Aix-en-Provence or Lyon in January?
Oct 19th, 2004, 01:14 PM
#21
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My two cents (or lack thereof):
1. I agree that the food of Lyon and environs in winter would outweigh the "off-season" weather of southern France--particularly if you wanted to drive over to the French Alps for a visit.
2. Though it may be closed for the month of January, I would seriously look into visiting Georges Blanc restaurant and hotel in Vonnas, about an hour northeast of Lyon. It's very comfortable and his two restaurants--one three star, the other devoted more to traditional but warming fare--are memorable.
3. If you rent a car at the Lyon Part Dieu (sp) train station, make sure that you get a very good sense for where the drop-off place is. This summer I initiated my car rental in Avignon and had thus never been to the Lyon train station before. Because of some construction projects and absent signage, finding that car rental drop-off place under the duress of trying to make a train was a major frustration! Apparently, given some responses to my trip report on an earlier thread, I am not the first to experience the anguish of locating that particular Lyon destination.
1. I agree that the food of Lyon and environs in winter would outweigh the "off-season" weather of southern France--particularly if you wanted to drive over to the French Alps for a visit.
2. Though it may be closed for the month of January, I would seriously look into visiting Georges Blanc restaurant and hotel in Vonnas, about an hour northeast of Lyon. It's very comfortable and his two restaurants--one three star, the other devoted more to traditional but warming fare--are memorable.
3. If you rent a car at the Lyon Part Dieu (sp) train station, make sure that you get a very good sense for where the drop-off place is. This summer I initiated my car rental in Avignon and had thus never been to the Lyon train station before. Because of some construction projects and absent signage, finding that car rental drop-off place under the duress of trying to make a train was a major frustration! Apparently, given some responses to my trip report on an earlier thread, I am not the first to experience the anguish of locating that particular Lyon destination.
Oct 19th, 2004, 04:34 PM
#23
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No, the restaurants on Mercier are not the Pizza Hut type chain restaurants, but they are by and large corporate type eateries. They have a slickness to them that you can feel. Of course, there are exceptions, and perhaps it is all the tourists there that lends that feeling to the street. Routards (written in French) recommends changing the c in the street to a d! I'm just quoting the Lyon edition of Routards. I tended to stay away from restaurants on that street after reading their comments, however the street is lively and it is amusing to walk up and down it, which I did countless times.
