We will be in Lyon in late June on our way to beaune. We have the option of taking a longer layover so we can eat lunch. Does anyone have cafe or restaurant suggestions that are in the vicinity of the train station?

If you bother to take time to have a lunch in this food capital, why not venture out of the station area? Whether you are coming into Lyon Part-Dieu (most likely) or Lyon-Perrache, Vieux Lyon or Bellecour with interesting restaurants by top chefs such as Le Sud by Paul Bocuse are just a tram and a metro away.

Lunch is a leisurely thing. Plan on 3 hours for the lunch alone at better restaurants.

Here are a few restaurant choices. Gayot lists 39 restaurants

http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/lyo...ance_70fr.html

Fodor's recommendations. http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/f...staurants.html

Michelin starred restaurants - will need reservations, sometimes weeks or months in advance.
http://www.lyonalacarte.com/?Lyon-s-...ar-Restaurants

If you can manage it, what you really should do is hop in a cab and get yourselves to one of the city's best bouchons. Here's an article to get you motivated:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Travel...uchons-of-Lyon

Really, with only one meal in Lyon, you MUST find a bouchon!

just how long is the 'longer layover'? Hopefully well over 2 hours.

Thanks for your input. We have decided to stay in Lyon and enjoy lunch for as long as it takes to enjoy lunch!! Sometimes getting to the next place is not as important as "being" where you are!

Actually, there are some very good restaurants very near the train station, if you are talking about Perrache, not so much if you are talking Part Dieu (there are some not too far from Part Dieu if you cross the river, but not within walking distance). One of the most famous restaurants in Lyon is near Perrache, Brasserie Georges, you can easily walk there.

http://www.brasseriegeorges.com/home.aspx

The March/April edition of AFAR magazine has an article on Bouchon Lyonnais.

Is it difficult flagging down a taxi near a) Vieux Lyon or b) bellecour area? I need to be at Part Dieu Station for a 4pm departure, and am concerned about making it back to the station in time. Thanks!

You'll have no problem getting a taxi in either Bellecour or Vieux Lyon (once you've navigated out of the pedestrian streets).

If you're concerned about getting to Part Dieu on time, you could always take the metro. One stop away from Part Dieu is the Brotteaux stop (which is the old train station for Lyon, now decommissioned) which is right in the heart of what is considered the chicest arrondissement in Lyon.

Opposite the metro stop are two restaurants that I can't recommend highly enough; the first is Brasserie des Brotteaux (where I ate a couple of weeks ago) and their four course lunch menu for €32 is some of the best value food I've eaten in Lyon for a very long time. The restaurant's decor is practically worth a trip on its own http://www.brasseriedesbrotteaux.com/

The other is one of Georges Blanc's restaurants, Le Splendid, which is well, pretty splendid. Slightly pricier in my experience, but very good cooking and serving some of Lyon's traditional dishes http://www.georgesblanc.com/uk/le-splendid-lyon.php

You can't go wrong with either and their positions (both opposite Brotteaux metro stop) mean you'll be a maximum of 15 minutes away from Part Dieu, including time to cross the street, buy your ticket and wait for the metro.

With the metro tickets at €1.60 for a single (or a 2 hour 'freedom' ticket at around €2.50) the money you save on a taxi could go towards a better bottle of Cotes du Rhone with your lunch...

Oh my. I wish I could transport myself to Lyon just to have a nice lunch at Brasserie des Brotteaux...Jay, thanks for that rec and link.

No problem busted. If you do make it there at some point, the seven hour lamb with gratin of macaroni with St. Marcellin cheese sauce is enough to make a grown man (or indeed woman) cry.

I could have eaten the lamb with a spoon rather than a knife it was so tender. The dish they rustled up for my three year old son (a well-sized fillet of white fish along with mixed vegetables) for the princely sum of €5 was also pretty special.

It's at the top of my "must eat there again" list in Lyon.

Jay - Thanks for the excellent post. Great information, exactly what I was hoping to find. I am looking to purchase my TGV tickets today and was a little stressed out about making it back to Part-Dieu in time.

I am currently arriving in Lyon at 11am, and considering departing on the 4pm train to Aix. This probably gives me only 4 hours of exploration time, but I am hoping to squeeze in enough time for lunch and a walk through the Old Town, including the traboules. Do you think this is enough time?


Thank you as well for the restaurant suggestions. Based on yours and Busted's comments, I think I will try to get a table at Brotteaux!

No problem jpopp.

I think four hours might be cutting it a bit fine if you want to have a full, sit-down lunch and a stroll through the old town. If you had a two course lunch, I think this should leave you enough time to get over to the old town, visit some traboules and be back in Part Dieu in time for your train.

If you do decide to go for a two course lunch, once you're in the old town, stop at Nardone ice cream parlour on quai de Bondy for dessert (I recommend a two scoop cone of lavender and orange blossom) which you can take on your stroll with you. Again, this place is almost worth the trip on its own.

I think with an itinerary such as this for such a short stopover, you'll most likely be making it a destination on your next trip! I know it's got me itching to go back...