Vogüé Hotel

You will spot the Hotel de Vogüé on your left by its pale stone facade, large arched windows, and the spectacular geometric mosaic pattern of its glazed tile roof. This seventeenth-century masterpiece is considered the ultimate prototype for Dijon's grand parliamentary mansions.

The story begins when a parliament counselor named Jean Bouhier bought three separate houses on this spot starting in fifteen eighty-nine. But it was his son, Étienne Bouhier, who truly brought this vision to life. Étienne was a powerful magistrate and a massive art enthusiast. According to family tradition, Étienne did not just fund the construction, he actually designed it himself. He had studied law in Padua, Italy, but it seems he spent quite a bit of his time there admiring the local architecture. When historians checked his library records, they found several Italian volumes on geometry and building design. He clearly brought that Italian Renaissance inspiration back to Burgundy with him.

You can check your screen for a before and after image showing how beautifully preserved the main street facade and grand portal have remained since nineteen nineteen.

If you could wander all the way through into the inner courtyard, you would see a magnificent Italian-style portico. Take a look at your app to see a close-up of this courtyard, where the stone columns are carved with intertwining ivy and the initials E-B-M-G. That monogram stands for Étienne Bouhier and his second wife, Madeleine Giroud, forever carved into the stone of their home.

The mansion stayed in the Bouhier family for generations until seventeen sixty-six, when a daughter named Catherine married Count Cerice-François Melchior de Vogüé. The name stuck, and it has been known as the Hotel de Vogüé ever since.

Today, the building belongs to the City of Dijon, but it does not house dukes or counts anymore. It is actually the headquarters for the city human resources department. Imagine having your annual performance review or discussing your health benefits under a sweeping Renaissance ceiling decorated with classical myths and carved caryatids-sculpted female figures serving as architectural pillars.

This elegant mansion stands as a perfect bridge between Italian grace and traditional Burgundian style. Appreciate the Italian grace of this mansion. When you are ready, we can head to the next stop.