Lyon on a Plate

Located at the confluence of two of France’s most important rivers—the Rhône and the Saône—Lyon, with its colourful riverfront townhouses and soaring church spires, is one of the prettiest cities in France.

PAST PERFECT

I discovered that the best way to explore Lyon is to ramble through the cobbled streets of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), which is one of the largest Renaissance neighbourhoods in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amid tiny cafés, bars, and souvenir shops, there are innocuous doors that open into traboules. Lyon’s network of over 200 medieval passages—or traboules—was once used by silk merchants to access the riverfront. The historical silk industry of Lyon was based in the neighbourhood of Croix-Rousse. Here, I visited La Maison des Canuts for a fabulous guided tour of the heritage that 500 years of silk production have left behind. Since I’m a museum geek, I had to drop in at Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, which is housed in a former 17th-century Benedictine abbey. It has a massive collection of Impressionist paintings, Egyptian antiquities, and modern art. Speaking of the modern, don’t miss the Musée des Confluences—with its futuristic spaceship-like design— which focusses on anthropology and natural science. Lyon is dotted with churches, all equally stunning, but the Romanesque Basilica of Notre-Dame, perched atop the Fourvière hill, comes with a bird’s-eye view of the city.

GOURMET GUIDE

I travel to eat. It was the primary reason to visit Lyon, considering it’s the unofficial gourmet capital of France. The legendary Chef Paul Bocuse was Lyonnais. So, naturally, Les Halles de Lyon–Paul Bocuse was one of my first stops. This sprawling indoor market has more than 60 stalls selling high-quality artisanal products—bread, cheese, foie gras, pâté, terrine, chocolates, and more— from the region. I also loved trawling the outdoor food markets of Marché Quai Saint-Antoine, and La Croix Rousse Market. My favourite thing to do was to grab a hearty meal at a bouchon, a traditional, homely restaurant typical of Lyon. Some Lyonnais dishes worth trying include tripe soup, andouillette (pork offal sausage), quenelle (fish dumplings in sauce), boudin noir (blood sausage), and praline tart. Wash it all down with a local wine, such as the light-bodied Beaujolais, or the rich, deliciously fruity Côtes du Rhône. Among restaurants, Le Bouchon des Filles, Chabert et Fils, and Chez Georges offer an authentic experience.

From left: The pink tarte praline was invented by an 18th-century Lyonnais pastry chef, who was inspired by the rose gardens in the Rhône region; Place de la Trinité is a square located in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon.