France Highlights in Lyon

The following day, we set off to catch a TGV train to Lyon. Lyon was a 2-hour ride from Marseille, in the middle of France on the River Rhone.


We had not known anyone who had been to Lyon before, so were not sure what to expect, but the little city, of narrow boutique-lined streets, cobbled eating squares and the beautiful castle, sorry, church (we thought it looked straight out of Disneyland, but were promptly told it was not a castle but a church) was absolutely gorgeous.


We stayed in a tourist-y part of the Lyon, near the square, Place Bellecour, and the church, Notre-Dame de Fourvière.


We had booked a lovely little hotel called La Residence, with white French doors opening to the pedestrian shopping streets below and its own Juliet balcony.


We wondered around Lyon, marveling its gorgeous surrounds and decided to hop onto an afternoon boat cruise to try and capture some of the city on our first day.


Our boat trip glided through the waters of the Saone River, which runs parallel to the Rhone. We saw all the old French architecture along the water, avenues of bristling trees and a pretty island.


Back in town we grabbed dinner at a simple pizza restaurant to balance out the richness of food from the night before, and took a long walk around the streets of Lyon afterwards.


We found an eating area of tightly packed restaurants on cobbled streets that we promised to return to the next night.


There were also many shops and I was mentally noting all the ones to visit the following day. Lyon was a shopping mecca.


There were endless streets of shops, boutiques and eateries and because it’s a small city, it was very compact and easy to navigate.


We shopped the next morning and then walked up to the Notre-Dame de Fourvière, choosing to take on the steep hill by foot. It was not as steep a climb as in Marseille, but it was a little longer. Again, the top did not disappoint.



The Notre-Dame de Fourvière was as pretty on the outside as it was on the inside.


The interior of the church was full of mosaic artwork and some of it so intricate and detailed we couldn’t imagine how long it would have taken.


After a short and peaceful rest at the café under the trees, we made a much easier trip down through the gardens of the Notre-Dame de Fourvière.


More shopping and more eating including dinner at Les Enfant Terrible saw our last full day in the pretty Lyon.


Tomorrow it was on the TGV again for a weekend in Paris.