Elaine

And had a wonderful time! Lyon was everything we expected and more and I'd highly recommend it for a few days' stop-over on any trip to France.<BR><BR>I won't write a full blow-by-blow account here, but if anyone wants more details, please feel free to email me. Basically, our trip went like thisBR><BR>Arrived Friday afternoon - very wet and windy, but we were determined to see a bit of the city and walked around Vieux-Lyon and the shopping areas around Place Bellecour.<BR><BR>Saturday morning awoke to glorious sunshine and tee-shirt heat! Spent an hour or so sitting in Place Carton people-watching and then caught the train to Meximieux-Perrouge. It was a bit further to walk to Perrouge itself than we'd expected, but managed to get there in time for a fabulous lunch at Ostellerie du Vieux Peroges.<BR><BR>Sunday morning we &quot;did&quot; the markets in Place Carton (very much under-rated, if only for the cute puppies and kittens) and along the riverside near Vieux Lyon. After lunch we took the funicular up the hill and saw the cathedral (fabulous views) and the Roman remains (bit disappointing), then walked down and had a walk around Vieux-Lyon in the sunshine.<BR><BR>Monday went to the Tete d'Or park and walked around the zoo and the lake, then took the tram to Part Dieux and had a look around the Galleries Lafayette centre and yet another boozy French lunch! Then train back to Perrache, and a bit more people-watching in Place Carton over a few glasses of pastis.<BR><BR>Tuesday morning, early start and flight home. Lyon Airport's a bit basic, so I wouldn't recommend spending more time there than you have to, but the views of the snow-topped mountains were worth seeing.

Chris

Glad you enjoyed Lyon! I miss it so much. For some reason I feel it's more &quot;French&quot; then even Paris. Maybe it's because you don't see as many tourists...<BR><BR>BTW, it's Place Carnot, for those who are map reading.

Elaine

......BTW, it's Place Carnot, for those who are map reading. <BR><BR>Ooops, sorry about that! I knew it looked wrong as I was typing, but couldn't be bothered checking the map.<BR><BR>Yes, I agree that Lyon somehow felt more French than Paris, but then I suppose that's usually the case with slightly more provincial cities, as opposed to the big tourist &quot;hotspots&quot; and capital cities.

Grasshopper

Elaine, Thank you for your report. I'm wondering why you were disappointed in the Roman theater. I was amazed to find it there and thought it great. Perhaps you had heard about it and expected more?<BR><BR>You said you visited Vieux Lyon when it was wet and windy. Did you by chance get back to eat in one of the outdoor cafes when it was tee-shirt heat? Did you have a Salade Lyonaisse?

Elaine

Grasshopper, I'm not really sure why I found the Roman theatre a little disappointing. I remembered you telling me to walk down that way from the Basilique and made a point of doing so, but somehow it just didn't feel &quot;right&quot; if you know what I mean. <BR>Maybe it was because I've seen too many other classical sites (mainly in Greece), or perhaps I would have appreciated it more if we'd taken the time to go inside the musuem (but the weather was so glorious that we wanted to stay outdoors whilst it lasted). But it just seemed as though they had tried too hard to &quot;recreate&quot; the original form and, apart from the pieces of ruined columns and the mosaic at the bottom, it didn't seem like there was much of it left in the same state as it had been found. I'm probably wrong, but that's the impression I got.<BR><BR>Anyway, in answer to your question about the cafes, yes we did get to eat outdoors several times - apart from our first afternoon, the weather was fantastic for the time of year. Didn't get around to the salade Lyonnaise, but we did sample lots of other tasty fare, including something that I can't remember the name of, which was kind of like a whipped up liver pate mousse with a red wine and mushroom sauce. It sounds horrible, but was delicious!<BR><BR>Thanks again for all your pre-trip help and ideas and also to all the other people who answered my original posts.

Topper

Topping