In short: Dijon boasts 825 hectares of green spaces, 20 main parks and gardens and 9 ÉcoJardin certified sites. From Jardin Darcy (1 hectare, 1880) to Lac Kir (37 hectares, 1964), via Parc de la Colombière (33 hectares, listed as a historic monument) and the botanical garden at Arquebuse (1,500 species and varieties of plants), the city offers a diversity of natural spaces for all uses: walking, sports, relaxing, botanics, swimming.
With 825 hectares of parks, gardens, squares and wild valleys, Dijon offers 73 square metres of greenery per inhabitant (compared to 16 in Lyon, 13 in Paris). Three historic parks form the backbone of this offering: Jardin Darcy (the city’s first public garden, 1880), Parc de la Colombière (33 hectares, 1672) and Jardin de l’Arquebuse (a 5-hectare botanical garden). Add to these an artificial lake of 37 hectares with supervised beach, wild valleys and about fifteen neighbourhood parks.
This page does not go into detail on Jardin Darcy and Parc de la Colombière, already covered in our guide Visiting Dijon with children. It places them in the overall map of Dijon’s green spaces and highlights the lesser-known spots worth visiting.
825 hectares of greenery: the key figures
Dijon’s green heritage ranges from neighbourhood squares to a wild valley of 330 hectares. The city officially lists 20 main parks and gardens, complemented by dozens of squares, shared gardens (13 sites), family allotments (plots of 150 to 300 m²) and a landscaped cemetery. Since 2015, the municipality has also planted one tree per child born in the metropolitan area through the “Foret des enfants” programme, totalling over 8,000 trees planted to date. Nine of these sites hold the ÉcoJardin label, a national certification guaranteeing pesticide-free ecological management and water-efficient upkeep.
The three historic parks of the city centre
Jardin Darcy (Place Darcy, 1 hectare) opened in 1880 as Dijon’s first public garden. It has been listed as a historic monument since 2015 and features the famous white bear statue by Francois Pompon (a 1937 copy by Henry Martinet, the original being at the Musee d’Orsay). Beneath its lawns lies the Darcy reservoir, an underground structure of 2,300 m³ built in 1838 by engineer Henry Darcy to supply the city’s 142 fountains. Parc de la Colombière (Cours du Parc, 33 hectares) is Dijon’s largest: designed in 1672 by a pupil of Le Notre, it deploys 16 avenues in a star pattern around a central roundabout, contains about 6,000 trees and crosses the Roman Via Agrippa (1st century). It has been listed as a historic monument since 1925. These two parks are described in detail in our dedicated family outings page.
The Jardin de l’Arquebuse: botany, museum and planetarium
The Jardin de l’Arquebuse, Avenue Albert 1er, concentrates on 5 hectares one of the densest natural collections in Burgundy. The botanical garden hosts approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants, including 250 tree species in its arboretum, 300 rose varieties in its rose garden (280 m²), along with medicinal, carnivorous and subtropical plants. It has been classified as a Regional Botanical Conservatory since 2002 and is a member of the Botanical Gardens of France and Francophone Countries network. Its herbarium holds 100,000 specimens.
The site is not limited to the garden: it also houses the Natural History Museum (collections of stuffed animals, skeletons, insects, free entry), the Hubert Curien Planetarium (sessions at 3 €, 1.50 € for under-18s) and a children’s play area with a mist sprayer in summer. The whole site is open daily from 7:30 am until dusk (9 pm in summer). The museum and planetarium are open from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm on weekdays, closed on Tuesdays.
It was the first green space in Dijon to receive the ÉcoJardin label, and is one of the best connected to public transport: 5 minutes’ walk from the SNCF train station, 10 minutes from the city centre via Avenue Albert 1er.
Lac Kir and Promenade de l’Ouche: nature on a large scale
Lac Kir, in the south-west of Dijon, is an artificial lake covering 37 hectares, inaugurated on 20 June 1964 on the initiative of Canon Felix Kir, then mayor of the city. 1.5 km long and about 300 metres wide, with an average depth of 3.5 metres, it is crossed by the river Ouche and forms the largest body of water in the metropolitan area.
In summer, the Dijon Plage operation (June to September, free) sets up 3,000 m² of supervised beaches with deckchairs, cabins and showers. The municipal water sports base offers canoeing, kayaking, rowing and sailing. Around the lake, a walking path makes a complete loop of 3.6 km, doubled by a cycle path and a fitness trail. There is also tennis, a mini-golf and a three-star municipal campsite (3 hectares, 111 pitches, open April to October).
The lake is linked to the city centre by the Promenade de l’Ouche, a 2-kilometre green corridor following the riverbanks from Place de la Liberation. ÉcoJardin certified, it is the most popular pedestrian and cycle route in Dijon for reaching the lake from the centre without crossing a single car.
Neighbourhood parks and lesser-known spots
Several neighbourhood parks are worth a visit for what makes them unique.
Parc des Carrieres Bacquin
A former stone quarry (the stone used for Dijon’s historic buildings), converted into a park between 1974 and 1976, it retains an artificial waterfall and a pond with water lilies. Its 5 hectares of lawns, pines and pushchair-friendly paths make it a practical choice for families in the Montchapet district, 15 minutes’ walk from the station.
Parc des Argentieres
In the east of the city (Rue des Petites-Roches), this 9,500 m² walled garden opened in 1985 and has preserved century-old lime trees and a boxwood labyrinth. A former clay and silkworm farm site, it houses a small animal park and a playground. Quiet on weekdays.
The Japanese Garden
In the Varennes-Toison d’Or district, near the Nation tram stop, a small Japanese-inspired garden with pond, stream and bridge. Little-known enough to find peace even on a summer Sunday, unlike the busy parks in the centre.
Wild valleys and natural areas: countryside within the city
Dijon has the particularity of including wild valleys called “combes” within its territory. Combe a la Serpent (326 hectares, 23 km of trails) is the largest: a natural area classified ÉcoJardin where you can spot deer, foxes and birds of prey, 20 minutes from the city centre. Combe Saint-Joseph (15 hectares) offers a 2 km educational trail suitable for children. Combe Persil (30 hectares) completes this trio of natural areas accessible on foot from residential neighbourhoods.
These valleys are classified Natura 2000 and are part of the city’s ÉcoJardin network. They reflect a policy that refuses to confine nature to landscaped parks alone: Dijon leaves entire portions of its territory in a semi-wild state, accessible via marked trails.
Practical information: opening hours, picnics, accessibility
Most Dijon parks are open from 7:30 am until dusk (around 5:30 pm in winter, 9 pm in summer). The municipal sports park has specific hours: 7:30 am to 10 pm from April to September, 8 am to 8 pm from October to March. In case of weather alerts, the municipal police may close parks without notice.
All historic parks (Darcy, Colombière, Arquebuse) have public toilets, unlike neighbourhood squares where you must rely on nearby facilities. Picnics are allowed in all parks, on the lawns unless otherwise indicated. The best option for assembling a lunch on site remains the covered market (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings), 10 minutes’ walk from Jardin Darcy and Parc de la Colombière.
Parks are generally accessible to people with reduced mobility (wide paths, little gradient), with the exception of the wild valleys whose trails remain natural. Jardin Darcy and Parc de la Colombière are the best adapted for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
For cyclists, bike racks are plentiful at the entrance of each park. The Promenade de l’Ouche and the shores of Lac Kir are the best connected to the urban cycle network.
The ÉcoJardin label, a guarantee of sustainable management
The ÉcoJardin label, awarded by an independent body, certifies that the site is managed without chemical pesticides, with particular attention to biodiversity and water management. Dijon is one of the most advanced French cities in this approach, with 9 certified sites: Jardin de l’Arquebuse (first certified), Parc de la Colombière (2016), Lac Kir and Promenade de l’Ouche (2018), Combe a la Serpent, Combe Saint-Joseph, Combe Persil (2018), the landscaped cemetery of Perjoces (2018) and Parc Hyacinthe Vincent (2020).