I really enjoyed Lyon. It was the first proper visit I have paid to a major French city outside Paris, and gives a great impression of French culture.

The Presqu’ile area, between the Saone and the Rhone, has broad boulevards and large public squares with some great buildings and fountains, including the very impressive fountain by Bartholdi (of Statue of Liberty fame) in front of the town hall. I also liked the printing museum in this area.

The area of Old Lyon on the bank of the Saone is great, with a very impressive Cathedral and winding streets. These are all linked by Traboules; covered passages with fantastic spiral staircases. You will have to keep your eyes peeled to see them, and to get into many you have to press a buzzer but they are great fun to explore. There is a great example at the Printing Museum.

Above this is the Fourviere area topped by basilica that can be seen from all around the city. It is comparable to Sacre Cour in Paris, however this has to be the most ludicrous place of worship I have visited. It is a double decker church. The lower tier is nice, however the top level is covered in very garish decorations, and really should not be missed. Nearby are the remains of the Roman theatres (Graeme’s photo below) I was surprised to find that these were actually free to enter and made a great place for a picnic.

The area of old Lyon has some great restaurants. Bouchons are the authentically Lyonnias establishments, and we had a great meal in one of them. A severe warning to Vegetarians though; you will find the going very hard here. It took us about 30 minutes to find a place with a meat free dish, let alone menu, however the more carnivorous ones amongst us will be spoilt for choice. I can strongly recommend going down to Brasserie Georges near Perrache Station. It is a full blown Art Deco treat, a massive eating hall with no expense spared decoration. It also brews its own beers, a real treat.

Lyon was a delight and gave me a great introduction to Metropolitan France outside Paris.