Last summer, on our whirlwind Europe tour, we stopped in Paris for a few days, and I left mostly disappointed. I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s probably safe to say that I had imagined dinners in cozy brasseries, strolls along narrow cobbled streets, and other such romantic scenes. Instead, I found an aloof, sprawling city that stank of pee and offered mostly sub-par food. I couldn’t help feeling that Paris, despite it being the French capital, was a poor representation of France.
But still, I knew there had to be more to France than an iron tower, street crepes, and overcrowded attraction sites. And so this year, when we found ourselves planning another summer in Europe, we decided to give France another chance – a proper one – with a month in Lyon.
Anthony Bourdain’s show first put Lyon on our radar when he called it the gastronomical capital of France. I had walked away from Paris still perplexed with what exactly constituted French cuisine. From my experience, it was just baguette sandwiches, nutella crepes, and french fry gyros. We drooled over the charcuterie and traditional dishes featured on the show, and the next thing we knew, we were looking up rental prices.
We may have come to Lyon for the pâté croûte and saucisson, but we also found an instantly lovable city.
Place des Terreaux
is this bookstore not love?!
Despite the fact that Lyon is France’s third largest city, it felt more like a small town. It is a very walkable city, which made it feel more intimate.
Our airbnb rental (and here comes the shameless plug: get started with $20 off here!) was a gorgeous loft at the bottom of the hill in the Croix-Rousse area, right next to the Saône River. We couldn’t have picked a better location. This was a lively area full of small brasseries, bars, and boutique shops.
we were in the second building from the right :)
the street around the corner, with our favorite bakery and cheese shop
Okay, I know I just said it was a lively area. But you may have noticed that these pictures are all strangely devoid of people. This is because we happened to visit during that month when all locals flee the city. The ghost town atmosphere didn’t bother us too much at first… that is, until our favorite charcuteries and markets all started closing one by one.
Another thing I loved about our area: the vibrant street art! All of these were found only steps away from our building.
The most famous of all is the La Fresque des Lyonnais, an entire painted building featuring the historical figures of Lyon. Of course, the most easily recognizable one is that of Paul Bocuse, often considered the father of modern French cuisine.
It’s slightly amusing to sit on the bench for a hour (grab some goods from the nearby bakery first!) and see how many tourists come up to take selfies with Paul Bocuse.
Right across the river from us is Old Town, an area with narrow cobbled streets, boutiques, and numerous bouchons (traditional Lyonnaise diners). This was a favorite hang out location to stroll around and pop into shops.
bridge to Old Town
Up the hill from Old Town is Fourvière, on top of which sits the large white church that looms over the entire city, The Basilique Notre Dame. Also, do you see the tower to the right of the church? It’s Lyon’s own Eiffel Tower! Apparently, it’s even higher than the real one in Paris.
view over Lyon from Fourviere: a sea of red rooftops.. and two random skyscrapers
and down the hill back into Old Town
I finally found the charming French city and easy French way of life I was looking for in Lyon. And I hope you enjoyed this little visual tour of Lyon also! If this inspired some wanderlust in you, then just wait for the food part! ;)
Have you been to Lyon? What other French towns would you recommend?
Linking up with my friends at the Blog Along and Travel Tuesday!
Wow, it looks beautiful, Anna! I love the street art.
Me too! I especially loved the painted buildings. :)
Awesome! Are you still taking these with your iPhone or did you get a new camera? The photos are great! Lyon sounds just as great as that Anthony Bourdain episode made it out to be! (I too loved it!) I’d love a good meat and cheese board right about now. I went for steak tartare by myself the other evening… just because I could!
Nope, still IPhone for me, although I noticed that my camera quality seems to be deteriorating. I need to do a lot more editing to the pictures now! I don’t think I’m brave enough to eat steak tartare yet, but someday. And I’m loving following your adventures on the road!!!!
How adorable! I love all of the street art, especially the one with all the books.
I loved that one too! Anything with books will win me over! :D
so beautiful- I love those little windy streets! and those murals are incredible.
I know, aren’t they amazing?! Editing these pictures really made me miss Lyon! But I am excited to be back in Asia and I’m so looking forward to meeting in Taipei! :)
Who knew Lyon had its own Eiffel Tower?! Also can’t wait for the food post ;) I’m glad you found that quintessential charm here– it looks amazing!
I have to say that Paris’s Eiffel Towel is much more magical. And yes, the food posts will be even more amazing!
Wonderful photos, Anna! I got a real feel for Lyon by seeing all of these, despite the fact that I’ve never been. I especially love those street art photos – they are some really cool murals!
I know! Don’t some of them look real?? The street art was one of my favorite parts too!
And yet my friends said there is nothing in Lyon. Pfft! Looks absolutely lovely from your pictures.
I have no idea why your friend said that!! Lyon was super cute and had a ton of things to do!
I’ve always found Paris to be overrated – but I think that about a lot of Western European capitals like Amsterdam and London.
It looks like such a gorgeous place and exactly what I think of when I think of France… maybe some more countryside though ;)
It’s the same for Belgium, Brussels is the big city, it’s got everything going up but it’s not the true Belgium… you’ve got to get out to the other cities and towns to see the real place.
Gorgeous photos by the way!
Oooh I actually loved London! I would love to spend more than just 3 days there and explore it more. But I’m sure I’d love the smaller English cities and the countryside as well! And yes, next time I go to France, I would try out the countryside! Get another feel of France. :)
I only went to Antwerp in Belgium (oh wait, and Bruges, but I actually may be the only person on Earth who didn’t like it), and I loved the little town!!
I’ve never had enough time to really explore London, so I don’t have too much to base my opinion on. I should make a return trip sometime!
Have to say, I’m not the biggest fan of Bruges, I much prefer Ghent. Bruges is so overrated that it just pales in comparison to the expectations!
Hi Anna! I’m sorry you were disappointed with Lyon.. But it looks gorgeous in the pictures! With the blue skies, great architecture, what amazing street art! I think I’m craving a holiday where I want bum on the beach and do absolutely nothing!!
Who knew there was another Eiffel Tower around… And bigger that too! Did you manage to visit?
I absolutely loved your pictures btw… So beautiful and inviting.
Thank you so much for linking to the #BlogAlong. Looking forward to seeing you next month as well!
Cheers!
Hi Pooja! I was disappointed with Paris, not Lyon, which I loved! :D Hehe no, we didn’t go to this fake Eiffel Tower. I’m not really even sure if you can (I guess I should look it up!), but the real one is more impressive anyway!
And ps. I could *always* do with a beach holiday and some bumming around on the sand!
I must say I liked Paris quite a lot. I’m glad you enjoyed Lyon. I haven’t been there yet but your photos make me want to go! Did you visit Nice? #travel Tuesday
Maybe someday, I can spend more time in Paris and learn to like it too. :) Noooo, we thought about visiting Nice, but i guess we were lazy and didn’t want to spend the money, haha. I hear it’s beautiful!
Nice’s really something!:)
Lyon looks absolutely beautiful, and what you would think of a picturesque French city! I’ve had so many people say that they were disappointed with Paris, but I’ve still wanted to visit France. After seeing your pictures and reading your post, it definitely seems like Lyon is the place in France to visit!
I think if you like food, Lyon will be an amazing choice to stop by in while in France! It’s a super easy bullet train away from Paris. Maybe my Lyon food posts in the future will convince you more, hehe. I feel like Paris is either love it or hate it for first-timers. Maybe it’s just SO hyped up that a lot of people are disappointed when they visit and see that it’s not what they expected. That’s what happened to me!
I have to admit I was a little disappointed by Paris as well (both times) Lots of hype without the follow up. But Lyon looks like a great place to spend a month, especially when some of the locals flee the city! Then you kind of had it all to yourself :D Your pictures are stunning and I feel like I was right there with you!
That’s exactly how I felt about Paris. Maybe someday I’ll learn to like it. But I gotta say that we did return to Paris for one day after being in Lyon for a month… and we couldn’t find any good food in Paris! Lyon definitely spoiled up there. I did like the quietness of the city, but not that our favorite charcuterie guy closed his shop, and we couldn’t get any more cured meats!
I love France, but I’ve yet to visit Lyon. You post and the gorgeous pictures have just rocketed it onto my places to visit list. Thanks for sharing :-)
I hope you do visit someday! It’s a great city, especially if you like food! I can’t wait to write about my bouchon eperiences later. :)
This looks stunning! I definitely want to go back to France (and not just visit Paris!) and Lyon seems like a great option! Thanks for the pics!
-Natala
glitterandpassport.com
I feel like other French cities have so much to offer too! Lyon is a GREAT option if you like to eat. :). It’s considered the food capital of France!
Lyon looks incredible. I’d always thought it probably wasn’t as nice as Paris (no idea why I thought that) but hey, looks like I’m wrong. It looks like all the best bits of Paris with none of the stress! And it’s so easy to get there on the Eurostar. Sign me up.
I totally agree! It is stress free and I loved the smaller, more intimate size. I liked it a LOT more than Paris :) and it was a lot easier to find very good food too, for more affordable prices!
Anna! Your posts are always so fabulous… And the pictures.. how gorgeous is that street art. Makes me want to get to Lyon right away.. And plonk myself in that cute little bookstore.
Thanks much for linking up to the #BlogAlong.. Really appreciate it :)
Thanks so much Shruti! Yeah, isn’t that the cutest bookstore you’ve ever seen?! I would definitely recommend Lyon to those who maybe didn’t like Paris too much, but want to try another French city!
My goodness, I will definitely have to visit Lyon now – had no idea that it was the gastronomic capital. Anthony Bourdain is my TV fave!! I haven’t seen the ep on Lyon. Lyon is close to Provence. Provence is such a foodie region. If you go, I would recommend to stay in Saint Remy – it was the most beautiful and quintessential Provençal town of them all. I wrote about my experience here: http://www.tripchow.com/st-remy-de-provence/
What a gorgeous city Lyon is! I have never been, but it’s definitely on the list now. Seems you’ve captured the atmosphere of the place really well :P
Cheers,
Maria @ http://momentumtravels.com