LYON

Central Lyon is relatively small and walkable, so although you won't have time to visit any particular museums, you can get a good flavour of the city. I assume that you will be arriving and departing by train. If you arrive at Part-Dieu (most likely) get the C3 trolleybus from outside the station and ride it all the way to the terminus at St Paul. This will take you through the city's main shopping area and the district around the opera house, so keep an eye out. The experience of riding a trolleybus (electric bus powered by overhead wires) might be interesting as well.

St Paul is on the edge of the Vieux Lyon area, the oldest part of the city. You can wander for a few hours just soaking up the atmosphere of the area. I would recommend taking the funicular from the Vieux-Lyon subway station (near the cathedral) up to Fourviere station by the basilica. The basilica isn't that interesting unless you love nineteenth-century wedding-cake Catholic kitsch architecture, but the view over the city is fantastic. If you are into Ancient Rome, try walking from there to the old Roman theatre, which has a second funicular nearby to take you back down to Vieux-Lyon.

For a place with only about a half million people and a dozen and a half Michelin-starred restaurants, the obvious answer is . . . . Auberge de l'Ile is a pretty good bargain at lunch

Wandering the old quarter and the silk district can take the whole afternoon. Presque Isle is another interesting area. The Resistance Museum is pretty good. I've never been in either of the art museums.

If you don't find that the old city soaks up all your afternoon, walk back to the opera house and get the S6 trolleybus up the Croix-Rousse hill. This is one of the most interesting public bus rides in Europe, imo, as the bus climbs incredibly steep hills and threads through narrow streets barely wide enough to take it. Then gradually work your way down the hill on foot through the Croix-Rousse district (this is the "silk district" Ed mentioned above), which compared to the old town was the more working-class area of the historic city.