Rome

Getting to Quebec

🚂 To get to Lyon I took the TGV from the Paris Gare de Lyon station to the Lyon Part Dieu station. This is a fast train meaning that the ride was about 2 hours. I got my tickets on the SNCF website. 

🚘 To drive it would be about 5 hours from Paris according to google maps. 

🚍 Buses are about 6 hours from Paris. 

✈️ Technically you can from Paris, it's not what I would recommend. If you are flying from elsewhere, this can be a great option. 

Our 2 days in Lyon

*My most recent trip recap.* 

Day 1: 

When we first got to Lyon we took the tram to the Presqu'île and headed to the "Office du Tourisme"- Tourism Center. You can pay for a tram ticket buy scanning your credit card once you are on the tram. Once we arrived at the Office du Tourisme, we purchased a Lyon City Card. Since we planned to be there for 2 days - we got the 48 hour one.  Through this we got access to: buses, the metro, the Funiculaire as well as entrance to some museums, a guided city tour and a river boat tour. It's worth looking to see what museums and sites you are wanting to see in Lyon before purchasing the city card to determine if it's worth your money. For us- it was. If you are looking to get a city tour in English, it is worth booking ahead. When we were there they only had tours still available in French.

Our first stop was to see the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière. We headed up the funiculaire, which is fun but doesn't give you the best views of the city, and arrived right in front of the church. Don't be alarmed- it's my understanding that it is typical to see the French military here since it is a popular tourist attraction. The church is stunning. It is made up of two churches. The first church you will see right as you walk in. The second church you will see if you follow the signs to go to the "Crypt." Afterwards, if you go either side of the Basilique you will see a great view of Lyon. We headed to the left side of the Basilique (left if you are facing the church from the front) and walked down the pathway that leads back to the neighborhood Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). Here we headed to see the Cathédrale Saint-Jean. Then we walked around Vieux Lyon and took in the sights. We finished up our first day eating dinner at Le Bistrot de Lyon (a Rick Steve's recommendation) which is on the street- Rue Mercière. Afterwards we took our time heading back to the hotel, enjoying Lyon by night. 

Day 2: 

Our second day was on a Sunday, I have some friends in the area and so we met them at the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière for Mass in the morning. Then we got coffee at a nearby café. We grabbed lunch at the Funky Monkey Lyon before heading to our River boat tour which was included in our City Pass. The boat tour was in French and English and very well done. It was a beautiful day and so afterwards we headed over to Le Parc de la Tête d'Or.  Here, there is a giant pond, lots of green space, a greenhouse and a zoo. Once we had checked out as much of the Park as we wanted we headed back to the Presqu'île to see the "Place des Terreaux" and "Place Bellecour." We then headed over to Carmelo for dinner. 


Food 

Lyon is the gastronomic capitol of France and so show up hungry! One of the things to try is "les bouchons de Lyon" which is a typical pastry from here. We would have loved to do a food tour here but didn't have the time this trip. 

Reservations are recommended- we weren't there during the high season and popular restaurants were booking up fast.

Some places to eat are:

Lodging

Thing to See 

*I am only sites here that I have personally seen. 

Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Cathédrale Saint-Jean

View of Lyon from the Basilique