Dijon Gastronomic Fair 2026:dates, hours and prices

In short: founded in 1922, the Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon gathers around 400 exhibitors and 150,000 visitors each year over a dozen days, from late October to early November. It is one of France’s great food rendezvous, with a wine pavilion, a gastronomic village and daily entertainments.

The Foire de Dijon is a Burgundian institution. For more than a century it has celebrated local and international gastronomy in the halls of the exhibition park. An essential date for food lovers and the curious.

Dates and hours 2026

The next edition runs from Friday 30 October to Tuesday 10 November 2026. Exact dates are confirmed in September.

Hours

10am–8pm every day, late opening until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Closes at 7pm on the final day.

Prices: €6–8 entry (2025 rate), free for under-12s. Reduced rates are offered in advance online on the official site.

Thematic pavilions

Wine pavilion

The heart of the fair for wine lovers. Around fifty growers from across France present their cuvées. Burgundy is naturally in the spotlight, with a selection of domaines from the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Free tasting, sales by the glass and by the bottle.

Gastronomic village

French and international terroir products: cheeses, charcuterie, spices, chocolates, jams, olive oils, spirits. Around a hundred stands for tasting and buying. Burgundian products (pain d’épices, mustard, cassis, aniseed sweets, nonnettes) hold a central place.

International pavilion

Each year a guest country of honour presents its gastronomy and crafts. The guest country of each edition is announced by the organisers on the official Foire website. Around twenty countries are represented in total.

Home and craft space

Part of the fair is devoted to home, décor and crafts. Less gastronomic but appreciated by visitors who also come to shop.

The entertainments

• Cookery competitions: each day a contest (best boeuf bourguignon, best kir, best pain d’épices) with a professional jury
• Cookery workshops: Dijon chefs run 30–45-minute workshops, free with entry (register on site)
• Demonstrations: traditional mustard milling, sugar-coating Anis de Flavigny, chocolate work
• Children’s area: cookery workshops for ages 6–12, free

Practical tips

1. Prefer a weekday: the weekend, especially Saturday, is packed. Tuesday or Wednesday morning is the quietest time.
2. Take the free shuttles: the exhibition-park car park is full at weekends. Shuttles link the city centre (Place Darcy) to the park every 15 minutes.
3. Budget for tasting: entry is modest, but wine, cheese and fine-food purchases can climb quickly. Allow €30–50 of food budget per person.
4. Bring bags: purchases accumulate fast. A rucksack or sturdy tote is welcome.

Preparing your visit to the Foire

The Foire is best visited with a small plan. The halls are vast, tastings follow one another and it is easy to spend three hours without seeing the space you were looking for. At the entrance, note the day’s programme, demonstration times and any events that need registration. If you come for a specific product, wine, kitchenware, a regional speciality, start with that pavilion before the late-afternoon crush.

A two- to three-hour visit is enough to discover the stands and catch one entertainment. Allow half a day if you plan to lunch on site, compare several exhibitors or come with children. At weekends, comfort depends mainly on arrival time: opening is more breathable, while aisles thicken after lunch. Dates, prices and access arrangements change from one edition to the next, so always check the official site before setting out.

Buying without getting carried away

Tasting creates desire, but a fair is not necessarily where everything is cheapest. Compare price, format and any delivery costs before buying a case or a bulky object. For wine, note the domaine, cuvée and vintage you liked; you can then check availability or order direct. Keep your receipts: they serve for a guarantee, an exchange or simply to find a producer again.

Carrying purchases

A sturdy tote is more practical than a rucksack for jars, bottles and cheeses. If you leave by train, avoid loading up with glass at the start of the visit and favour products that can be shipped. Fresh products must stay cold; ask at the stand and match your purchases to your return time. Insulated bags can help, but they do not replace a cool box on a long journey.

Eating on site with method

Food areas are an important part of the experience, but they do not all work the same way. Some offer a quick plate, others a seated meal with service. Read the menu and conditions before sitting down: drinks, bread and dessert are not always included. If you want to taste without a full meal, share a plate or pick a few specialities from the stands, keeping some appetite for what follows.

For a quiet lunch, arrive before the rush or shift it to mid-afternoon. Families can first locate the children’s area then choose a nearby food zone, to avoid back-and-forth in crowded aisles. It is sensible to bring a bottle of water, especially in heated halls and after several salty or sweet tastings.

A respectful and accessible outing

The Foire brings together very different publics: gourmets, professionals, pushchairs, groups and people with reduced mobility. Keep demonstration zones accessible, do not linger in front of the busiest stands and allow for breaks. Accessibility conditions, safety rules and available services should be confirmed in the edition guide. For the return, favour collective transport when car parks are announced as full; that avoids ending the day with a long wait in the car.

The day after the Foire

Store sensitive purchases promptly and keep producers’ contact details. A bottle, a mustard or a cheese becomes a good souvenir when you know where to find it again. The Foire is also a good starting point for continuing the stay: an estate tasting, a Dijon market or a cookery workshop give calmer context to products discovered in the halls.