My husband & I will be going to Lyon for a few days after a cruise the beginning of Nov. What are some recommendations of fun things to do there? Are any of the museums as good as what we have seen in Paris? Are there towns close by that are worth visiting? We don't plan to rent a car. What part of town is best to stay in so that we could walk and enjoy the feel of the city?
Posted by
NH
219 posts
Hi, my daughter lived in Lyon for a few years, we went to visit in Dec 2012 for 7 days. We were there during Fete De Lumiere and we booked late, the city was booked full so we ended up in a hotel south of Perrache. If I were to go back I would stay up near Bellecour. It's a close walk to Vieux Lyon where you'll find the roman ruins, museum, Fourviere.
Parc Tete D'or is a nice place to take a walk.
We spent part of a rainy cold day at the Musee de a Beaux Arts
Day trips outside Lyon I would recommend visiting Perouges and or Vienne. Both are easy train rides from Lyon.
Lyon is very walkable but has a nice metro and tram. We walked just about every inch looking for light displays placed all over the city.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2262 posts
rlskelding, Lyon is an excellent choice, a wonderful city. Walking the old town, and the traboules, is a great way to spend half a day or more. I would highly recommend that you see the Resistance Museum, and the Lumiere brothers' house and museum-they made the very first motion picture. Also quite unique is the Museum of Miniatures, which puts a focus on film and the miniatures used to make it look real-amazing. We stayed at an excellent (excellent!) B & B in the 6th, let me know if you need that.
The Lyon City Card is one of the cards that is very much worth it-river cruise (two choices, we took the architectural cruise), guided walk (sign up early for English!), most museum entries, and public transportation is all included, with metro, bus and tram all available. There is an excellent TI center on Place Bellecour, make an early stop there to get the lay of the land.
The food in Lyon is outstanding and highly regional. We enjoyed Cafe des Federations and Daniel & Denise, the rue Crequi location-there is another in Vieux Lyon (old town). There is also the huge Les Halles Paul Bocuse market, should you need a snack ;-)
If you like, have a look through my Lyon Gallery, we absolutely loved Lyon:
http://thecedarchest.smugmug.com/Lyon-2014/
Cheers, Dave
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
If any of you are interested in old cars, there's a good motor museum at Rochetaillee, which is a little way out of Lyon along the River Saone, but close enough to be linked by city buses.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
For a place to stay, I'd recommend this apartment, run by Corinne Lanneluc: http://www.urbansejour.com/appartement/lyon/lyon-3-saxe-gambetta-avenue-appartement-meuble-avec-1-chambre-location-saisonniere/1
It's small, but is in a very convenient location, right by the Saxe-Gambetta subway stop; and you can also walk into the center.