World traveller, Ros Freeman spends four days discovering Lyon’s secret traboules, celebrated food culture, hilltop views and old-world charm in a city that quickly exceeds expectations.
There’s nothing more exhilarating than arriving in a city and knowing so little about it. Especially when that city happens to be Lyon. Jane and I are here for four days, soaking up all this elegant city has to offer.
Notre Dame and the miniature Eiffel Tower!
Tucked away in the middle of France, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, is Lyon, France’s third-largest city. It’s famous for many things: the origins of France’s printing industry, the beginnings of the French silk sector, the birthplace of cinema, and the gastronomical heart of the country. It’s also known for its traboules, its secret passageways.
In the grand days of Louis XIV, France’s silk industry grew to prominence. The courts of Versailles were filled with royals and nobility clothed in the finest silk and styled in the latest fashions. Silk workers, canuts, made Lyon their centre. To protect the delicate silk fabrics from poor weather, a network of covered passageways was created, cutting through courtyards and private buildings, connecting one street to another. Hundreds of these traboules remain today, with about 50 or so open to the public.
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| Inside a traboule |
But how did we find these secret passageways? Enter Didier, our Lyon Greeter. We felt like a couple of Alices in Wonderland, as he led us through doorways that opened to passageways and courtyards harking back to Renaissance times. Our wonderland tour continued, passing patisseries and nougateries, creperies and gelateries. At Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, we came to a nine-metre-high astronomical clock built in 1383. This magical timepiece is one of Europe’s oldest.
Didier had a final card up his sleeve, it was one of Lyon’s famous murals, this one depicted 30 famous people of Lyon. Roman Emperor Claudius sharing wall space with Joseph Jacquard (inventor of the Mechanical loom), the Lumière Brothers (who invented the cinematograph), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince), Guignol (the famous hand-puppet of Lyon) and legendary chef, Paul Bocuse.
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| Vieux Lyon, the old town |
Lyon’s reputation as the capital of gastronomy is reason alone to visit. Its crossroad location ensured the presence of many different regional cuisines. Alongside its bourgeois cuisine, a lower-class cuisine developed around offal, giving rise to many distinctive Lyonnaise dishes. We dined at a few bouchons, Lyon’s traditional restaurants, enjoying hearty, home-style food. Their red-and-white checked tablecloths added splashes of cheer.
Lyon is home to Paul Bocuse, the pope of gastronomy. For 55 years, his restaurant, Auberge du Pont de Collonges, held three Michelin stars. Not wanting to wash dishes for the rest of our lives, we decided to dine elsewhere, visiting Paul Bocuse’s Les Halles de Lyon instead. The food hall was a gourmand’s dream. Tantalising delicacies tempted at every step; fromageries, charcuteries, poissonneries, patisseries beckoned to us. A Paul Bocuse-inspired delicatessen was filled with dishes made from the great PB’s own recipes. Finally, we arrived at our destination, Baba la Grenouilles, where the speciality is frogs’ legs. As we devoured these tasty morsels, accompanied by potato dauphinois and washed down with white wine, we pondered the eternal mystery: why, oh why, are French women so thin?
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| Dining on quenelles, a Lyonnaise speciality |
Our hotel was perfectly located, sandwiched between the Rhône and Saône rivers. We traversed the Saône, riding the funicular to enjoy a panoramic view of the city from Notre Dame's courtyard. The basilica provides a unique silhouette to Lyon’s skyline. Some liken it to an upside-down elephant. Inside the mosaics shimmered.
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| Once a blank wall, now a work of art depicting the lives of the canuts |
Our days were spent exploring, travelling to the confluence of the rivers, enjoying the riverside markets, and catching a bus to the area once occupied by the canuts, where a blank wall had been transformed into another remarkable mural. We cruised the Saône River and thought for a moment we were back in Paris. A replica of the Eiffel Tower pierced the skyline, but only the top third. However, it was Vieux Lyon, the old town, that always drew us back. There we browsed the Italian markets, had the best vanilla ice-cream ever and dabbled in the delights of Lyon’s famous puppet, Guignol.
Guignol and Laurent Mourgurt were a double act. Laurent had been a canut, but with such low wages, he struggled to support his family of 10 children. He became a tooth-puller, working in the town square. The screams of his patients could be heard by everyone - most off-putting for business. Seeking a distraction, Laurent created the puppet Guignol and his four friends. Puppeteering proved more profitable than tooth pulling, so he became a full-time puppeteer.
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| Guignol and friends |
Our nights were spent exploring Lyon’s dining scene. Following Didier’s recommendation, we dined on quenelles, a traditional Lyonnaise dish of fish mousse in a creamy seafood sauce served with potato dumplings, which we paired with a bottle of rosé. Another night we picnicked in our apartment, tucking into cheeses, terrine, baguette, tarts and wine that we’d purchased at Les Halles. In our courtyard, we heard the dulcet echoes of Blackbirds. We were in heaven.
Our adventures in Lyon exceeded expectations. It was a perfect harmony of art, architecture, history, delicious cuisine and sunshine. The hospitality of the Lyonnais extended beyond restaurants into everyday life. Lyon was a joyful experience.
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Ros Freeman travelled independently and at her own expense, but would not go anywhere unless Kirsty at Flight Centre Eastgardens booked her flights. ,
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Disguised as a mild-mannered corporate employee, Ros lives a secret life as a world traveller and adventurer amassing a count of more than 150 UN-recognised countries. |
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