Lyon, bouchon to Beaujolais.
Old-town food walks, the silk-weaver traboules, wine days north to the Beaujolais and south down the Rhone. What each one is really like, what it costs, and where to book.
Seven you will not regret booking.
First visit or fifth, these carry the days: the cruise past the foot of Fourviere, a long lunch in a Vieux Lyon bouchon, the guided climb through the traboules most people walk straight past.
Guided Sightseeing Cruise
1-hour Saône cruise with a bilingual guide. UNESCO views, Vieux Lyon facades, and the confluence’s bold architecture.
From $17 per person
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A day among the golden stones.
An hour out of Lyon the villages turn the colour of honey and the cellars open their doors. Gamay by the glass, a long lunch among the vines, and back in the city for dinner. This is the day people build a whole Lyon trip around.
Which taste of Lyon is yours?
Everyone comes here to eat; the right booking depends on your appetite and your clock. Three ways to do it, from a full feast to a quick flight of glasses, and every option behind each one is priced and reviewed.
The full Lyonnais spread
The bouchon table
3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $92 · 603 reviews
The full Lyonnais spread in a checked-cloth bouchon: quenelle in a bath of sauce, saucisson warm from the pot, pralines the colour of the city rooftops. A guide walks you between the good ones so you never book the tourist trap next door.
See the bouchon food tours →
Cook it yourself
A morning in Les Halles
2 hours (approx.) · from $48 · 166 reviews
Shop the stalls of Les Halles Paul Bocuse with a chef, then turn the basket into lunch. Cheese from the affineur, a Bresse chicken, a tart to finish. You leave with the recipes and the confidence to make it again at home.
See the market classes →
Just a tasting
The tasting flight
2 hours (approx.) · from $120 · 211 reviews
Short on time or short on appetite: an hour or two of glasses lined up on a bar. Beaujolais against Rhone, a board of Saint-Marcellin and Saint-Felicien, a cocktail to close. The taste of the region without giving up a whole day to it.
See the tastings →
The old town keeps its secrets.
Once the light goes, the traboules and the Renaissance courts turn to shadow and story. Follow a guide through the haunted lanes of Vieux Lyon, chase a mystery across the Presquile, or let an exploration game pull you into the dark corners the day tours never reach.
Cover more, walk less.
A segway or an electric bike strings the two rivers, the Presquile and the parks into a single easy loop. The hills flatten out, and lunch stays in reach. Three of the best rides in the city.
Highlights and the hidden bits.
From Place des Terreaux to the top of Fourviere, a good guide shows you the Lyon of the postcards and the corners most visitors miss. These walks and private tours do both.
Vieux Lyon hides in plain sight.
Behind the shopfronts of the old town run the traboules, covered passages the silk workers cut to carry their bolts of cloth dry between the streets. Most are locked to the crowds. A guide has the doors, the stories and the way up to Fourviere at the end.
The city, quarter by quarter.
Lyon works in quarters, and each one is a half day. Vieux Lyon for the Renaissance lanes. The Presquile for the squares and the shops. Les Halles for lunch. And a whole world of vineyards and lakes a morning past the ring road.
Twelve doors into Lyon.
Pick the kind of day that sounds like yours; every option behind it is priced, timed and reviewed.
Vineyards, lakes and a walled village.
A train and an easy road put whole regions within a morning of Lyon. Wine hills to the north, Syrah slopes down the river to the south, an alpine lake to the east, and a medieval village in between.
Three days in Lyon, in order.
You will not see all of Lyon in one trip, but you can do the right three days. This is the order that works if you land on a Friday morning.
Day 1
Into Vieux Lyon
Vieux Lyon at opening, the funicular up to Fourviere for the view over the rivers, and a first bouchon dinner once the light drops. Easy pace, deep in the Renaissance city.
See the Vieux Lyon walks →
Day 2
The Presquile and the silk hill
The squares of the Presquile by morning, Les Halles Paul Bocuse for lunch, then the climb into the Croix-Rousse where the silk looms once ran behind every window.
See the Presquile tours →
Day 3
Out to the vines
Trade the city for the golden stones of the Beaujolais or the Syrah slopes of the Rhone. Tastings, a long lunch among the vineyards, and the last train back before dinner.
See the vineyard days →
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