france
#3
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Well I'd suggest just south of Lyon the fabulous Provence area in and around Avignon/Arles would fill your wish list and more. Pont du Gard - ancient Roman aqueduct - Palace of the Popes - monumental ancient palace; Nimes with Roman relics; Arles, the Camargue, Uzes, Les Baux-de-Provence and St-Remy-de-Provence - research all those lovely sights within a very compact area conducive to going by car.
#7
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 6,047
Likes: 0
Another vote for Provence - the Roman heritage is overwhelming!
There are dozens of super restaurants in the area. To find them, use www.viamichelin.com and click on "restaurants". Enter a city and select categories:
One, two or three stars indicate excellent quality of food, more stars do mean necessarily that the food gets better but you will have more chi-chi. Everything with a star is super.
The bib gourmand symbol stands for restaurants with very good cuisine at moderate prices - usually a very good bet.
A good base for the Provence would be Arles, a charming mid-sized town with a Roman amphitheatre, a Greek theatre, a necropolis and a wonderful cathedral. If you enter "Arles" in restaurant search, viamichelin displays a small map with one restaurant with a bib gourmand (right in town), two with 1 star and three with 2 stars.
In the list, you will find one 2-star-restaurant in Les Baux-de-Provence which will also make a very good base (however pricey).
There are dozens of super restaurants in the area. To find them, use www.viamichelin.com and click on "restaurants". Enter a city and select categories:
One, two or three stars indicate excellent quality of food, more stars do mean necessarily that the food gets better but you will have more chi-chi. Everything with a star is super.
The bib gourmand symbol stands for restaurants with very good cuisine at moderate prices - usually a very good bet.
A good base for the Provence would be Arles, a charming mid-sized town with a Roman amphitheatre, a Greek theatre, a necropolis and a wonderful cathedral. If you enter "Arles" in restaurant search, viamichelin displays a small map with one restaurant with a bib gourmand (right in town), two with 1 star and three with 2 stars.
In the list, you will find one 2-star-restaurant in Les Baux-de-Provence which will also make a very good base (however pricey).
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#8

Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
While in Lyon for 30 days last year, we went to Vienne (nice Roman arena), Pérouges (medieval village), Beaune (smallish village in the heart of one of France's great wine-producing regions), Dijon (nice old town), Annecy (great setting with Alpine lake and old town). In Lyon itself you have 2 Roman ruins, several cathedrals and a basilica, traditional bouchon restaurants, and much more. Check out the tours at the office of tourism.
#11
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
There are a parade of wine villages north of Beaune - easily accessible by car or train - some of the most famous Burgudny wine names - like Nuits-Sts-Georges - but yes Beaune is a regional town with a thriving commercial center - not a smallish village at all.






