Weekend in Lyon

Posted by Anura Samara, 17 March 2014

Lyon is close enough for an impulse decision to have a weekend away.

We made a fairly impulsive decision to have a weekend in Lyon. We’d heard from others that it was truly the food capital of France and although we’d been many years ago with the kids, our previous trip had been spoilt by our inability to access any cash while we were there.

So. we headed down to Gare Cornavin, bought our train tickets and booked a hotel room on our phone while waiting for the train.

Gare Cornavin has a couple of platforms which are technically “French”. You have to pass through a border post (remember to have your passport with you) to reach them, but once you’re on the train there are no more formalities involved.

I think we’ve been a bit spoiled by Swiss trains – they’re just so clean and quiet and nearly always on time. The train to Lyon takes about an hour and a half, with a change in the middle. It definitely feels like it could run faster, particularly on the early section as it heads out of Geneva and crosses the border. The train didn’t feel as comfortable – sure, it was busier but somehow there seemed to be less leg room and the seats felt uncomfortable.

When we arrived in Lyon, we discovered that all public transport was free that weekend as a special measure to encourage people to reduce their use of cars. So although the trams were busy, they were free which is a definite bonus.

The first thing we discovered was that our hotel was a long way from the centre of the city. Just too far to comfortably walk, but by the end of the weekend we were very familiar with the tram system. But we weren’t there for the hotel, so we set off to explore.

I have to admit that Lyon is pretty much like many other French cities. The first thing that struck me is how genuinely multicultural it is – the mixture of faces and skin colours is greater than in Switzerland. And the second thing I noticed is how it’s slightly chaotic to Geneva’s neat orderliness. It’s built around a river (technically two rivers) with a grand square with the administrative buildings. As always, our favourite area was the old town with its narrow streets and older buildings dominated by a cathedral.

We caught the furnicular railway up to the hill overlooking the old city. At the top are some extensive Roman ruins which as usual I insisted on seeing. It always amazes me the civilisation influence of the Romans, with their administrative and cultural practices embodied in their architecture, and their highly advanced construction methods. From there, we walked across to the Basilica that overlooks the city – unfortunately, it was pretty hazy and hard to get a good view of the city. But still, it was pleasant enough to have a beer on the terrace with views of the river and city.

We just picked a random restaurant in the old town to have dinner – I had a pretty good steak. It was good, and the atmosphere was great, but I wouldn’t rate it as a “food capital”.

On Sunday, we headed out to the series of parks (Parc aux Daims, Parc de la Tete d’Or). They are wide, open parks and with a sunny day they were packed with locals just enjoying the fresh air. We felt energetic, so hired a paddle boat and headed on to the lake. There is an island in the lake with a massive memorial to fallen soldiers, but it stand so separate to the park – separated by water – that it’s truly hard to appreciate it.

I must admit that I cut short out sightseeing because I wanted to see the Liverpool game on TV. Is that a crime? Thank God for English pubs – sport on TV and decent food.

And then it was time to catch the train for home.

Categories: France

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Weekend in Lyon

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