Lyon worth visiting?

We definitely weren’t eating in high end restaurants, but we had a great time in Lyon. This is what we did there:

Lyon – I posted earlier about our hotel apartment in the Vieux Lyon area – a highlight and historical experience! We loved this town with the medieval old streets & Traboules to explore. Highly recommend the Gallo-Roman Museum & the Lumiere Museum. We also went to the Fine Arts Museum and the Tissues (Fabrics) museum. We bought two separate 1-Day Metro/Funicular passes for Days 1 & 3 and walked all over exploring the Traboules, medieval streets, market and Bellecour-to-Hotel de Ville area during Day 2. During our walking day, we enjoyed exploring all of the way back up to the Fourviere area near the Roman ruins and back down through some gardens. We had planned to see the Tete d’Or Parc, but the weather in Lyon was colder overcast with light rain. Summary: highly recommend Lyon for its diversity of things to do – Traboules, funiculars, museums, shops, etc.

I enjoyed Lyon. It’s definitely worth a stop. I felt like it’s the French version of Paris if that makes any sense? It has all the character of Paris without the urban chaos (That also makes Paris special.) Lyon has plenty of style, beauty and history. The old city particularly invites exploration, with secret passages between blocks and characteristic shops. I recall wandering through an awesome record shop around the corner from a shop/museum that made furniture for miniature diorama rooms. I would love a long weekend here. Especially coming from London, I think you’d appreciate the perspective of a city like Lyon.

The food rightfully gets a lot of attention. That’s another thing I loved about it. When a city’s population loves food and going out to eat, it raises the bar for everyone. That competition means you’ll eat better in Lyon than almost anywhere else, and you don’t need to find a Michelin star to find it. Just look for a place that looks nice with a menus you like, and you’re pretty set.

I generally dislike Lyon cuisine (I do not eat meat), and I do not like the city very much compared to my hometown of Paris (I find it a bit staid), but even with my negative perspective I still think that Lyon is worth a visit, especially if flights are cheap. The cityscape (hills + 2 rivers) is quite unique, and there are some good museums and sights covering a range of interests, as well as some good day trips (my top choices are Vienne/St Romain en Gal for Roman ruins, and Pérouges for a classic cute French village). It is worth a shot!

I love Lyon! It has the most beautiful Basilica in France (my opinion), a lot of interesting things to do and see, and a terrific vibe. I'm not a fan of the food (too many innards) but many people consider it the gastronomic capital of France. Definitely worth a visit even if you aren't a foodie.