Lyon
Lyon is a great place to visit in France. It’s a big, beautiful city, but it doesn’t have a big-city feel. It’s the foodie capital of France, so if you’re into food, you’re going to be very happy there. And for some reason, it doesn’t seem to rank as high on the tourist maps as other places in France, so with the exception of the “Vieux Lyon” part of town, the tourist presence is relatively small.
To get to Lyon, we took the train from Dijon. It was an easy hour-and-a-half ride through a beautiful part of the world. (If you take the TGV to Lyon from Paris, it’ll only take a half-hour longer).
Hotel des Celestins
We stayed in the “Presque-Ile.” It’s the stretch of land running between the Rhône and the Saône rivers where they run parallel to each other. It’s a great part of town to be in. We stayed at the Hotel des Celestins, near Place Bellecour. If we ever make it back to Lyon, we’ll stay there again.
Dining in Lyon
One of Lyon’s claims to fame is that it has more restaurants per capita than any other city. I, for one, believe it. And my guess is that 99% of them are really good.
Paul Boulangeries
While not a “Lyon” thing, per se, but this seems to be a good place to mention “Paul” bakeries. “Paul” is a French chain of bakeries/cafés that an be found all over France and beyond. You’ll often see them in airports and train stations in French cities. Even though they’re a chain, there’s nothing chain-like about them. They’re awesome. This sandwich came from a “Paul” in the metro station near our hotel.If you’re the slightest bit hungry and you spot a Paul bakery, make a beeline for it!
Café Comptoir Abel
This is the place I hiked to one rainy night in Lyon. I had read in the local paper that the chef/owner had just won an award for having the best traditional Lyonnaise cooking in town. And in a foodie city like Lyon, that’s saying something. I ducked into warm and cozy Café Comptoir Abel that chilly night and had one of the most memorable meals of my life. I describe it in gory detail here. Here’s a link to the restaurant’s webpage: Café Comptoir Abel.
Pizza Pino
“Pizza Pino” is an Italian restaurant chain that has most of its outlets in France. When travelling in Europe, we usually avoid anything that looks “chain-like.” We made an exception when we walked into the Pizza Pino located on a busy corner in Lyon. We were glad we did. It was great.
Le Petit Paumé
The photo of Pizza Pino in Lyon comes from an informative website that’s packed with information about eating, drinking, and playing in Lyon. The website is the on-line home of “Le Petit Paumé” — a city guide to Lyon. The guide is produced by a different group of 30 student volunteers from a business school in Lyon who compete to win the prize of producing the current year’s edition. The website is in french, but it’s good practice if your french isn’t so hot. (Or just use an on-line translator).
Dining in Annecy
The restaurant where we had the amazing lunch in Annecy was “La Coupole”. The food was great, but so was everything else about this place. The outdoor, but protected seating was nice, and the servers all seemed to have that unique blend of total professionalism while being friendly and fun at the same time. Here’s the website: La Coupole.
Featured Image: Place Carnot, Lyon
Jean-Louis Lascoux/Wikimedia Commons
