Road Trippers

We have left Neuchâtel behind in order to take a vacation in France. This and the next six entries will focus on this portion of our European adventure. Having travelled by car through parts of France, Spain and Portugal over the past six years, we are always keen to start a road trip.

The ONLY LYON sign backwards

On Friday, we caught a train to Geneva, then had to take a detour by bus to Bellegarde in eastern France, before boarding a second train to Lyon. I guess summer is construction season here too. Nevertheless, we remained on schedule, arriving in Lyon at 4:36 as expected. We were greeted by a thunderstorm, but it had passed by the time we reached our hotel by taxi.

After checking in, we set out to explore. Lyon is the second largest city in France, after Paris. Two rivers, the Saône and the Rhône, run through it, creating the presqu'île area where many hotels and shops are located. We did not travel far on our first evening in the city, although we located Place Bellecour, a massive gathering place; the ONLY LYON sign, and enjoyed a dinner of Cuisine Lyonnnaise at La Marronnierre, one of the many restaurant choices on the street with the same name.

Place Bellecour in the evening.

Today, Saturday, we met Graeme and Caroline (who had traveled here separately from us) at Place Bellecour, where we devised a plan to see much of the city in one day, a daunting task. We decided to go to the roman ruins above the city first. We climbed a million steps (I may be exaggerating a little) to reach our destination and were rewarded with free access to the site and spectacular views. Nearby was the impressive Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière. This church is extremely elaborately decorated – almost gaudy in style – but it is well worth seeing. The views from here were even more breathtaking than those from the ruins.

Roman amphitheatre. It was being set up for a concert.

The view from Place Fourvière

The Basilica

Inside a traboule

On the streets of vieux Lyon

The allegorical fountain in Place des Terreaux

The funicular took us down to vieux Lyon, where we followed a  walking tour on headsets we had rented from the tourist information office in the morning. Highlights included the winding streets of the old town including the “traboules”

A protest at City Hall

- these are hidden passageways between buildings -  and the Place des Terreaux, which has a magnificent fountain, the City Hall and the Musée des Beaux Arts.

The opera house

Tired from touring, we headed back to our hotel to rest before meeting Graeme and Caroline at a Thai restaurant for dinner, Les Petits Saumois. The food was delicious, with flavours and dishes unlike any we have had at home. Then it was time to say goodbye. I was a little sad, since unlike every other European vacation we have taken, this one will not end with a flight to Toronto. I am living in Switzerland now and most of my family is not with me.

Hotel: Ibis Centre Perrache