garden is located 2.4 km from the Hôtel des Ducs (29 minutes on foot, 15 minutes by bus). Located away from the city centre, it is very pleasant to walk there or to take a ride in a "Rosalie", the park's emblematic pedal car. You can reach it with bus lines 6 and 11 (the "theatre" stop is located 50 metres from the hotel). 

Created in the 17th century by Louis II of Bourbon, the design of these gardens was inspired by Le Nôtre who sent one of his best pupils, Antoine de Maerle, to Dijon. Sixteen alleys, eight wide and eight narrow, radiate out from a central roundabout in the heart of the park. They are connected by an octagonal path around the park.

Here you will find

  • 3500 trees: lime, chestnut, oak, hornbeam, ash, maple, coniferous trees...
  • A wildlife park
  • Several playgrounds
  • An accrobranche with five 100% secure courses, open 8 months out of 12.
  • An analemmatic sundial installed in 1854: it is your shadow, correctly placed on the sundial, that will indicate the time of day.
  • A refreshment bar, toilets and water points
Jardin darcy Dijon

The Darcy Garden

Created in 1880, this garden is located 1.1 km from the Hôtel des Ducs (13 minutes on foot). You will find there :

  • The Pompon bear made by Henry Martinet in 1938 as a tribute to the polar bear, the famous work of the Burgundian sculptor François Pompon 
  • Beautiful terraces with balustrades, punctuated by two majestic staircases framing the lake
  • A children's playground, a watering hole and numerous benches
  • The Darcy reservoir created by Dijon engineer Henry Darcy and located under the garden mound (rare visits on registration)
Lac Kir - Dijon

The Kir Lake

This vast artificial lake created in the 1960s is an emblematic place for the people of Dijon.

Located 4 km from the Hôtel des Ducs (49 minutes on foot), you can also get there by car, bus (less than 30 minutes) or jogging (you can reach the International City of Gastronomy and Wine and then follow the Ouche, a river that will lead you to the Kir Lake).

The tour of the lake is 3.6 kilometers long and you will find

  • A beach
  • A nautical base
  • Tennis courts
  • Cycle paths

The city owes the creation of the lake in the 1960s to Canon Kir who was Mayor of Dijon for 22 years between 1945 and 1968. We invite you to discover the amazing life of this man on the wikipedia page dedicated to him.