Itineraries for Your Trip to Lyon
3 Days in Lyon for Foodies
Lyon’s reputation as France’s gastronomic capital is largely due to traditional restaurants known as bouchons, which serve up hefty dishes of offal at tables bedecked with red-checked cloths. This isn’t to everyone’s taste, and the culinary scene has expanded with the times. I love to head to the markets and sample cheeses which range from aged, sharp goat cheeses to creamy wheels of Saint-Marcellin.
Alongside this are pink praline tarts and brioches, and bugnes, sugary beignet-like treats that come in boxes large enough to feed a village. All of this is washed down with wine from neighboring Beaujolais or the Rhône Valley, or artisan beer from one of the numerous local breweries.
Expect fondue weather in winter and crunchy Lyonnaise salad weather in summer.
If you only have time for one thing, make it a savory eclair.
Start by exploring on foot to work up an appetite for the sensory onslaught you’re about to experience. The heart of Vieux Lyon is lined with traditional Lyonnais bouchons, and taking a walking tour will introduce you to the gastronomic delights on hand. Don’t worry, it’s not just offal on offer. You’ll try cheeses, pastries, and plenty of local wine too. Lyon is cosmopolitan, and dietary requirements are easily catered to (provided that tour guides are informed in advance). Yes, Lyon is the holy grail of the French food tour scene, and there’s even a dedicated vegan food tour.
Lyon has many markets, but one of the largest and best is Marché Saint-Antoine. It runs daily except Mondays, with the main market day on Sunday. On Thursday evenings, the night market (6pm to 8pm) on the banks of the Rhône has street food, a painter’s palette of colorful vegetables, and more varieties of cheese than you could imagine.
The crown jewel in Lyon’s food market crown, though, is Les Halles de Paul Bocuse. A vast indoor market, it was named after (now deceased) celebrated chef Paul Bocuse, one of the city’s most famous alumni.
As much as it pains me to recommend leaving Lyon, the colorful vineyards and crumbling châteaux of Beaujolais are on your doorstep, and with that comes a whole lot of fantastic wine. Forget any preconceptions you might have about vineyard quality due to Beaujolais nouveau, the region is home to 10 crus (a denomination given to superior quality wine). It’s a short hop from Lyon to visit for a tasting and vineyard tour.
