Stunning Lyon Cathedral rises above the city's historic old town. Photo / Getty Images
Stunning Lyon Cathedral rises above the city's historic old town. Photo / Getty Images
An easy-to-reach city with two millennia of history, Lyon is a fascinating mix of tradition and innovation, writes Brett Atkinson.
What to see
Amid a labyrinth dating from medieval and Renaissance times, the highlight of Vieux Lyon, the city's Unesco World Heritage-listed old town is the Romanesque meets Gothic splendour of the Cathedrale St-Jean Baptiste.
Another ecclesiastical must-see is the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere, crowning the city from where the Romans established the settlement of Lugdunum in 43BC and offering superb views of Lyon's location on a peninsula in the Rhone River. A handy funicular trundles up Fourviere hill from the Vieux Lyon metro station.
Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere offers superb views across the Rhone River. Photo / Getty Images
Museums to seek out include Fourviere's Musee Gallo-Roman, shining a light on the city's Roman genesis, and works from art world superstars Rodin, Monet and Picasso at the Musee des Beaux-Arts. The origins of cinema are showcased at Lyon's Musee Lumiere, housed in the glorious Art Nouveau villa of Antoine Lumiere. In 1895, Lumiere's sons, Auguste and Louis, trained their newly-invented Cinematographe camera on workers leaving a Lyon factory for lunch, and filmed what is regarded as the world's first motion picture.
What to do
Originally built in the 19th century to transport merchandise around the city from a booming silk industry, Lyon's 50km-long network of traboules (secret passages) transects buildings and apartment blocks, detours underground, and journeys through compact courtyards amid the old town. To negotiate the confounding urban collage of tunnels and zigzags, download the free iPhone app from traboules-lyon.fr, or join a guided tour with Visiter Lyon.
Where to eat
The classic Lyon restaurant experience is dining at bouchons, small, family-owned bistros that serve up good-value multi-course menus of local classics. Lunch is usually better value, and four-course menus could include quenelles (egg and cream dumplings with meat or fish), or poulet au vinaigre (chicken cooked in vinegar). Entrees and mains are often bookended by a Communard cocktail – blending creme de cassis with Beaujolais wine - and a cheese board and dessert. Service is informal, red and white-checked tablecloths are virtually mandatory, and you might find yourself sharing a table with Lyonnais locals at old-school places like Cafe des Federations and Le Musee.
Lyon boasts a lively mixrture of Michelin star restaurants and small, family-owned bistros. Photo / Getty Images
Lyon's other traditional destination for travelling foodies is Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, named after the legendary French chef who made Lyon his home until his death in 2018. More than 50 different stalls feature at the market first opened in 1971. Pick up local cheeses, charcuterie and bread for a riverside picnic, or dine at Maison Rousseau for the freshest of seafood. Beat the crowds by visiting the market on a weekday, or join a guided tour with Lyon Food Tour to meet a few of the vendors.
Beyond Lyon's culinary traditions, the city's also regarded as a centre of innovative dining. More than 20 restaurants boast Michelin stars, including L'Agastache, a few blocks east of the river on Lyon's Rive Gauche. Opened in 2020 by two young Lyon chefs, highlights of an ever-changing menu informed by local suppliers could include lamb in a cocoa and mint crust or lobster bisque risotto.
Lyon is a gateway to the centuries-old vineyards of the northern Rhone Valley, especially to the south around the town of Vienne for the Condrieu and Cote Rotie appellations. Try local varietals, including excellent viognier and syrah at Lyon wine bars including Odessa Comptoir and Le Vitis. Both spots also serve wines from the Beaujolais sub-region north of Lyon. Keen students of the local winemaking scene should book a private tasting session with Caroline Conner from Lyon Wine Tastings (@lyonwinetastings on Instagram). Tastings include overflowing plates of local cheeses and charcuterie.
Students attending more than 30 universities help Lyon also be one of France's best cities for craft beer. Local brewers Ninkasi, named after the ancient Sumerian goddess of beer and brewing, have nine locations around the city. Most popular is their riverside Guillotiere location, a good spot to also try their gourmet burgers and craft whiskey. Just north of Ninkasi along Quai Victor Augagneur, there's a string of peniches (floating bars). They're a good spot for late afternoon apero drinks – the French equivalent of Italy's aperitivo pre-dinner ritual – and later at night morph into pumping nightclubs with DJs and global beats.
The city's river pathways are ideal for wandering. Photo / Getty Images
Where to stay
French hotel chain OKKO has 13 different locations around the country, and its Pont Lafayette outpost in Lyon has stylish and good-value rooms overlooking the Rhone River. Buffet breakfasts feature local and organic produce, and complimentary apero drinks and snacks are served from late afternoon.
Getting There
For New Zealand travellers, Lyon can be reached on direct flights from Dubai with Emirates. The city is linked to Paris Gare de Lyon on France's high-speed TGV train network (two hours), as well as direct trains from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (also two hours). Incorporating a change of trains in Paris, Eurostar departures from London St Pancras take around six hours.
