Museums in Dijon: complete guide to free and paid museums

In a nutshell: Dijon has eight museums open to the public. The five municipal museums (Fine Arts, Archaeology, Burgundian Life, Sacred Art, Rude) have free permanent collections for everyone. The Musée Magnin (national) is now also free. Only the Consortium Museum (contemporary art) charges admission (€5), with free entry for under-18s and students. All municipal museums close on Tuesday.

Dijon does not just rely on the prestige of its Fine Arts Museum and its ducal tombs. The city has chosen a broad access policy: free admission to the permanent collections of its five municipal museums. This makes a real difference compared to towns like Beaune or Auxerre, where each entry costs money. You can spend a whole day hopping between collections without spending a euro, only paying for the Consortium (€5) or a temporary exhibition.

This page does not repeat the detailed opening hours of the Fine Arts Museum or the Natural History Museum, already covered in our guide to visiting Dijon with kids. It focuses on what really sets each museum apart, including what disappoints.

The municipal museums: five collections, zero euros

The five city-run museums share one key feature: their permanent collections are free for everyone, every day except Tuesday, as well as on public holidays. Only temporary exhibitions are charged (around €5 to €9 depending on the museum). Opening hours vary by museum: the Fine Arts Museum opens continuously from 9:30am to 6pm from October to May (10am-6:30pm in summer), while the others follow the 9:30am-12:30pm / 1:30pm-6pm formula. All close on Tuesday.

Fine Arts Museum - inside the Ducal Palace

The most famous and largest, housed in the ducal wing of the Palace of the Dukes and the Estates of Burgundy. Its collections range from Egyptian antiquities to the 21st century, with the tomb hall as the undisputed highlight: the effigies of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, surrounded by their alabaster mourners from the 15th century, among the masterpieces of medieval European sculpture. Founded in 1787, it is one of France’s oldest museums. Allow 2 to 3 hours for a first tour of the permanent collections. The building has been fully wheelchair accessible since its 2019 renovation.

Archaeological Museum - beneath the abbey vaults

Housed in the main wing of the former Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Bénigne, next to the cathedral. This is arguably the most spectacularly set museum in Dijon: the vaulted ground-floor hall was the monks’ 12th-century scriptorium. Collections cover Prehistory, Protohistory, Roman Gaul and the early Middle Ages. The centrepiece is the statue of the goddess Sequana (1st century), discovered at the source of the Seine, together with wooden and metal ex-votos. The museum also displays Claus Sluter’s Christ Crowned with Thorns, a fragment from the Well of Moses calvary. Note: from 2 November to 31 March, the museum is only open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays; the rest of the year it follows standard hours. Allow 1h to 1h30.

Museum of Burgundian Life - the reconstructed shop street

Set in the former Bernardine convent (17th century), at 17 rue Sainte-Anne, this regional ethnography museum displays nearly 5,000 objects from daily life in Burgundy from the 19th to the early 20th century. The highlight is on the first floor: a full-scale reconstructed shop street, with a pharmacy, grocery, butcher’s, clockmaker’s and toy shop from the period. The ground floor features rural interiors and regional costumes. The museum also has a section on the history of Dijon mustard. Allow 1h to 1h30.

Museum of Sacred Art - the hidden gem of the Bernardines

In the chapel of the same Bernardine convent (15 rue Sainte-Anne), this small museum displays liturgical objects, sculptures, paintings and goldsmith work from the 12th to the 20th century: chasubles, chalices, furniture from Cistercian and Carmelite convents in the region. Access is by asking the Museum of Burgundian Life staff, who will open the chapel on request. Allow 30 minutes. It is the most discreet of Dijon’s museums, and one of the quietest.

Musée Rude - the sculptor of the Arc de Triomphe

Installed since 1947 in the transept of the former church of Saint-Étienne (11th century), at 8 rue Vaillant, this small monographic museum displays plaster casts of works by sculptor François Rude (1784-1855), acquired by the city between 1887 and 1910. The centrepiece is the monumental cast of The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, better known as La Marseillaise, the relief that adorns the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The museum also includes an 11th-century archaeological crypt and the remains of the Saint-Étienne gate from the Roman castrum (3rd century). Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Musée Magnin - a townhouse turned national museum

At 4 rue des Bons Enfants, the Hôtel Lantin (17th century) houses the Musée Magnin, a national museum that became free in 2025. Maurice and Jeanne Magnin bequeathed to the state in 1938 their collection of some 2,000 works (paintings, drawings, furniture, objets d’art), on condition that the museum remain as they knew it: an amateur’s cabinet in a lived-in house, with no possibility of lending or expanding the collection. You will find works by Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Titian, Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya and Delacroix, arranged as in a 19th-century interior. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-6pm (closed Monday). Allow 1h to 1h30.

The Consortium Museum - contemporary art in Dijon

Founded in 1977, the Consortium Museum has established itself as one of France’s most active contemporary art centres, with a programme that attracts international artists. Since 2018, a dedicated room on the first floor has been rotating displays from its collection, built mainly through donations from artists and collectors. The former industrial site at 37 rue de Longvic was transformed in 2011 by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban (Pritzker Prize 2014) into a 4,000 m² building. Admission: €5, free for under-18s and students. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 2pm-6pm (until 8pm on Friday). Allow 1h to 2h.

Which museum to visit depending on your time?

The choice depends mainly on how much time you have and your interests.

In 30 minutes

Musée Rude (the most compact, a single church nave) or Museum of Sacred Art (small chapel). Two quick visits that still let you see the essentials.

In 1 hour

Museum of Burgundian Life (the shop street is quick to tour), Musée Magnin (dense collection in a small townhouse) or Archaeological Museum (a quick walk through the Gallo-Roman rooms).

In 2 to 3 hours

Fine Arts Museum (the largest, allow time for the tomb hall and the painting collections).

Half-day thematic tour

Combine the Archaeological Museum (morning) with the Saint-Bénigne cathedral and the historic district. Or pair the Museum of Burgundian Life with the Museum of Sacred Art in the same cloister.

The Consortium Museum, open only in the afternoon, combines well with a morning visit to the city centre.

Practical information for visiting Dijon museums

• Closing days: the five municipal museums close on Tuesday and public holidays. The Musée Magnin closes on Monday. The Consortium closes on Monday and Tuesday and opens only in the afternoon.
• Free admission: the permanent collections of the five municipal museums and the Musée Magnin are free. Only the Consortium charges (€5), with free entry for under-18s and students.
• Accessibility: the Fine Arts Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Consortium are wheelchair accessible. Other museums have constraints due to their historic architecture.
• Audioguides: available at the Fine Arts Museum and the Musée Magnin.
• Photography: permitted without flash in the permanent collections of all municipal museums.
• Avoid: Monday if you want to see the Musée Magnin, Tuesday if you want to see the municipal museums. The Archaeological Museum in winter if coming on a weekday (reduced hours).