Lyon

France's gastronomic capital: an old town at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, the hidden passageways of Croix-Rousse and a year-end Festival of Lights, at the heart of France's second-largest metropolitan area.

Lyon lies in southeastern France at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and France's second-largest metropolitan area, it was known in Roman times as Lugdunum, capital of Gaul, and grew rich on silk during the Renaissance. The roughly 500-hectare Historic Site of Lyon — Vieux Lyon, Fourvière Hill, Croix-Rousse Hill and the Presqu'île — was added to the World Heritage list in 1998. The city is easiest to understand as "two hills, two rivers and a peninsula": on the west bank, Fourvière Hill (basilica, Roman theatre) with Vieux Lyon at its foot; to the north, Croix-Rousse Hill (the silk workers' district and its traboules); between the rivers, the Presqu'île (Place Bellecour, the Hôtel de Ville, the Musée des Beaux-Arts and shopping streets), with the newly developed Confluence district at its southern tip; and on the east bank of the Rhône, the Parc de la Tête d'Or and Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. The climate is mildly continental, with summers often above 30°C and damp, cold winters; Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct are most pleasant. Over four nights around 8 December, the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights) covers the city in light projections, but hotels must be booked months in advance. Getting there: the TGV from Paris takes about 2 hours to Part-Dieu or Perrache station; from Saint-Exupéry Airport, the Rhônexpress tram reaches the city in about 30 minutes. The metro, trams and the funiculars up the hill (F1 to Saint-Just, F2 to Fourvière) all use TCL tickets. Allow 2–3 days, plus an optional day in the Beaujolais wine country or the medieval village of Pérouges. Food is the soul of Lyon: look for traditional bistros displaying the "Les Bouchons Lyonnais" label and try quenelles, salade lyonnaise and pink praline tart; many restaurants close on Sundays and Mondays. Chinese passport holders need a Schengen visa. Watch out for pickpockets in the old town and around stations.

Top sights

• Vieux Lyon – One of Europe's best-preserved Renaissance districts, with stone-paved lanes, colorful buildings, traboules (covered passageways), and Sain…
• Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière – A white basilica overlooking all of Lyon, with dazzling gold mosaics inside and a viewing terrace with views toward the Alps.
• La Croix-Rousse & Traboules – The “hill of labor,” home to silk weavers. Its traboule passageways and the grand exterior stairway of Cour des Voraces bear witness to Lyo…
• Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse – The showcase of Lyon's status as a food capital, with about 50 top stalls selling cheese, charcuterie, oysters, and desserts, where you can…
• Ancient Theatres of Fourvière & Lugdunum Museum – The oldest Roman theatre in Gaul, built in 15 BCE. A semi-underground museum beside it displays two thousand years of Lugdunum's remains.
• Place Bellecour & Presqu'île – One of Europe's largest paved pedestrian squares, with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV at its center and the town hall and shopping stree…
• Musée des Confluences – A deconstructivist 'crystal cloud' at the confluence of two rivers, telling the story of life and civilization through natural science and…
• Parc de la Tête d'Or – One of France's largest city parks, with a lake, a free zoo, a rose garden and a large greenhouse, ideal for a relaxed half-day.
• Lyon Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste) – The Gothic cathedral in Lyon's old town, whose 14th-century astronomical clock chimes on the hour. It is the starting point for exploring t…
• Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon – One of France's largest regional art museums, housed in a 17th-century abbey. Its collection ranges from ancient Egyptian artifacts to work…
• Musée Miniature et Cinéma – A distinctive museum in the old town, with miniature scenes of astonishing detail and real props and effects models from films such as Perf…
• Institut Lumière – A film museum in the Lumière brothers' family villa. The factory beside it is where the world's first film was shot.
• Place des Terreaux & Hôtel de Ville – The central square at the northern tip of the Presqu'île, framed by the 17th-century town hall, a Bartholdi fountain and an art museum. It…
• Mur des Canuts – One of Europe's largest trompe-l'oeil murals, with about 1,200 square meters of wall painted with the streets, staircases and buildings of…
• Fresque des Lyonnais – A giant trompe-l'oeil mural on a building beside the Saône, showing 30 figures from Lyon's history leaning out of windows.
• Musée Gadagne – Two museums in the largest Renaissance mansion of the Old Town: the Lyon History Museum and the World Puppetry Museum.
• Lyon Confluence – A new district at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, lined with avant-garde buildings such as the Orange Cube, plus a large shopping ce…
• Rue Mercière – The most lively restaurant street in the Presqu'île, with a concentration of traditional Lyonnais bouchons, ideal for sampling local food.
• Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs – One of the world's leading textile collections, spanning 4,000 years and showcasing Lyon's glory as the silk capital.
• Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation – A memorial in the former Gestapo headquarters from WWII, telling the story of underground struggle in Lyon, the 'Capital of the Resistance'.
• Pérouges – A hilltop stone village about 35 km northeast of Lyon, one of the 'Most Beautiful Villages in France', where the sugar galette is a must-tr…
• Vienne – A Roman town 30 km south of Lyon, with well-preserved Temple of Augustus and Livia and Roman theater, and a jazz festival renowned across E…
• Parc des Oiseaux – One of Europe's largest bird parks, home to about 3,000 birds from five continents, with daily large-scale bird flight shows.
• Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay – One of Lyon's oldest surviving churches, a 12th-century Romanesque abbey church whose interior stone columns were reused from Roman materia…
• Church of Saint-Nizier – A flamboyant Gothic church at the heart of the Presqu'île with two striking, asymmetrical spires, said to be built on the burial site of Ly…
• Grand Hôtel-Dieu & Cité de la Gastronomie – An 800-year-old hospital on the Rhône, restored into a hotel, courtyard restaurants and the International Gastronomy Center.
• Jardin du Rosaire – A terraced garden below Notre-Dame de Fourvière, overlooking the Old Town's rooftops; the best walking route from the basilica back down to…
• Berges du Rhône – About 5 km of riverside path along the Rhône's left bank for cycling, running, barge bars and picnicking on the grass, the summer living ro…
• Oingt & Beaujolais Pierres Dorées – The 'Land of Golden Stones' about 35 km northwest of Lyon, where golden limestone villages alternate with vineyards and visitors can taste…

Where to eat

• Café Comptoir Abel – A century-old certified bouchon in Lyon's 2nd arrondissement, famous for its cream-sauced pike quenelles and chicken st…
• Restaurant Paul Bocuse – The legendary restaurant of the "Chef of the Century" Paul Bocuse, retaining tableside service and famous for its Bress…
• Daniel et Denise (Saint-Jean) – An Old Lyon bouchon run by MOF chef Joseph Viola, renowned for its world-champion pâté en croûte.
• Le Garet – An old-school bouchon near City Hall, specializing in authentic Lyonnaise offal dishes like fried tripe and calf's head.
• Giraudet (Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse) – A counter of the local Lyon brand inside Les Halles Paul Bocuse, where you can enjoy budget-friendly quenelles and fres…
• La Mère Brazier – A legendary Lyon restaurant founded in 1921, now run by Mathieu Viannay and holding two Michelin stars.

Itineraries

• Lyon, Annecy & Chamonix Rail & Bus Tour – Connect Lyon Old Town, Lake Annecy, and Mont Blanc without a car, departing from Geneva
• Eastern France Rail Grand Route: Reims to Lyon – Connect the historic cities of Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace, and Burgundy by rail, from Paris to Lyon.