I was so impressed by this charming old city that I decided to share my experience through my post about 5 highlights of Lyon after spending a weekend there.
I arrived late in the evening at Saint Exupery airport to attend a weekend seminar. I run to the train station (just right beside the airport), hoping to join the other seminar members.
They had dinner at Restaurant Marguerite, a restaurant created by Paul Bocuse at a brasserie price. But I arrived too late. I believe it is a nice address, so please share your experience here if you make it one day.
1st of the highlights of Lyon: Saint Exupery train station
I did not expect what I saw after the 15 minutes walk to the train station: a beautiful and modern building that appears quite futuristic.
The station was empty. There were no travellers nor agents that night. It added a more dramatic effect to the whole lot. The place was beautiful but a little soulless and cold. It is still a highlight of my trip because it made me go “waow”, and the building’s design really struck me.
The ticket to the centre, to Lyon Part-Dieu, cost 15.90 Euros one way. After that, I realised how cheap and great public transportation in Barcelona is. You can use one of your 10T tickets from the airport to town in Barcelona.
And don’t try to cheat on the train in Lyon. There is a ticket controller on the train. It is old fashioned, but I like it because of its human report.
For information, that train ticket cannot be used on Lyon’s urban network. So I had to buy another ticket to change to the tramway,
2nd of the highlights of Lyon: visit the old quarter
As I was attending a weekend seminar, I only saw part of the city. However, we had a pleasant evening walking around, guided by a local.
It started underneath the tail of the horse on Place Bellecour. The meeting point of the Lyonnais. Then we headed to Quartier Saint Jean in the old district of Lyon.
The quartier Saint Jean has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site being the second biggest Renaissance district in the world after Venice.
On the way, I could admire the old houses along the river. The city is quite romantic, especially in the dark. We did not have time to go up the viewpoint of Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Fourviere, but we had a nice view of it from the Place Saint Jean.
There you can also visit the Cathedral Saint Jean de Lyon. The old quarter itself is full of narrow paved streets and centuries-old buildings full of history.
That makes it a great place to stroll around. On the Rue du Boeuf, do not forget to look up for the boeuf (ox) on the wall of one of the buildings.
3rd of the highlights of Lyon: Walking in a “traboule”
Linda, our guide, introduced us to the world of “traboules”, more precisely to the underworld of “traboules”.
“Traboules” are narrow pedestrian passageways. They are kind of secret. In Lyon, they were originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products. During WWII, they were used to escape the Nazis.
It is pretty cool to walk in a “traboule”. Ours was somewhere in the old town. It runs under private properties, so we had to ask a man to let us in as we were there outside public visiting hours…
I forgot to take the address. But you can get a free map of the “traboules” at the tourist office.
4th of the highlights of Lyon: A gastronomic experience
Lyon has a gastronomic reputation, and you definitely should try to eat at a bouchon, a traditional Lyon restaurant.
I actually wanted to try all the famous restaurants I found online (bouchon or not), but it seems Sunday evening is a rest evening, so they were all closed.
If I were on FB, I would add on my status – feeling disappointed with a sad smiley face… Anyway, I had to find a place that was open that night.
The Tire Bouchon in the old town seemed interesting. I thought it was a bouchon because of its name. They do offer traditional cuisine but revisited.
I had the 26 euros menu with a Kir Royal (5 euros more). As a starter, I ordered the “gateau de foie de volaille” (a poultry liver dish). It was so light and melting in the mouth.
Then the “tête de veau sauce gribiche” (calf’s head with a French sauce that contains notably mustard, capers and cornichons) and finally a lemon dessert.
I liked the food though I think Lyonnaise cuisine is best enjoyed at lunchtime as it is quite heavy…
My waitress has also been kind enough to let me taste a sample of “Cervelle de Canut”. It is a dish based on fromage blanc with chopped herbs, shallots, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar.
This one also contained cream. Its name literally means “silk worker’s brain”, after the “Canuts”, the silk workers of 19th-century Lyon.
5. Last of the highlights of Lyon: A tasty ending with artisan ice-cream
This is how my trip ended: with a delicious artisan ice cream at Rene Narbone. 3 euros a scoop at the terrace.
No sorbet on offer, though an amazing choice of flavours: chocolate, white mint, mojito etc… You can also add Chantilly cream and other toppings to your ice cream!
I like Lyon. That second visit opened my eyes to things I missed the first time I was here.
I wished I stayed longer that weekend to discover more highlights of Lyon. But I will come back. This charming city has much more to unveil! One of them, the Museum of miniature and theatre and all the remaining food places I have missed.
The addresses of this post:
Restaurant Marguerite: 57 Avenue des Frères Lumière, 69008 Lyon
Tire Bouchon: 16 Rue du Bœuf (Vieux Lyon)
Rene Narbone: 3, place Ennemond-Fousseret (Vieux Lyon)
Tourism website: https://en.lyon-france.com/