Enyoy Lyon by bike
Get yourself lost down cobbled streets and across countless bridges in this extremely bike-friendly city. Take the tour along the quais (the banks of the river Saône and Rhône), particularly Quai St Vincent (underneath La Croix-Rousse looking up to Lyon’s miniature version of the Eiffel Tower). Cycle all the way along the bank until you get to the tunnel de La Croix-Rousse, a cyclist/pedestrian-only tunnel stretching from east to west built under the bohemian arts district known as Croix Rousse. A surreal ride accompanied by music and dancing animals projected onto the wall. When you reach the other side, cross the bridge towards the Parc de la Tête d’Or, a huge park with a lake, pedalos and even a zoo!
Rose Labdon
A fine time with food and wine
La Voûte Chez Léa is a great restaurant, similar menu-wise to Lyon’s many bouchons but the standard of cooking was a good few notches above most. La Cave de Cécile is a great wine bar in an atmospheric setting with a by-the-glass selection that changes daily. Also, try Bernachon, which is a famous chocolate shop and cafe. Tip: the selection in the shop is much the same, and much cheaper, than the neighbouring cafe.
Dave Stenton
River cruise with food – and fantastic markets
Take a trip on L’Hermes lunch/dinner river cruise boat or jump on the T1 tram here and it will take you to Les Halles, Lyon’s food halls where you can buy from the best suppliers in France or eat at one of the restaurants.
LyonLondon
A bar to dream of … Comptoir du Vin
On rue Belfort, this quintessential French bar, Comptoir du Vin, is one that you’ve always dreamed of but assumed didn’t really exist anymore. While the chef delivers a noisily eccentric political monologue to assembled drinkers and diners, locals present an effortlessly louche tableau of cafe life à la Lyonaise. Wonderful.
WhiteManDancing
The best beers – and great burgers – in Lyon
Lyon is getting more and more of a taste for beer. Several bars dedicated to quality beers have opened these last few years. One of the oldest is the Le Palais de la Bière, with more than 300 beers available. The Ninkasi is a local brewery with several bars around town. The Beers has a friendly atmosphere and is close to the Vieux Lyon. The 405 is close to the town hall and has 40 beers on tap – and shows rugby matches on widescreen TVs around the bar. Les Fleurs du Malt may be a bit pricey but it stocks rare beers and its bartenders know their job. In summer, there’s an amazing beer garden by the river at the Star Ferry, which has a wide selection of beers from all over the world, and great burgers.
Glasny
Feast at Brasserie L’Est
We really enjoyed Paul Bocuse’s Brasserie L’Est. It is in an old train station and the ambience, food and service was great. The place was full but didn’t feel crowded or rushed and it was relatively inexpensive. Entree, main course, wine and dessert around €100 for two.
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Discover the city’s on-trend areas
Visit SoBell (South Bellecour), the trendy name for the area south of Place Bellecour and before Perrache train station. Take the metro to Ampere, to where the 2nd arrondissement is shaking down its shabby self with chic new restaurants, such as Comptoire Thomas, and galleries and boutiques (try the Rhône side for late local bars, though it’s a bit prickly around the edges). On the Saône side you’ll find more tranquil cafes and historic ramparts.
LyonLondon
A ‘funi’ thing happened on the way to the Forum Romanum
The comprehensive public transport system offers an intriguing outlook on the city, not least in the variety of ways it provides to get around. In addition to TGVs, trains, trams and trolleybuses, the tube network has four lines, one of which (Métro C) is part-rack railway, boasting what may be the world’s steepest underground station at Croix-Paquet. Also incorporated in the Métro map are two funicular railways, departing from Vieux Lyon St-Jean.
Ascending there by mercy of a metal cable, the Roman element transpires to be less forum and more theater. Lyon has three of them, two beside each other on the Fourvière hillside, opposite Minimes funicular station. One amphitheater can also be found on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse (l’Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules) above a tunnel that formerly housed the world’s first funicular railway. A pack of 10 adult transport tickets for the TCL network in Lyon is around €16, each allowing one hour’s unlimited travel.
suseuser
Stroll, savour and learn
Step into almost any bouchon (Lyonnais restaurant serving traditional local fare) and you’ll have a job spending more than €20 on a three-course meal. Including wine. For an even cheaper and no-less authentic way to indulge in the local cuisine, visit the Marché Saint-Antoine Célestins that follows the Saône. Take in the atmosphere and get some fantastic fresh produce, then take it over to the Parc de la Tête d’Or in the 6th arrondissement. This is the perfect place to picnic, either enjoying the beautiful surroundings or visiting the free zoo and botanic gardens.
The city goes back to Roman times and the amphitheatre is still used for concerts (Björk recently played there). Alternatively, you could have a wander round the medieval old town (France’s largest, and a Unesco world heritage site). When you do though, give the odd front door a gentle push. If it opens, it may well lead you into one of Lyon’s (once hidden but now famous) traboules, or passageways.
Originally used by the city’s merchants as a short-cut to and from the river, the traboules became vital to the city’s resistance movement during the second world war, as they gave resistance fighters who knew the city a means of escape from the Gestapo. The Gestapo headquarters is now the Resistance and Deportation History Centre.
James King
Brasserie Le Sud and L’Espace Gerson
These places aren’t well known, but the people who discover them find that they are utterly fantastic. Brasserie Le Sud is known to have the same quality as the other renowned brasseries, such as Brasserie Le Nord, but it’s less expensive. The cafe-theatre L’Espace Gerson has a bar, which also serves cold cuts and cheese, and it organises great improv comedy nights, too.
Rico Gaucho
