Are you planning a road trip to France soon or in the summer? Wondering which towns to include on your itinerary? Is Lyon worth including?
On this post I will tell you about our first day in Lyon and what we visited and did during our stay. You will have a better idea of what is there to do and decide whether to include Lyon on your Itinerary or not.
We travelled by car in France many times and we always enjoyed these trips. See my other posts on the Dordogne and Paris at my France page.
We were travelling independently in France with a car as we are confident travellers and speak a bit of the language. However, if you prefer to be part of a tour and to have everything organised for you, I advise you to book a complete tour with Tourradar.
Tourradar has different kinds of tours that will fit your time and budget. If you book it via my links you can get a discount by using this code: RoseG50.
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Last June we spent 18 days on another road trip in France from the UK. On our Itinerary we included, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Porquerolles Island, St. Tropez, Port Grimaud, Grimaud, Cannes, Monaco, Aux-in-Provence, Arles, Camargue, Avignon, Dijon, Fontainebleau and another 3 days in Paris. It was a brilliant trip, and we had a lovely time.
After a night in Paris, we started the trip with Lyon.
Below is a map of the places we visited on our first day in Lyon:
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LYON
Lyon was founded in 43 BC by the Romans and was called Lugdunum. It became the capital of the Gauls Province. It continued being dominated by the Romans throughout the centuries becoming one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. Lyon was only annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1312 and it has more than a thousand years of history.
Lyon enjoyed a prosperous period during the Renaissance via commerce and banking. Later, Lyon became the main silk-manufacturing and printing centre in Europe. There was a period of decline on the silk industry brought by the French Revolution, but in the 19th century it was prosperous again by the vast expansion of the industry. There was another period of stagnation from 1920’s to the end of World War II, but it recovered.
Nowadays the city enjoys a diverse and prosperous economy that varies from the construction, food and printing to the tourism and technology industries.
Lyon is considered the most important cultural centre after Paris with many museums, theatres, music and drama festivals. It was the birthplace of cinema and where the Lumiére Brothers showed their first screening in 1895.
Lyon is also considered to be the gastronomical capital of France with many traditional restaurants serving the local traditional dishes.
With various neighbourhoods classified as UNESCO World Heritage sites, you will find history in every corner mixed with contemporary architecture and art giving Lyon its very distinctive characteristics.
VISITING LYON
We booked a 12 o’clock crossing with the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle to Calais and arrived in Folkestone and the terminal one hour before as required.
We always use the Shuttle when we go to France by car, it is quicker and easier than the ferries . The difference in price does not justify the long time spent by crossing on the ferry. There are self-service check-in booths, and it only takes 35 minutes to cross, all very quick and easy.
Below is a video from the Travelling Surveyor Instagram showing our boarding into the train.
It takes about three and half hours by car to get to Chatillon, Paris where we were staying as guests at our friends. It was a Saturday, and we arrived at their place in the end of the afternoon. We stayed there for dinner and caught up in conversation until late as we hadn’t seen them for a while.
Next day we left for Lyon at about 9 am and it took us about 5 hours with a stop for lunch and the toilets. We took the A6, which is a very good motorway, there wasn’t much traffic, and we arrived there by 2 pm.
We booked a hotel near the Lyon Perrache train station called Hotelo Lyon Charité. We booked this one mainly because there was a garage for the car and was close to the station, so easy access to transport if needed. That was a 3* hotel, not very expensive, but very nice with very helpful staff. We enjoyed our stay there.
After check-in we started our exploration straight way. Before going out we asked the receptionist if she could book a table for us at Brasserie Georges, a restaurant opposite the hotel, but on the other side of the station.
They didn’t accept bookings via e-mail, so we were unable to book in advance. It turned out that on Sundays they don’t accept bookings by phone either and the tables are available as a first come first served basis. They said if we arrived there by 7 pm we had a good chance of getting a table.
We started walking to Place Carnot and Rue Victor Hugo looking at the buildings and shops along the way until we arrived at Place Bellecour.
Place Bellecour is a large square, all paved without any grass or trees. There is a statue of King Louis XIV on a horse in the middle of the square. You can find the Tourist Office on this square. It is the kilometre 0 of Lyon and all distances are measured from there. Many events take place on this square throughout the year.
We continued until we arrived at Place des Jacobins. This square was created in 1556, and a fountain was added in 1856. However, the present fountain on the square now is from 1885 and is classified as a “Monument Historique”.
The site is part of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The architecture on this square is from 1850/1860’s and is mainly large houses belonging to wealthy people of Lyon.
Continuing our stroll through Lyon we arrived at Place de Terreaux. This square is also classified as part of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and where the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon are located.
The history of this square comes from 1206 to these days. The allegorical fountain on this square is from 1891 and made by Fréderic Auguste Bartholdi.
The square was re-developed in 1994, and the statue was moved to another location at the square. 69 jets of water were installed around the statue and on hot days children have lots of fun running around them and getting wet.
Four minutes away from Place de Terreaux you will find the impressive mural “La Bibliotéque de la Cité” (The city’s library). It is a mural on a building on the corner of Rue Platiére and Quai de la Pécherie. It was painted by the artist cooperative CitéCreátion in 1998.
This mural is basically a giant library with bookcases displaying books of authors that have some kind of connection with Lyon. There are at least 500 authors displayed on this mural, and it celebrates the rich literary tradition of the city.
On crossing the quai road, we strolled by the river and just in front of the mural there was a book fair showcasing second-hand books of all kinds of subjects and authors.
Further along we arrived at another mural, the “Fresque des Lyonnais”, this one showing 24 historic and 6 contemporary local figures. Among these figures are Paul Bocuse, the Lumiére Brothers and Antoine de St-Exupéry (with the Little Prince by his side).
This mural was also created by the Artist Cooperative CitéCréation between 1994 and 1995. The result was the most popular mural in Lyon and a real representation of Lyonnais culture.
From there we walked in the direction of the “Amphitheátre des Trois Gaules”. This monument was part of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls from Roman times. It was classified as a “Monument Historique” in 1961.
We couldn’t enter the theatre; we could only see it from the outside. The theatre is an ancient monument, but we found it a bit abandoned and not very well looked after.
They were having some kind of event in the evenings there, because there were tables and chairs as well as trailers and other equipment in the arena.
As such an old monument this should not be permitted, and all efforts should be made to keep what is left of it in the best condition as possible. So, a bit of a disappointment because of the condition of the place.
As we were near Croix-Rousse we walked to the tube station Croix-Paquet and took the metro to Hanon station to see another mural. The Mur des Canuts mural, what people say is the best mural in Lyon. We found it spectacular too and the level of details are unbelievable!
It covers an area of 1200 m2 and the whole side of a building. It is a “Trompe l’oeil” mural which means “to deceive the eye” in English. The artist uses a technic that makes you think that you are looking at the real thing, but it is not.
This was another mural created by CitéCréation depicting the Croix-Rousse neighbourhood. The mural was created in 1987 and was a simpler mural. It was renovated in 1997 when more colourful details were added. There was another refresh to the mural in 2013 and that is what is on show today.
It is a stunning piece of art and certainly lives to its hype, worth seeing.
After admiring the beautiful details of Mur de Canuts we took the metro back to Perrache station, near our hotel.
If you are planning to visit a lot of museums and attractions and to use a lot of the public transport, it is worth getting the Lyon City Pass.
It covers entrance to 27 museums and discounts to 25 attractions in Lyon as well as access to free transport, bike tours, river cruises etc. The pass is available for 48, 72 and 96 hours. Buy this pass HERE.
There is a very nice private tour of Lyon in a pedicab that covers many of the places I describe on this post and some others from our next day visit. Book this tour HERE.
We arrived back at the hotel just in time for a quick shower, and we were off again to the other side of the station to Brasserie Georges.
This is a famous and popular restaurant in Lyon, and as advised earlier, we tried our luck to see if we would get a table there. We arrived just after 7 pm and there was a small queue outside. We were offered a table very quickly and were happy to be seated in this beautiful restaurant.
Brasserie Georges was opened in 1836, in a remarkable building and was a success right from its opening. Famous figures have passed through the doors of this restaurant, figures such as Jules Verne, Lumiére Brothers, Rodin and others. There are commemorative plaques fitted to the seats where these famous people seated.
The building and the atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely; however, the food was not as remarkable as we were hoping for. The food was OK, but not great. In general, it was a good dinner, and I would go back, but not very quickly. By the time we left the restaurant it was completely full and there was a large queue outside.
We walked back to our hotel for our first night in Lyon. Next day would be spent exploring other parts of town and we went to bed looking forward to that.
Below is a reel from The Travelling Surveyor Instagram account with more photos of Lyon. Check it out and follow me on Instagram.
I hope this post will give you some idea of what can be done in a day in Lyon and will help you plan your own visit there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Lyon. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
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** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
PLEASE NOTE: Every hotel, restaurants and attractions I mention on my blogs are not sponsored reviews and we always paid the full price when visiting. We give our own opinion of the place and detail our experience, good or bad.
WHAT TO SEE
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Place Carnot – ***
2 – Place Bellecour – ***
3 – Places des Jacobins – ***
4 – Places de Terreaux – ***
5 – “La Bibliotéque de la Cité” Mural – ***
6 – “Fresque des Lyonnais” Mural – ***
7 – Amphitheátre des Trois Gaules – *
8 – “Mur des Canuts” – ***
WHERE TO STAY
ACCOMMODATION
1 – Hotelo Lyon Charité – 3* – ££ – ***
2 – Hôtel Charlemagne by Happyculture – 4* – £££
3 – Intercontinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu – 5* – £££
4 – Hotel Des Remparts Perrache – 3* – ££
5 – Okko Hotels Lyon Pont Lafayette – 4* – £££
6 – Boscolo Lyon Hotel & Spa – 5* – £££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the below widget:
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WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Brasserie Georges – ** – ££
2 – L’Etage – £££
3 – Agastache Restaurant – ££
4 – Restaurant Le Boeuf d”Argent – ££
5 – L’Institut – £££
6 – Art Restaurant – £££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
On this trip to France:
1 – Lyon – Day 1
2 – Lyon – Day 2 – Coming Soon
3 – Marseille – Day 1 – Coming Soon
4 – Marseille – Day 2 – Coming Soon
5 – Porquerolles Island – Coming Soon
6 – Saint-Tropez/PortGrimaud/Grimaud – Coming Soon
7 – Cannes – Coming Soon
8 – Monaco – Coming Soon
9 – Aix-en-Provence – Coming Soon
10 – Arles – Coming Soon
11 – Camargue – Coming Soon
12 – Avignon – Coming Soon
13 – Dijon – Coming Soon
14 – Fontainebleau – Coming Soon
15 – Paris – Day 1 – Coming Soon
16 – Paris – Day 2 – Coming Soon
17 – Paris – Day 3 – Coming Soon
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