The next few pages are about my mid-May 2009 arrival in France and exploration of Dijon. In the mid-1800s, the city's most famous engineer (Henry Darcy) brought water to what had been a lackluster community. Now it is well known for it's mustard, but really it was the fountains that made Dijon famous.

Place Wilson

But I am getting ahead of myself. The greatest difficulty in getting to Dijon, was in getting from airport (Charles de Gaulle) in Paris to the Gare de Lyon train station because I couldn't find the Air France shuttle. Once at the train station, the trip from Paris to Dijon was uneventful. It is is simply a quick ride (1h40) on the TGV (~$77) from the Gare de Lyon (Paris).

The secret for getting through the airport in Paris is knowing where to find the shuttle bus (navette). Don't follow the this sign --- instead when you go outside of the baggage claim area and turn toward Terminals 2E and 2F. Where they meet (in a long corridor called Galerie 3), you simply walk outside at Exit (sortie). The bus ride (Ligne #4) from the airport (CDG) to the Gare de Lyon costs about 16.5 euro. Simply pay the driver as you board.

Arrival & Exploring in Dijon

Left Chicago O'Hare on Air France #51 at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 14 and arrived in Paris at 8:15 a.m. on the following morning, Friday, May 15. Then I took the 12:58 TGV to Dijon and checked into the Le Jura Hotel, about 3:00 pm.  The great thing about the hotel is its proximity to the train station.

Train station Dijon hotel

It pleased me to see my Pantech phone finds SFR service in Dijon, even while using my AT&T SIM card from home. After checking in at the hotel, I left my heavy backpack and went outside to explore a bit. Found a place to eat at Place Darcy. Enjoyed a Croque Monsieur and salad verte (green salad) at La Concorde located in Place Darcy before heading back to the hotel for a shower and fell asleep about 6:00 that evening.

I slept hard for 6 hours then woke up several times during the remainder of the night. I even sent a text message home asking for the 8-digit unlock code for my cellphone. I still couldn't unlock the phone and I abandoned hope of using the French SIM card that I had purchased before leaving the U.S. Besides, the AT&T card worked fine so why bother.

The next morning (Saturday) I awoke about 7:30 with the intent of finding the grave of one of Dijon's most famous citizens: Henry Darcy. The nearby Tourism Office (located near Place Darcy) instructed me to walk east, past the Opera house and to Place Wilson where I could catch a city bus (Ligne #10). After a shortride costing 1 euro, I found the City cemetery on the southeast side of town. I wandered around the cemetery hoping that with dumb luck, I would find Darcy. After a while I reluctantly conceded defeat and went into the Bureau de Gardes (located at the south entrance). Using my best French, I asked for the whereabouts of Darcy's grave. It didn't take but a minute for the staff person to do a computer search and give me the location (D'1).

Ta-da ... I found Darcy's grave! Guess if I can find a well in Chicago then I can find the "Father of Groundwater" (Darcy) in Dijon. Using my GPS (Garmin Colorado 400t) I located his gravesite at the following geographical coordinates:   Lat: 47º-18.318'N, Lon: 5º-3.988'E  (5/16/09, 1:14 p.m.)

Darcy's grave site


You can use the following Google Map to locate the cemetery on the southeast side of Dijon.




For a larger view of the route from Place Darcy to Cemetery of Dijon click here.