Lyon is the third largest city in France, located in the Rhône-Alpes region. The city lies at the junction of the Rhone and the Saône rivers, close to the Grand Parc Miribel Jonage nature reserve, which offers beaches, hiking and cycling trails. Along with the central part of the city, Lyon is home to more than 520,000 inhabitants. The population grows with the metropolitan area of the city, which is home to just over 2 million people. The metropolitan community was founded in 1969. Find out why to choose this city and how to prepare for your trip to experience all it has to offer in this article about Lyon along with everything that is happening there with travel tips.
The gastronomy capital of the world got its name as the world’s most interesting city for its cooking skills in 1935. Lyon’s restaurants are renowned for their excellent fine cuisine and aesthetically prepared dishes. The city has more than 4,000 restaurants, including a traditional bouchon restaurant, a modern bistro or a brewery, as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant. The Halles Paul-Bocuse indoor market is the centre of Lyon’s gastronomy, bringing together local producers of food products and desserts. Visitors can try locally produced Rosette de Lyon sausage, Saint-Marcellin soft cheese and the stand-alone dish Lyonnaise Quenelles, which is made with fish or meat in a creamy sauce.
In the 1960s, Paul Bocuse, the founder of the new era of French cuisine, begins to introduce a new approach to cooking called nouvelle cuisine. Following the typical classic preparation of cuisine classique and haute cuisine, it creates a completely new plate on which the prepared dish is creatively presented in a minimalist style. Paul Bocuse is the most representative figure of twentieth-century French cuisine, after whom culinary training institutes, restaurants and indoor markets are named. Lyon became the gastronomic capital of the world thanks to the culinary expertise of his mentor, Eugénie Brazier, who had a profound influence on French cuisine in the modern era of the last century.
French innovators, the Lumière brothers, make Lyon the number one exhibitor in the history of cinema in Europe and worldwide. In 1895, they screened a film to the public for the first time, showing Lumière workers leaving the factory. At the end of the same year, they publicly screened a film, charging the audience an entrance fee for the first time. December 28th 1895 is the historic date when the world history of cinema marks a milestone in the beginning of silent cinema, with the Lumière brothers showing a series of short scenes from the everyday life of the French people. Starting in 1896 they sent film-makers to major cities to show their work to the world.
What to see in Lyon?
The Fourvière Amphitheatre is the city’s Roman theatre, built in the centre of the city on the Fourvière hill. It was built in 15 BC and in the 2nd century AD. The theatre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the entire historic district of the city centre. Each year, the Roman Theatre becomes the festival venue for Fourvière nights, where various free activities take place, such as workshops, artist meet-ups and other events or concerts.
The Bazilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is a small basilica in Lyon. It was designed by Pierre Bossan and Louis Sainte-Marie Perrin between 1872 and 1896 in the neo-Gothic style. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who saved the faithful from disease and suffering during the Black Plague in the 17th century. The historic monument on Prayer Hill attracts more than 2.5 million pilgrims and tourists to Lyon every year.
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Construction began in 1180 and was completed in 1476. It was built on the ruins of a 6th-century church and became the seat of the archbishop of Lyon. It is built in Gothic and Romanesque styles. Since 1643, it has been customary for the people of Lyon to light a candle at the cathedral on December 8th to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Tourist activities tailored to your needs
Get around the city faster and more efficiently with a city pass that gets you on public transport in Lyon. You can use your city pass to travel on the city’s buses, metro, trams and funiculars, as well as to enter 23 museums and other exhibition spaces. A ticket to the Confluences museum presents the museum’s collection, which includes a 155-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton, Egyptian mummies and fossils. Gain knowledge about the development of human beings and civilisations in the museum’s permanent exhibition and other temporary exhibitions. Enter the city’s aquarium, featuring 300 marine species from diverse ecosystems around the world. You can see exhibits from Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Learn about the shark cave and touch a starfish.
Enjoy the view from the Hermès boat, which includes a restaurant. On a two-and-a-half-hour cruise, you’ll be served a lunch consisting of starters, main course and dessert. You can choose from a variety of three-course lunch options. There is also a three-course offer for dinner with a wide variety of choices on board the Hermès boat. Starters, main courses and desserts are made up of locally produced food and seasonal produce. The menu changes with the different seasons. An audio-guided city tour introduces visitors to the city’s distinctive cultural landmarks. Your walking tour starts at the Esplanade de Fourvière viewpoint and continues to the Basilica, the Amphitheatre and the Sanctuary of Cybèle.
For a small group, an excursion is organised from Lyon to the vineyard and wine country of Beaujolais. This four-hour trip offers a demonstration of wine making and a tasting of different types of red and white wines. This is how you can get to know the culture of Beaujolais through wine production. Choose a private tour around the city and get to know some of the city’s best-kept secrets with a local guide. You’ll discover the hidden routes of the city, with all the information you need to help you on your trip. Cycle your way on an electric bike with a local guide to the Croix Rousse and see the sights of the city. Finish your e-bike tour with a taste of Lyon’s Rosette sausage, local cheese and a glass of wine.
