Hi-speed trains – Dijon

Dijon (21 Côte d’Or, BFC) becomes a major rail hub with the opening of the TGV Rhin-Rhône. It used to be that all roads (and fast railway lines) led to Paris but in recent years there has been a recognition that getting from Bordaux to Lyon or similar trajectory does not need to be via Paris! Hence the A89 autoroute linking Bordeaux to Lyon via Clermont Ferrand and other routes.

Now there is a new high speed rail line linking Burgundy and Alsace (Lyon, Dijon, Belfort, Mulhouse) opens up another part of France with onward connections and ultimately direct links to Strasbourg, Germany and Switzerland.

Meanwhile to the south the TGV route from Provence now passes under the Pyrenees as far as Figueras in Spain and ultimately the TGV trains will run direct from Paris to Barcelona and Madrid.

So Dijon becomes a major junction offering north to Paris, south to Provence and Spain – and east to Franche-Comté, Alsace and all points east.

By Eurostar and TGV from London St Pancras International to Dijon

nearby vineyard accommodation: Hotel Les Deux Chevres, Gevrey-Chambertin

B&Bs, self-catering and Hotels n Beaune such as La Maison Blanche B&B 400 metres from the Hospices de Beaune and a 10-minute walk from the railway station.

TGV from London