Well, we had to end our tour of France at some point, and we decided to end it by visiting Lyon. We debated whether to go on down to Marseilles or one of the towns in the south, but Lyon had everything we were looking for – history, good food, and great wine! Plus an international airport that was easy to fly out of on our way home.
Lyon is only around two hours south of Beaune, so we took the train. Easy peasy! We arrived in Lyon around lunch time, dropped off our bags at the hotel, and headed out looking for some food.
Laura, DLP, Tom, Mr. T, and I were staying at one of the fanciest hotels I have ever stayed in, the Hotel Le Royal Lyon MGallery. We found out later that the Nazis used this hotel as their residences during WWII – not great, but I understood why once we were there. It was in an excellent location, between the Rhone and Saône Rivers, close to public transportation, and a couple of blocks from the Rue Victor Hugo, a pedestrian only street with many shops and some bars and cafes.
Sarah, Susan, and Patti were staying at the other end of Rue Victor Hugo, at the Hotel des Remparts. Although not as fancy as our hotel, they said it met their needs and the staff was wonderful.
Laura, DLP, Mr. T, and I found a cute place to eat, Cafe L’Ilot Brasserie Pub, about halfway down Rue Victor Hugo. I was craving a hamburger, so that’s what I ordered. The service was great and the food was good!
On the way back to the hotel I spotted a pharmacy. Pharmacies in France are not the same as pharmacies in the U.S. While most of them do dispense medicine, there are some where you can purchase excellent skin care products for much less than you can in the U.S. This is the kind of pharmacy I had spotted, and I was happy! Laura and I purchased a few things, and then when we were checking out, we received several free sample and full size products. Plus the sales people were super helpful! I would go back to France just to go back to a pharmacy!
We went back to our hotel and still had to wait to check in. No problem, the bar was open so we relaxed for a bit until our rooms were ready.
That evening we had scheduled a food tour with the same service we used in Strasbourg, Do Eat Better. This is my favorite way to get acquainted with a city. We met our guide across the Saône River in the Old Town of Lyon.
Our first stop was at Fromagerie Saint Jean, a small cheese store/restaurant/bar. All of my favorites! You can get cheese to go, or stay there and eat cheese-based dishes, all paired with delightful wines.
Walking around Old Town Lyon you will find traboules, which are secret covered passageways originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products in case of inclement weather. During WWII, the traboules were used by the French Resistance for meetings and to escape from the Nazis. Today, many are on private property, but there are still some that you can see.
Our next stop was at a store that specialized in meats, cheeses, and everything Lyonnaise. What makes them different than other gourmet markets is that they make their own praline syrup. In fact, the name of the market was Le Sirop del la Rue (The Syrup of the Street). Besides praline syrup, we had some delicious sausages and fried pork rinds.
We headed to the next location, Restaurant Chez Grand-Mere, where we would be sitting down for a meal. Here we were able to taste the local speciality Quenelles de Brochet, a dish prepared with the pike fish (bones and everything) and served with a crayfish or lobster sauce. Delicious!
For dessert our guide took us to a famous pastry shop, The Pralus House, that makes praluline, a brioche bread with chips of pink pralines. He knew that the bakery would be closed when it was time for us to go, so lucky for us he purchased the loaves ahead of time and we could take them back to our hotel to eat later. They were so good! Susan even went back to get some to bring home!
Our final stop was at a Food Traboule, an upscale foodcourt located in one of Lyon’s famous traboules. We meandered through several eating and drinking areas before ending up at Le Bar on the upper level. Here we ended the night with a typical French liqueur, Chartreuse. It is composed of distilled alcohol and aged with 130 herbs, plants, or flowers. After our guide left us we stayed for another cocktail. Santé!
The next day was gorgeous – and luckily we had booked a tour of the Beaujolais wine region with Sur les Sentiers de l’Oenotourisme, and Justine was our tour guide. And of all the French wine regions, I believe that Beaujolais is Tom’s favorite! Beaujolais is located about 45 minutes northwest of Lyon, so we had a pretty drive through the countryside.
Our first stop on the tour was at a small village called Oingt. If I am thinking of a what a typical village in France would look like, I am thinking about this place. We walked around the village, which is wonderfully restored. Lots of artists and craftsmen call this place home, and it is well worth a visit.
Close by was Domaine de Fond-Vielle, a small, family-owned winery. When I say small, it is basically just the owner, Dominique, his wife, and now his son. The wine was fantastic, and we had an awesome time. Since they did not ship wine to the U.S. I purchased an apron as a souvenir.
We stopped in the little village of Saint Etienne la Varenne at Le Comptoir Gourmand for lunch on our way to the next winery. You know it’s a good place when it is busy and the locals support it.
Our last stop was at Domaine de la Madone located in the Fleurie appellation. The estate is named for the statue of the Virgin Mary that sits on top of a small chapel at the top of the hill overlooking the village of Fleurie. The wines, the estate, and the view were all exceptional!
We headed back to Lyon, and decided to go back to Fromagerie Saint Jean for dinner. Since we weren’t very hungry, some of us opted for fondue. It was delicious and fun!
The next morning we headed back to the Old Town to visit Brochier Soieries to peruse their silk scarves. Lyon has been known for their silk trade since the 15th century. This shop still uses traditional methods to handcraft these silk scarves. Almost everybody in our group bought at least one.
That afternoon we headed to the Centre D’histoire De La Resistance Et De La Deportation. We had scheduled a private tour with Jean on WWII and the Resistance. We learned so much from Jean, and he was an excellent tour guide. Lyon was considered the capital of the French Resistance – the rail system, the traboules, and the network of groups working together all contributed to this. France does a good job of remembering its past, and you will see plaques on buildings honoring Resistance leaders as well as Jewish people who were taken from their homes and killed or sent to concentration camps.
It ended up pouring down rain for a good part of the tour, and Jean could sense that we needed to stop for a glass of wine to get dry and take in this rather somber subject. He was easy to talk to and spoke impeccable English. We all highly recommend this tour.
Our final day in Lyon we decided to venture up the hill to visit the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière. It was a Sunday, and I guess we didn’t plan it out very well, but there was a church service getting ready to start so we didn’t get to spend very much time in the chapel. Susan and Patti decided to stay and attend the service, and the rest of us went around the corner and found a cute place called Bulle Restaurant – we sat outside, coffee and sweets, and a great view, waiting for Susan and Patti. It was perfect!
Afterwards we walked to Lugdunum, a museum of Gallo-Roman civilization. Lugdunum was an important Roman city of Gaul, established in 43 B.C. on the current site of Lyon. There is a nice museum of Roman artifacts, as well as the ruins of two theaters. This is a great way to spend a couple of hours in Lyon, learning about its Roman history.
It was our last night in Lyon, and we decided to eat at an Italian restaurant close to our hotels called Gabriella. The place was very quaint, and the food delicious!
I loved Lyon – the mix of history, food, and wine really checks all of my travel boxes. I recommend reading A Woman of No Importance to gain some perspective about Lyon and the Resistance during WWII – it is a fascinating book about an extraordinary woman named Virginia Hall.
The next day we said “au revoir” to France. I was really surprised at how much I loved this country – unfortunately I had let some misconceptions about France (i.e., the people are rude, the country is dirty, the cities are trashy, etc.) form my opinions. The fact is the people are very friendly, the cities are walkable and full of treasures, and the countryside is magical. Add in the food and wine, and it is a country that is easy to go to and hard to leave.
Tales From The Wine Store 