Lyon has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France, if you consider yourself a foodie, Lyon is absolutely worth visiting as the culinary capital of France. The city is known for its historical and architectural landmarks and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lyon is one of the host cities of the Summer Olympics 2024, so it’s the perfect excuse to discover or re-discover the city.
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WHAT TO DO IN LYON
Spend two days in Lyon to cover the best places to visit in Lyon and get a good taste of what the city has to offer. Spend more time if you are willing to explore the city’s surroundings on day trips from Lyon. If all of that sounds ideal for your next trip, then here’s a list of the best things to do in Lyon, France.
Musée des Beaux-Arts, one of France’s most important museums and largest collections of fine art.
Continue exploring Lyon on foot, reaching the Saint-Nizier Church, whose impressive Gothic-style façade will leave you in awe. The next stop on your route will be Place Bellecour, one of Europe’s largest open squares, where you’ll arrive after strolling through the famous Place des Jacobins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to one of the city’s most photographed fountains.
Walk alongside the River Saône, entering Vieux Lyon, the Old Town, where you’ll be immersed in the city’s fascinating Medieval architecture. Discover the history and curious facts surrounding the legendary traboules, historic passageways used to get around the city, as you admire the pink tower of the Traboule de la Tour Rose.
Finally, you’ll visit the Cathedral, dedicated to John the Baptist, located at the foot of Fourvière Hill. From there you the path to reach Notre Dame de Fourbière. The basilica was built between 1872 and 1884, and it sits on top of Fourbière Hill in the Fifth District.
The church is magnificent from the outside, but the inside is something else, filled with stained glass images, beautiful mosaics, and interesting crypts. The hike up the hill to the church is well worth doing, particularly if you do it in the early morning or evening, to see the views at sunset or sunrise.
WHERE TO EAT
France is known for its food, so when people say that Lyon is the best place in the country to eat, then you know that the cuisine must be really good! It’s where young chefs learn their trade, and you can be the lucky recipient of all this experimentation.
No matter where you eat, you’ll find that the food is pretty amazing. To learn more about what Lyon has to offer from a culinary point of view, explores the Old Town from a gourmet’s perspective, combining cultural discovery and local flavors.
For lunch or dinner, make sure that you visit one of the local bouchons, which are typical restaurants where you can eat specialties like the tablier de sapron, quenelles (kind of dumplings), Lyonnaise salad, and canut brain. Everything is generally served very copiously and washed down with a glass of Beaujolais or Côtes-du-Rhône.
