TC

Hubby has a meeting in Lyon, FR this coming October. We will be in Lyon for 5 days at that time. He is usually very busy during the days, so I expect to be on my own with some interesting dinners together in the evenings.

Once the meeting ends, we want to extend our stay a bit. Here's where I could use some suggestions.

--Will most likely spend one or two more days in Lyon for hubby to sight see.

--We want to get out into the wine country. Considering a day trip with a private guide. Any recommendations? Is one day enough? If more than one, where would be a spectacularly beautiful or very interesting place to overnight? If this could be done as day trips without dragging luggage along so much the better, right?

--Annecy sounds lovely. Is it enough for more than a day trip from Lyon? Is it easy to day trip via train?

--What else would be a must see? Should we stay in Lyon or take a car and do the drive around on our own? If a car, where to stay along the way? We love B&B or small inns, but the beds are so tiny in some that we literally can not sleep. Suggestions?

Right now we are trying to figure how many days we need so that we can purchase the International tickets.

Thanks for your thoughts.

yestravel

Click on my name to read about our week in 2012 in Lyon. Loved the city, very pretty, easy to navigate and great food. From there we went to Dijon for a few days, one spent in Beaume. All were lovely.

neckervd

Some places not to miss in Lyon and surroundings:
Roman theatres and museum at Fourviere, Fourviere cathedral; Vieux (medieval) Lyon with many sympathic restaurants, city museum and traboules; Textile museums, museum of resistance and deportation (WW2).....
Vienne: Roman theatres and other roman monuments, big Roman museum (open air and in house) on the other side of the Rhone river....
Tiny medieval city of Perouges;


Burgundy is not only a wine region, but has also fine monasteries, cathedrals and other interesteing buildings. Check Cluny, Macon, Tournus, Beaune, Dijon, Vezelay.....

TC

Thanks to both. I have read your report "yestravel". Very good with great sounding dining choices. I've copied them for our trip. Where did you get your restaurant recommendations?

yestravel

A variety of places. Some from Fodor's posts, guy who managed the apt, people we spoke to in town and Chiwhound.

Sassafrass

Perouges, very near Lyon. Look at Hostellerie du Vieux Perouges. There is another hotel also near the center that has a pool.

His_Dudeness

We went to Burgundy in 2013 and had a wonderful time staying in the town of Beaune at a fabulous hotel Le Cep. Beaune is a perfect base for exploring the area and what is known as the "Route des Grands Crus". There are many nice small towns, Nolay, Autun, Nuits St Georges and some larger ones like Dijon.

To me a not to miss meal is in Lyon at Paul Bocuse. It was the experience of a lifetime.

TC

Many thanks to all. I think that Burgundy is a bit far afield for this trip. We are now considering staying the entire time in Lyon with day trips out into the country. There seems to be a lot to see and do in Lyon. I have signed up for an all day cooking class and we are investigating a wine tasting class. There appear to be many excellent private tours to vineyards with tastings and lunch in the Beaujolais district. I think we can get a feel for the area and return to Lyon each evening for great dining.

While Paul Bocuse is THE grand master, I am unsure if it is for us. Our style tends more toward the small, unknown establishments with excellent local (rather than global) reputations. We like to chat with owners and other diners while enjoying a delicious meal that doesn't break the bank. To each his own.

Merci!

yestravel

We had reservations at one of the Paul Bocuse eateries, got there, looked around and cancelled our res. not our cuppa tea.

TC

Yestravel. Your restaurant reviews really swayed me. I appreciate their depth. Sounds like we are of a same mind, which is why I've copied your favorites and added them to my traveling file.

Thanks.

yestravel

Food is so subjective. It's always hard to know. Hope you enjoy some of the places we ate.

MaineGG

Lyon has a very good public transportation system that we made good use of during our short visit a couple of years ago. More info here on their website: http://www.tcl.fr/en
We used the "Liberté 1 jour" tickets each day and traveled by Metro, tram and funicular to all the areas we visited.

If you click on my name, you can find my trip report that includes Lyon and Annecy, and links to my photos from both. We really liked Lyon and would like to spend more time there someday.