Lyon Guide
With its Roman ruins, Renaissance quarter and Michelin-star-studded restaurants, Lyon is a hot date. The city nestles alongside the Fourvière and Croix-Rousse hills, the Rhone and Sâone rivers snake through its core and history runs through its veins.
Discover Latin Lyon (Lugdunum) at the Roman ruins of Fourvière Hill before taking in city-wide views from the hilltop Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. Appreciate Italianate architecture and shady courtyards while you ramble the cobbled streets of the UNESCO-listed Vieux Lyon (old town). Just north of here is the centre of Lyon's silk industry La Croix-Rousse. Ancient Egyptian and Greek artwork is exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Pick up designer wear on smart Rue Emile Zola, eat chocolate-covered marzipan Coussins de Lyon (Lyon cushions) on Rue de la Charité or snap up some St Marcellin cheese at the open-air markets on Quai St-Antoine every morning except Monday. Lyon is bordered by the Beaujolais, Côteaux du Lyonnais and Côtes du Rhône vineyards – bag a bottle or two on Rue de Boeuf.
Wander the cobble-stoned Renaissance-era paths and courtyards of Vieux Lyon but be sure not to get lost in the maze of covered walkways ( traboules) which were used as escape routes for the French Resistance during World War II. Take a picnic to the contemporary Parc de la Tête d'Or or catch some rays among the sculptures of French nobility at the Jardin des Plantes. Learn archery at the action-packed Mirabel-Jonage Parc.
Visit the Jean Nouvel-designed Opéra National de Lyon or explore Lyon's history at the refurbished Musée Gadagne. Contemporary dance is performed at the Maison de la Danse and Guignol puppet shows (the original Punch and Judy, created in Lyon), at Théâtre le Guignol de Lyon.
Even Parisians admit that Lyon is France's gastronomic capital and Paul Bocuse, whose Michelin star sparkles at Quai de la Plage (in Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, 15 minutes from the centre), is the city's best known chef. Sample local flavours in the convivial bouchons taverns on Rue du Garet. Favourites are quenelles dumplings for soaking up the sauce of fish from the Savoy lakes, wild game from the Dombes and Cervelle de Canuts – a soft cheese with garlic and herbs. A fine accompaniment is a generous jug of Lyon's own Beaujolais Village or Côtes du Rhône.
See Lyon sparkle each night when 100,000 projectors illuminate 325 sites including the city's town hall, bridges, universities and parks. The initiative is part of the Plan Lumière scheme, designed to showcase the city's vast heritage.
