Demon22

Thanks annhig - a mix of prebook and winging. Tend to book the longer stays in advance and then decide on where to stay "in between" a day or so in advance. We tend to travel during the spring or autumn so less likely to find places booked out.

annhig

good way to do it, I think, Demon. I'm looking forward to having the time to do a trip like this round Europe; hopefully that darned Brexit won't get in the way of it too much.

looking forward to more...

northie

Good to read - we enjoyed staying in Lille - love the old town -we were there to visit Fromelles .
I'm from Australia too and we always go straight through - we did a stop over once but never again - get it over and done .

Demon22

Final Instalment

We had 3 nights in Lyon, staying at Mecure Lyon Centre Beaux Arts Hotel. We walked all over Lyon - from the Saone to the Rhone and many places in between. Loved the Old Town, not too keen on the Croix Rousse area - it seemed quite run down and bad graffiti everywhere including covering some lovely street art. The Roman Amphitheatre was also unkempt and appeared unloved. Did enjoy the funicular ride up to the Basilique and then walking back down through the gardens. There were some great markets along both sides of the Saone on Sunday and also in the Old Town. We had a couple of memorable meals - at Café Terrior and also Brasserie le Nord.

On the Tuesday we caught the train to CDG and stayed at the Ibis Styles because we had an early flight the next morning. The new (to us) electric train made the toing and froing between terminals very easy.

Wednesday we caught our plane at 0910 to Doha, arriving at 1635 where we had a 5 hour transit and arrived back in Adelaide at 1720 on the Thursday.

Postscript:
We take our own GPS with us - loaded with the relevant area maps. We also use the Michelin Green Guides to the regions we visit, and also their website - mainly for finding good value restaurants where we are staying. We also have paper maps to guide us when we are driving - just in case, and our first point of call in a town is the tourist information office for a local map.
And now that we have so many devices that need to be recharged on a regular basis (2 phones, tablet, laptop, camera), we also take a small powerboard, so we only need one adapter but can charge up 4 devices at once.

northie

Great report Demon22

annhig

Hi demon, we're thinking about going to Lyon for a few days in the near future, and was wondering if you would recommend the Mercure that you stayed at?

Demon22

Hi annhig

Certainly would. The rooms are a good size, breakfast was included and as its name says, it is central. Athe Place de Jacobins is just a few steps from the front door.

annhig

thanks, demon. I'm an accord member so this might be a good choice for us - a chance to use some points!