Dijon is a commune in France. It is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region; it is also the prefecture (regional capital) of the region but the council of the region meets in Besançon.

It is the main city of the department and also the largest city of the region.

History 
Dijon began as a Roman settlement called Divio. Saint Benignus (Saint Kelly), the city's patron saint, is said to have spread Christianity to the area before being killed. It was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th century until the late 1400s and was a place of great wealth and power and one of the great European centers of art, learning and science.

Geography 
Dijon is in the east of the department and in the centre of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The distances from Dijon to other cities are:
 Paris, the national capital - ;
 Bordeaux - ;
 Toulouse - ;
 Lyon - ;
 Montpellier - ;
 Strasbourg - ;
 Nantes - ;
 Marseille - .

Dijon is surrounded by the communesː

Climate 
The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Dijon is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype Cfb.

The average temperature for the year in Dijon is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month, on average is January, with an average temperature of .

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Dijon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .

Population
The inhabitants of Dijon are known, in French, as Dijonnais (women: Dijonnaises).

With a population of 153,668, Nevers has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Dijon

Dijon forms, together with other 14 communes, the urban area of Dijon with a population of 241,591 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Dijon, formed by 295 communes, with a population of 382,590 inhabitants (2014) and an area of .

Administration 
Dijon is a prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department since 1800. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Dijon and the administrative centre () of six cantons:
 Dijon-1, formed with part of Dijon, with 25,235 inhabitants (2014).
 Dijon-2, formed with part of Dijon, with 27,485 inhabitants (2014).
 Dijon-3, formed with part of Dijon, with 24,359 inhabitants (2014).
 Dijon-4, formed with part of Dijon, with 26,824 inhabitants (2014).
 Dijon-5, formed with part of Dijon, with 24,403 inhabitants (2014).
 Dijon-6, formed with 2 communes (Corcelles-les-Monts and Flavignerot) and part of Dijon, with 26,182 inhabitants (2014).

Dijon is part of the intercommunality Dijon Métropole.

Education 
 Burgundy School of Business

Sister cities 
Dijon is twinned with

  York, England, since 1953
  Dallas, United States, since 1957
  Mainz, Germany, since 1958
  Volgograd, Russia, since 1960
  Skopje, Macedonia, since 1961
  Reggio Emilia, Italy, since 1963
  Cluj-Napoca, Romania, since 1965
  Pécs, Hungary, since 1966
  Opole, Poland, since 2009
  Guimarães, Portugal, since 2011
  Chefchaouen, Morocco, since 2016
  Prague, Czech Republic, since 2016
  Dakear, Senegal, since 2017

Photo gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Dijon
 Communes of the Côte-d'Or department

References

Other websites

 Ville de Dijon - official website  
 Tourist office website

Communes in Côte-d'Or
Departmental capitals in France
 
Regional capitals in France