Lyon (pronounced lee-on), the third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille was my choice of a stopover city before I head to Arles to attend one of my closest friend’s wedding.

City

One of the busiest parts of the city is where the city hall (Hôtel de Ville) is and that sits between the two rivers (Rhône and Saône). Staying here has its perks with many of the attractions located within walking distance. While adorned with spacious plazas, picturesque buildings and hidden lanes, I didn’t enjoy the smell of cigarettes and urine everywhere. I considered myself lucky as I met someone on the plane who is from Lyon and told me to visit Croix-Rousse instead. Supposedly the less tourist-trap area which I happen to enjoy very much.

For this trip, we didn’t have a full blown itinerary of must-do’s. We decided to take our time wandering around instead. We’ve spent most of our time walking inside the little lanes mostly surrounding Hôtel de Ville. For most part of it, the city is fairly walkable. There are some hilly parts which will take you up steep flight of stairs! Continue on and I promise you will end up with great views of the city. If you don’t want to walk, you can opt to take the bus (TCL), tickets will cost you €2 and it’s valid for 1 hour.

We chose to go on foot after stuffing ourselves with much croissants and baguettes. The walk to Croix-Rousse was a delightful one which adorned us with such pretty sights! The buildings around was old but well maintained, the path is narrow and there were some amazing lookout points namely Point de Vue. We realized later that we were walking via Montée de la Grande-Côte, which is one of the most historical and captivating streets in Lyon. It is also located in a zone that is classified as World’s Heritage Site by UNESCO. That was such a wonderful surprise after walking under the rain.

FOOD

I knew I was going to savour the culinary world of France travelling here and what a way to do it the city of Lyon, where Paul Bocuse was based for most of his lifetime. Not only known as the ‘pope of gastronomy’, he was also famous for creating the Bocuse d’Or – one of the most prestigious cooking competitions in the world.

As I was researching on some of the must-eats in Lyon, many pointed me to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. It’s basically a food market offering fine produce which is available for purchase and it has been around since 1971. While I was delighted to see a wide range of cheesemongers, butcheries, wines and patisseries on display, I was immediately disappointed seeing some fresh produced left out in the open (during summer) for a long time. Some were even swarmed with flies. Needless to say, I lost my appetite and didn’t bother getting anything to eat. Luckily, there were many shops around nearby. We managed to get a Lyonnaise tart and a Pate en Croute (a very popular dish in Lyon that the city hosts championships for innovative preparation of the dish).

The Lyonnaise tart wasn’t much to shout about, just a praline tart but very recognizable for it’s bright pink colour. I didn’t regret getting two pieces of the Pate en Croute – that was delectable! We were told to just have it at room temperature as it is.

It was also highly recommended to eat in a bouchon while in Lyon. A bouchon is basically a type of French restaurant in Lyon that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine which usually consists of meat dishes. Don’t expect anything fancy, authentic Lyonnais cuisine is humble. Its dishes are prepared using fresh produce and following the principle of “nothing goes to waste”, which is why you might see some parts of the meat being offered like head, tongue, cheek, etc. We chose La Tête de Lard for our bouchon experience. The menu changes according to what’s in season. We got to try the Salade Lyonnaise (another Lyon specialty) which I highly recommend to try while in Lyon.

Authentic bouchons can be identified by a label which is awarded and certified by the Lyon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Check the list of certified bouchons here to ensure your authentic experience.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

One of the hidden treasures of Lyon is the traboules and miraboules located in Vieux-Lyon (old Lyon). Vieux-Lyon is also a very beautiful place to visit as I understand it and you can read more about it here. With only 3 days in Lyon, I didn’t manage to make my way there but I hope to make it the next time I decide to come back.

Usually I’d want to eat everything in France and we were lucky enough to stumbled upon a creperie place. It’s called Suzette Creperie which serves a decent portion of delicious crepe. I was really surprised with the food portions in Lyon! I guess my expectations was set the last time I visited Paris. Suzette Creperie was really yummy and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to eat some crepes!

Albeit short, it was definitely a memorable one.