Grand Hôtel la Cloche

Historic Building in Dijon

Grand Hotel La Cloche Dijon
CC BY-SA 4.0 / Jean Housen

The Grand Hôtel la Cloche, a five-star establishment located at 14 Place Darcy in Dijon, has facades and roofs recognized as historic monuments. Known to the locals simply as “la Cloche,” this hotel has been a landmark in Dijon for over five centuries, celebrated for its rich history, distinctive architecture, and esteemed reputation.

History of the Grand Hôtel la Cloche

The Grand Hôtel la Cloche first appears in historical records in the 15th century. Originally situated on what is now Rue de la Liberté, it was referred to as “ostelerie de la Cloiche.” Subsequent documents mention the hotel in 1594, 1670, and 1687. In April 1753, the actor Lekain, a protégé of Voltaire, stayed at the hotel. In the 1750s, the hotel was renamed “Hôtel de Condé” in honor of the Prince de Condé, the governor of Burgundy, but reverted to its original name, Hôtel de la Cloche, during the Revolution. It temporarily became the Hôtel de Condé again during the Restoration but permanently returned to its original name in 1830.

During the Second Empire, Napoleon III visited the hotel on the night of June 1 to 2, 1856. From 1881 to 1884, Edmond Goisset, the owner at the time, constructed the new Hôtel de la Cloche at the burgeoning Place Darcy. This prestigious version of the hotel opened on April 13, 1884, featuring opulent dining rooms and a Louis XVI-style lounge.

In 1902, Louis Gorges took over the hotel, expanded it in 1926, and the Germans occupied it from 1940 to 1944. The hotel’s decline began in the 1970s, exacerbated by the A6 motorway’s rerouting away from Dijon. It closed in December 1973, and its furniture was auctioned off the following year. Plans to demolish the building were contested by local associations, leading to its facades and roofs being listed as historic monuments by the State Secretariat for Culture on October 29, 1975.

The old part of the hotel on Rue Devosge was sold and converted into offices, while the left end of the 1880s building was transformed into apartments. The La Hénin group reopened the Hôtel de la Cloche in January 1982 in the same building. It was sold in 1984 to the Jacquier hotel family.

In 1994, the hotel joined the Sofitel chain of the Accor group and was renamed “Sofitel la Cloche.” In 2013, it transitioned to the MGallery collection of hotels within the Accor group and adopted the name “Grand Hôtel la Cloche.”


The Grand Hôtel la Cloche appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Dijon!

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