We started our abbreviated Leg 15 with six nights in Lyon. Our flights went according to schedule and after a layover in Frankfurt, we arrived in Lyon mid-afternoon. We took the Rhonexpress train from the airport to the train station and then an Uber to our Airbnb because it was raining and we didn’t want to have to figure out the tram system. However, when we went back to the Lyon airport six days later to fly to London, we did use the tram with all our luggage with no problem.
Our host was waiting for us at the Airbnb apartment and it had a near-perfect layout for us with two bedrooms, a living room with a big desk for Chad to work on, and an eat-in kitchen. The only weird thing was that the bathroom was divided into two small rooms with the toilet in one and the sinks and shower in the other. We really liked our stay here, as you can see in our review below.
We had a lovely French arrival dinner of quiche, haricot vert, and a grocery store baguette that proved how much better bread is in France.
We spent our first full day in Lyon working, but went out that evening for a date night in the old town neighborhood, Vieux Lyon. We were able to take a tram from our neighborhood to the metro, which only took about 20 minutes to get there. This is the more touristy part of Lyon and very charming. A beautiful basilica looms over the neighborhood and looks like a castle at night. We wandered around the small streets and enjoyed aperitifs at a cute little cafe before dinner. I had a kir, which was white wine with creme de cassis. I was familiar with the kir royale version, which has champagne instead, but a kir with white wine was new to me. Chad got an anisette (anise-flavored liqueur), but I don’t remember which brand. We tried many of them during our weeks in France. They are always mixed with cold water to give it a cloudy color and sometimes ice and taste like licorice.
In our leadup to Lyon, Chad learned about Lyonnaise food and bouchons, their specific-type of bistro that serves traditional local cuisine. There are a number of restaurants in Lyon that use the name bouchon but only a couple dozen of them are accredited by the local association, which is signified with a special logo. We had made a reservation at an accredited one with good reviews, Les Fines Gueules, to enjoy our first meal out and it was fantastic.
The following day was Saturday, which was perfect for a tourist day. We took the tram and metro again to reach our first stop, the Lugdunum museum and ruins in the Fourviere neighborhood overlooking the old town. We went directly to the museum to try to beat the Saturday crowds as much as possible. It was a fantastic museum, with the interior set up as a spiral hallway descending as the exhibits moved through time, and ending with at the bottom of the reconstructed Roman theater. We really enjoyed learning about the history of Lyon and its importance to Roman Gaul.
After walking through the ruins, we visited the basilica that can be seen from the old town, called La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. It’s not a super-old church but very pretty. From there we walked down the hill through the Parc des Hauteurs into the old town. We stopped for a mediocre crepe lunch and then headed home to fit in some work time in the afternoon.
On Sunday we worked again, but went out to a nice park in the afternoon, the Parc de la Tête d’Or (Golden Head Park). We love a Sunday afternoon at the park when we’re in Europe and this was a great one with a botanical garden and a small free zoo. We were able to use the tram system to get there with just a bit of walking at the end, but it is also on the bus line.
Monday was another work day, but we took a midday break for a great picnic in the park near our apartment, Parc Sergent Blandan, which was built on the site of an old army barracks. It was a great park for Chad to run in, though he only had time to run a couple times. It was also very nice for our picnic, which included baguette, smoked salmon, fake crab, lots of French cheese, carrots, olives, and fruit. After our afternoon shift working, we went back to the old town for another date night. This time we started our wandering in the neighborhood between Lyon’s two rivers, called Confluences. We enjoyed some nice architecture and plazas and the many nice bridges to the old time.
For this date night, the restaurant we chose was not a bouchon, but it did serve traditional Lyonnaise food including coq au vin (chicken in red wine), which we wanted to try since it is associated with the area. Our meal wasn’t quite as great as our first one, but still pretty good.
We spent our final day in Lyon working ahead of our trip to England and then we were off to spend 12 days of fast(ish) travel around England and Scotland with Chad’s folks. I’m not going to include that part of the leg in the blog since it was so different from our normal travel style and was mostly family time.
We really enjoyed our time in Lyon. Because we were so busy, there was a lot we didn’t get to see, especially museums, so we’d be delighted to go back again in the future. For now, it was a great start to our shortened European leg.
Airbnb review – My husband and I had a wonderful stay at Jean Paul’s apartment. Great communication before and during our stay. He met us for check in and was waiting for us when we arrived. The location is great – near three supermarkets and two tramlines. The kitchen was functional for light cooking and the wifi worked well. Everything in the apartment was very comfortable.