Please sign in to post.

Trip report 11 days France 1 day Portugal

Day 1 we took the daytime flight from New York to Paris, leaving around 8 am and arriving around 10pm. We “switched” to European time a few days before we left, and when we got in we went straight to the Holiday Inn at Charles de Gaulle. This is definitely the best way to travel if you can’t/wont fly business class. We landed in the middle of a hail storm, and wet weather would follow us for the first half of our trip. The walk from the CDGVAL train to the airport hotels is mostly covered, but it’s difficult to find in the dark and poorly signed.

Day 2 we took the TGV direct from CDG to Lyon and checked into the Elysée Hotel. We took the funicular up to the Basillica and the Roman museum . For dinner we went to the Bistrot de Lyon. Our server was interested to know we were from Atlanta since she watches « Zhee Walkeeng Dead », and asked us if we have cheese in the United States.

Day 3 we took the train up to Beaune for the day. We had lunch at Le Bistrot des Coccottes, visited the Hospices and the wine museum, then went back to Lyon for dinner at Les Enfants Terrible on Rue Mercières.

Day 4 was a full day in Lyon. In the morning we went to vieux Lyon, and for lunch we went to Les Lyonnais for lunch. We had a nice conversation with a French couple we shared a table with. Lamentably this was the only time on the trip where we really connected with locals even though my dad and I are both French speakers. After lunch we went to the Lumiere museum, took the train up to Croix Rousses and walked down to the Place des Terraux. We had dinner at a random Lebanese place on Rue Puits Gaillot since a friend of mine studied in Lyon and said I had to try the kebabs before I left town.

Day 5 we took the train to Clermont Ferrand and checked into the hotel Le Lion. Everything in CF is made out of the black volcanic rock of the Puy de Dome volcano, and their cathedral (one of the largest in France) is extra spooky looking. The restored stained glass really pops against the dark lava stone.

Day 6 we went to the airport to pick up our rental car and drove to the Puy de Dome Volcano just outside the city. We took the train to the top, but it was still rainy so there was no visibility at the top. To salvage the day, we decided to head to Issoire which our lonely planet guidebook recommended as a cute small city near Clermont Ferrand. This turned out to be the best surprise of the trip. First we went to Carrefour to see how normal French people shop (they have boxed wine just like in the United States) then we went into town for lunch at Brasserie le Globe. I ordered an Auvergne sausage (yum!) with purée, and they made their mashed potatoes with a French cheese I had never heard of called « Tomme » sort of like mozzarella. I’m going to attempt to make this for Thanksgiving this year, assuming I can source some appropriate cheese on our side of the Atlantic.

Issoire’s highlight is its cathedral the Abbatiale Saint-Austremoine. The outside is an MC-Escher style combination of black lava and limestone, and the inside has blood red columns and may the be the most extravagant Catholic Church interior I’ve ever seen. Above the nave is a huge golden painting of Jesus surrounded by rainbows sort of like in Ravenna. Even though we drove, Issoire is easily accessible by rail in about 40 minutes from CF which has an airport and rail connections to Paris and Lyon, so no car necessary

Day 7 we drove to the Dordogne. We stopped for lunch in Brive La Gaillarde, checked into our hotel in vitrac, then headed in to Sarlat for a self guided walking tour and (after the rain finally broke and the sun came out) dinner one of the cafes on the square.

Day 8 we tried to go to the Wednesday market in Sarlat but we got a late start and couldn’t find parking. Instead we drove to Domme, had lunch in La Roque Gageac, went to the castle Beynac, then went back to the hotel plaisance Vitrac to nap and have dinner.

Posted by
2 posts

(Continued) Day 9 we drove to Cahors for lunch and see the bridge, then we drove to the Toulouse airport to ditch the rental car. We stayed at the hotel grand Balcon in Toulouse which I reccomend great value and location. For dinner that night we went to a place called Au Gascon for some cassoulet.

Day 10 was a laundry day in the morning. We also visited the enormous Victor Hugo market. Unlike the big markets in Barcelona and Florence I’ve visited there are no foreign tourists at the VH, which made it much more enjoyable. In the afternoon we explored central Toulouse and the parks around the Grand Rond. We had planned on having diner alongside the canal, but when we got there we couldn’t find anything like the scene in Milan which was disappointing. We ended up having dinner at one of the many cafes along place capitole in the center. Toulouse like Florence has done a great job pedestrianizing its city center and the Rose City is very enjoyable.

Day 11 we went back to the Victor Hugo market for breakfast then we toured the two big cathedrals in Toulouse. We didn’t go to Albi on this trip but I assume the vibe is the same these are big imposing buildings to show the triumph of Rome over the Cathars. The Couvent des Jacobins has more impressive stained glass and gardens, and the Basilique Saint-Sernin has more relics. After lunch on the place Capitole we checked out of our hotel and took the bus to the airport.

We got a great fare on a flight with a 24 hr layover in Lisbon. We’d never been so we decided to go, thinking of it as research for a longer future trip to Portugal. Unlike France where we stayed off the beaten path of American tourists, in Portugal everywhere we went was mobbed with foreign tourists. When we got in we were tired so we ate at the hotel restaurant and then went to bed after failing to secure a reservation to see Fado music.

Day 12 we took a taxi up to the castle, took the inclined trolley down, went to the time out market for lunch, then took the subway back to our hotel got our bags went to the airport and flew home.

Thanks to everyone who worked on the France and Portugal guidebooks they were very helpful full of useful time saving info and cultural insight. And I highly recommend Issoire especially for travelers to Auvergne or anyone driving between Lyon and the Dordogne.

Posted by
2768 posts

very interesting report, thanks for posting.

I'm curious about the Gascon dining spot for cassoulet -- did the place seem notably different from up in Lyon?