Experience Lyon and the Alps

If the very mention of Lyon teases the taste buds, give credit to this sophisticated city's chefs -- masters like Paul Bocuse who can render even a plate of fruit ethereal. Savor their creations, then enjoy the city's visual delights -- Lyon's covered passageways, known as traboules, lead to treasure-filled museums and a first-class opera house. Near at hand, seek out more sportif amusements: a sail from canal-lined, bridge-bedecked Annecy across its breezy and gorgeous lake, perhaps, or a gambol through meadows near Chamonix, a resort with a reputation for winter pleasures overshadowed only by its Alpine peaks.