FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

What to do in Lyon? EAT!

Lyon is known as "the gastronomic capital of France" and for good reason. There are hundreds of fabulous restaurants and cafes everywhere. The michelin guide will steer you to some of the gems among the grand array.

Lyon is a wonderful city, that I think has the perfect combination of grandeur and accessibility. A day shopping in the centre of town will find you odd little shops (like the one that sells nothing but umbrellas) as well as the best of the big brands.

The Roman amphitheatre is worth a visit along with it's museum and the textile museum is beautifully set out and interesting. There are always lots of concerts and other events happening.

But really for me, I am content wandering the pretty, winding streets of the old town and eating super food.

Don't have any suggestions but looking forward to reading some, have long wanted to take a day trip (an hour and 10 on the TGV from Avignon) to Lyon. Would love suggestions for cheap and cheerful lunch places.

Lyon is such a lovely city to explore by foot and is small enough to walk a bit. Visit the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere and explore vieux Lyon. There is a wonderful pedestrian street on the Isle on the Saone side that is full of little bistros and restos, rue Merciere. Of course being the gastronomic capital I would recommend one of Bocuse restaurants is a must. The Lumiere freres were the inventors of modern cinema and there is a nice musee to visit. And of course the surrounding area is lovely visiting the villages of Beaujolais. Enjoy!

I lived there for 6 months as an internationl university student and LOVED it! It's so full of history!! You must take the funiculaire (steep tram) up to the top of the fouviere hill.Dining at Brasserie Georges (since 1836) is also an experience! Institut lumieres (the lumieres brothers who created the first moving picture), Musee des beaux arts (amazing paintings!), the 'trompe-l'oeil' frescoes on the walls around the city, Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation (WW2 Resistance museum)...I could go on and on ;-)

I rented an apartment there last May, and just re-rented for this May. You must "trabouler" - explore the old buildings in Vieux Lyon and La Croix Roussse that are connected by covered walkways - traboules - that kept the silk that was being woven dry as it was moved about. Eat! Some of the fabulous food might not be to American taste - extreme pig parts - but a lot is left. Look for bouchons - typical Lyonais bistrots - there are many near Cordeliers Metro. If you come from NYC, ride the Metro and see that they can be non-disgusting. Les Halles Paul Bocuse is a wonderful way to see and taste the great food. As a French speaking foreigner, I received a royal welcome from all the merchants who love to talk about their products. Here's a good article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/feb/13/bill-buford-lyon-food-capital?CMP=twt_gu

Kristin,
Thank you for the post. Actually, it will only be Portia and me on this leg of the vacation. Suzanne and RoseAnn will join us in Pommard, Burgundy the following week.

I am looking forward to all the tips and am delighted with those already received.

Maren, the textile museum is at the top of my list (well, second since the BIG flea market is first up on Sunday the day after we arrive). We will combine this with a visit to the Decorative Arts museum - an antiques dealers dream).

Kiriel, I think you summed it up in one word - eat! I suppose that is why you go to Lyon. I have some wonderful recommendations including "le Sud" which is a Paul Bucose restaurant. I asked the apartment rental agent for recommendations on boulengerie recommendation and she/he sent no fewer that 5 within walking distance of the flat!

Clare, thank you for all of your recommendations. Any non-touristy thoughts are most welcome.

Marc - Les Halles is on the list as well as many of the daily food markets. The auto museum sounds fun.

Alan, I have rented an apartment in the 2nd near Place de la Bourse. We always get an apartment so we can shop at the markets and do a bit of cooking (I know, we are in the city of restaurants but I just can't pass up the delights of the market). I found a good agency (www.95bis.com). The site is in French only but they are great to work with. I translated some blocks of text in an online translator. To my surprise, it said that the apartment had a coffe maker that baked bread! I thought, "how clever the French are." I think my own translation is better - cafetiere and toaster! I will report back on the apartment after our September trip. If Portia (she will be 87 in March) gets on one of the bikes, I will be sure to take a picture.

Alan, That you for posting the Guardian article for everyone. I found that yesterday and thought it was very interesting and helpful. Just sorry Bob isn't baking bread anymore.

Judy, thank you for the location of where to buy hand painted silk. We intend to do a lot of wandering.

Thank you all again, I will be checking back for your tips.

Margaret in Durcham, NC where it can't decide if it is spring or not.

P.S. Looking forward to seeing Jean-Marc in DC next week. Any other FWAD fans going to be there?

My husband and I spent time in Lyon last fall and would highly recommend going to the Roman Amphitheatre. It is amazing. There is a small park so you can bring a picnic lunch if you want and it is free admission too. The cathedral Notre Dame is close by and the view over the city of Lyon is amazing. We walked up from Town and it is grueling so if you have a car avoid the hundreds of stairs and walk up. The Beaux Art Museum courtyard is a quiet haven in a busy city. Also just soak up the flzvor people watching with a cafe or glass of wine by the fountain. Food is wonderful and walking the old city streets in search of a restaurant is fun.

Kristin,
I think Margaret has some fabulous suggestions from readers of FWAD for Lyon, and since I plan to go some day, I will save these. We will all be in Pommard, Burgundy the week after they are in Lyon (more fabulous food) and then RoseAnn and I are off for a week in Venice.

Thanks for posting the story again of getting lost on our way to Domaine Rouge-Bleu. It always reminds me of the times we have while traveling. Speaking of which ... Margaret, Portia and I will see Jean-Marc in DC next week for the tasting and dinner. We will be celebrating Portia's upcoming 87th birthday (the Ides of March)so I agree with Margaret, if Portia gets on a bicycle in Lyon we must have photos! When I go to Lyon I plan to take Kathyrn's recommendation to rent a bike. I still wish I had done that when in Bruges.

Hi, Kristin, I haven't had time to read the above suggestions, but my list would include:

Lumiere Bros. museum (they were pioneers in cinema)

Guignol museum - delightful!

Hotel Dieu museum - the bedpans are limoges!

and of course the food is phenomenal.

Looking forward to seeing JM on Sunday!
A bientot,
Ruth

Hi Kristin,

The things I discover on your blog!

I've always thought of Lyon as a traffic jam around a large industrial town and now I discover that it's a place I have to visit!
Thanks to Maren, Kiriel, Bob (for Provence), Ashley, Kathryn, Clare, Mac, Alan, Judy and Margaret for all of the tips.

Not this year though because my principal holiday will be in, guess where, Provence and we (that's the new lady in my life and myself) are luckily able to stay for as long as we choose, at the apartment of a friend in Toulon.

This will be my first visit to Provence and I'm looking forward to it immensely, and grateful for all of the contributions about what to see in and around Aix and everywhere else that was mentioned. Our time will be limited to about two weeks though because ma copine has to return to work, but it's never good to think you've seen everything and there will be other times. My friend did spend a couple of holidays in Provence a few years ago and she has places she wants to return to.

There is somewhere I visited in Paris about ten years ago which I can recommend for a fun hour or so, we ended up there in the early hours of the morning (not unusual) and were made very welcome. I can't remember the exact location but it's within easy walking distance of Victor Hugo's house which is in all the tourist books. Anyway the place is named the 'Magic Bar' and the staff are all conjurers who provide sleight of hand and card tricks with your drinks. It's possible just to have a quiet cup of coffee therebut the staff are ready to entertain if that's what you want.Now I've written this I have to hope that the place still exists.

Can't help with traditional tourist places in Paris, I haven't been a tourist there for about 50 years. That's another holiday half planned. The last time I visited Versailles it was still empty of furniture, paintings and everything else following the evacuation of same in WWII. NO I was not involved in WWII.

I did take a short break in Fontainebleau last August and I can recommend that for a break. I stayed in an inexpensive hotel (about 40€ a day) and could have travelled into Paris (gare de Lyon) for 7.50€ single.

Best wishes,

Mike.

My wife and I visited Lyon briefly in November, 2010, and we enjoyed it very much. I would recommend one bouchon without hesitation: "les lyonnais",at 1, quai des Celestins, Lyon 2eme. It's located in the NW part of the Presqu'Isle, right on the Saone across the quai from the Palais du Justice. My lunch there (by myself) was one of the best meals I can remember. We're going back in June!

Bonjour Kristin,
My family and I visited Lyon in 2007 for a family wedding. Our hosts took us to the Sunday morning markets on both sides of the river (Saone?), art on one side, food and household goods on the other, then to lunch in vieux Lyon. There are numerous places from which to choose! My wife and I took the 1 hr boat trip (very pleasant) and visited the miniature museum (fascinating). I told the kids that they only admitted 1 person at a time...

Bonne Chance!

George

I spent 2 weeks in Lyon last spring, and all of the suggestions above are good ones. Wish I had known then about Lucy Vanel, though. She's an ex-pat American married to a Frenchman, and she offers tours and cooking instruction. If that interests you (as it does me), check her website: lucyskitchennotebook.com.

Thank you so much for your pictures and for your teaching of today

I am envious! Last time I only had a day to spend in Lyon so I can tell you that at the top of my list was Bernachon chocolates. At one time I dreamed of being a chocolatier and randomly showed up at their doorstep. M. Bernachon gave me a private tour of the kitchens! Their chocolates are amazing, but the must-have is the hot chocolate next door at their cafe.

On the way back I wandered down a street parallel to Franklin Roosevelt and found myself in a World Village type boutique, chatting with a French volunteer about jewelry made in Peru. It was a wonderful shop and beautiful experience.

Wow! This was wonderful reading and many fabulous ideas for Lyon. Could we possibly ask same question but substitiute Strasbourg for Lyon?

We spent a week in an apartment in Lyon several years ago. We were fortunate enough to do many of the activities mentioned above - the museums, the walks, the meals at a bouchon. What I don't think is mentioned is that the tourist office in Lyon offers walking tours of Lyon in English at a very reasonable fee. We took one that explored both the Roman ruins and the traboules, and ended at the textile museum. We also saw les soies vivantes on our way. The tourist office also offers many downloadable "do it yourself" tours of Lyon -
http://www.en.lyon-france.com/Practical-Guide/Downloads.

Bon voyage!

Kate, I would like to be in touch ([email protected])

Margaret

Kristi,
You confused me....today is Thursday...not a blog day!Lyon,oh, like many have said...eat....and then head to Beaune and eat and drink some more.

My sister (my travel partner) and I visited Lyon, France. It is a beautiful and gastronomic city. The city has a fantastic shopping area, many beautiful statues, a picturesque old town, and buildings that are covered with full-building murals (an amazing sight to see.) Since we always try to determine the most memorable thing we did on a trip, this one had to be the tour of the Beaujolais Wine Region and of course, the tuna pizza with egg.

First of all, the pizza. It was actually a tuna pizza made with an Alfredo sauce rather than a marinara sauce and the minute it was taken from the oven, the waiter cracked an egg right in the center of the pizza. The heat from the pizza slightly cooked it but it was an egg! We thought it was so unusual and so good that we actually repeated the dinner twice.

We did not know what to expect in Lyon because we had never been there before so we read all the pamphlets on what to do and what to see. Being wine lovers, a tour of the wine country was just up our alley. We called the most interesting tour and it was booked. Oliver, the owner, took our number and within a short time, he called us back because he had a cancellation and the two of us were in!

This was a small tour. A van, Oliver driving, and five very attentive members left promptly at 9:30 in the morning. He picked us up at our hotel and headed into the hills outside of Lyon. The Beaujolais Region is an area about 5 miles by 10 miles and produces over 140 million bottles of wine each year. Most of the wineries are small ‘garage’ wineries.

Our first stop was a winery owned and run by the Pein family, Domaine de Rochebonne, Vent d’Ange. They were very gratious and knew Oliver quite well. They actually let us climb the ladder and look over into the gigantic barrels of grapes. This winery has a guest cottage if you wish to stay over. We purchased several bottles and climbed back into the van for the next part of the journey.

We stopped at the medieval village of Oingt and walked thru their winding little streets, visited the chapel, and looked at the countryside from their lookout. It was amazing, as far as you could see, hillsides covered with grapes. Back on the road again we passed a field with an entire camp of gypsies harvesting the fields. We ended up in the little town of Theize for lunch. One of the dishes served was quenelle. A really great little ‘discovery’ that my sister is now making back at home in Idaho.

The van meandered thru the winding roads of this wine region and at one point, he pulled the van into a driveway of a small home. I was expecting him to be making a turn about since the road appeared to be coming to an end but he shut the van off. We climbed out, and low and behold, the garage doors opened and another ‘garage’ winery “La Cave de Claire”! This time the giant vats were underground. We went into their tasting room and learned their story. The winery had been in existence for nearly 100 years and most recently run by the son of the owner (the man telling this story) and he had taken over because his 80 year old father had broken his leg. While we were tasting his really great wines, we heard music…loud music…tuba music! Then we were shown a picture of his father, the owner with the broken leg, playing his tuba in a band. We were given a small tour thru his garage and thru a portion of his fields to pick and taste his grapes, a memorable experience.
We were escorted back to our hotel by 5:30pm. It was a day to remember.

Reading all of these wonderful suggestions has me wanting to return to Lyon toute suite as well! What a lovely forum to share info. and ideas and recommendations, merci encore Kristi.
Anyone working on current airline tickets over to France? Seems with the current world situation, gas prices tickets are going sky high? Hoping they will drop back, though not sure that is realistic.
Kristi, are the almond trees blooming now?
Spring in France...then we love every season in France!

I just returned from my 5th visit to Lyon ... as our dear 'native' friends there say, it is truly 'Belle Lyon'! The people are warm and friendly, its history is rich with many unique contributions to Europe's community, dating back to the Roman Empire and more recently silk & textiles and it was a center for the French Resistance in WW2 (fabulous museum!) As others have mentioned, there are sooo... many little vignettes, vistas, walks, restaurants to be explored and enjoyed - don't miss the 'pedestrian streets' surrounding Place Bellecour. The Parc Tete d'Or is amazing - take time to relax and enjoy plants, animals, mini-shows, lake, beautiful open spaces! Walk through the streets and look UP ... the architecture is beautiful! Take the funicular up to Fourviere ... by day AND by night - it's spectacular! This past visit one late afternoon was so clear you could see the Alps lit up like gold, shimmering in the distance. The metro/bus system is excellent and easy so you won't need a vehicle, unless you want to explore one of the nearby medieval villages (like Perouges). But you can do that by bus as well - for 5 E we enjoyed an enchanting musical 'recital' by locals in the village of Couzon that looks like it came out of the 15th century. If you like quality fiction, some of which is set in France, I encourage you to check out Elizabeth Musser's works. She is an American who has lived in & written from Montpelier and now Lyon for over 20 years, a dear friend and wonderful example of what makes Lyon truly special :)

Pourriez-vous aidez Suzanne... ->Pourriez-vous aider(infinitif) Suzanne...

I just returned from a few days in Lyon--and wrote about it yesterday! I've actually been a number of times, it's an excellent city to walk (and walk). If the weather complies, the photo opportunities abound throughout the city.

For an inexpensive, yet gourmet dining experience in the 6th, go to le 126 on rue de Seze (in writing my review of the restaurant I discovered he's been written up in the WSJ-Europe as one of 2010's ten best chefs in Europe, as well as being lavishly praised in the esteemed Gault-Millau and France Today). Cooking classes are a lot of fun, also because you get to eat what you made, kind of a two in one deal, only I don't know whether there are any English-language ones. I had a lovely cooking lesson with a Michelin-starred chef at the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, which is a temple to gastronomy and absolutely worth exploring even if you don't go for the class.

Planning ahead in terms of public transport and where you want to go will help: www.tcl.fr can provide detailed information in English or French on exact route planning on foot, by metro or bus; so helpful.

There are some charming antique shops in the 2e (Presqu'Ile)...between window-shopping, eating and wandering, you should be quite happy! Safe travels!

I second trying to find the "traboules" in the old city -- these are sort of secret routes through the middle of buildings which I understand were first designed in order to move precious silk around the town without fear of rain. They were used during the revolution and during WWII for "secret missions." A great "bouchon" (typical Lyonnaise brasserie-type fare) is Chez Mounier, 3, Rue des Marronniers 04 78 37 79 26. For about 12 euros, a 3 or 4 course lunch with wine at long tables filled with locals from nearby offices and markets. I suggest making a reservation in the morning before going off to explore the area, otherwise it's likely to be full.