Hello all,

My husband and I will have one week in Lyon at the end of August, early September. We should have a couple of days where we can venture outside of Lyon. I’m wondering what day trips you can recommend for us. We are willing to take transit, train, and can even hire a car for a day or two. Oh, we have already been to Chamonix and Annecy.

Thanks in advance for your ideas,
Cathy

If you have explored Annecy and that area, you could take a TGV to Avignon and pick up a car there at the Avignon TGV station. If it works for you to actually spend a few night there that would probably be better than a "day trip". But the tgv is only about an hour so you could at least spend the day in Avignon or rent a car and see some of the area.

That is a wonderful idea; however, we have explored Avignon and that surrounding area. Thank you though

In order of preference:
Dijon
Beaune
Chambery
Annecy

See attached Lyon ideas

Stu Dudley

If you are interested in Roman monuments, you may spend a day at Vienne and nearby St-Romain en Gal.
The prehistoric Chauvet cave (Unesco site) can be reached from Montelimar.
Buirgundy: Cluny, Tournus, Beaune, Dijon
Lake Geneva and all it's castles

Agree with all the above. Loved Annecy, Dijon, Beaune and Vienne. Would add Pérouges, a medieval walled town 30 km northeast of Lyon. It is perched on a small hill that overlooks the river Ain and, as of a few years ago, has avoided much of the touristy shops that populate many other similar villages.

I am not a huge fan of Lyon (a personal character flaw with which I must live), but one minor sight that I discovered was the cinema and miniature museum in Vieux Lyon. Once you have seen the principal sites of the city, I highly recommend it.

Lyon: Musée Miniature et Cinéma (by kerouac2) | Any Port in a Storm (proboards.com)

Their WWII Resistance museum is very good, also.

The train really goes to Meximieux, not Perouges although if you don't mind walking 2 km, you can easily get there. I suppose that's why it has avoided touristy shops.
https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view...rouges-France/

I liked Dijon, also. Not a big fan of Beaune but a lot of tourists like it.

If you haven't visited Nimes, I think you can easily get there by train in only 1.5 hrs or so. I liked Orange, also, but it's more a 2 hr train trip as it's a TER not a TGV. I really liked Moulins, also, and stayed there several days once. It's more a 2:15 hr train trip as that's an IC. https://www.moulins-tourisme.com/

These are great suggestions and I will be looking into these tonight. Thank you !

I am partial to the region of Auvergne, (La France Profonde), where green valleys are punctuated with black lava outcroppings. No more so than in Le Puy-en-Velay, maybe the most beautiful town in all of France and a true stunner. Nearby, Polignac with its imposing fortress is also characteristic of the region. You can hike one of Les Puys, which have green bowl craters on top. Puy de Dome and Put de Sancy are great destinations. You can visit a farm, (lots of cheese in Auverge), like Ferme de Lambres, St-Nectaire AOP.:

https://www.fermedelambres.fr/

Or you can go in the direction of Orcival, a pretty mountain village (le cantou is a traditional Auvergnat place to eat). Chateau d'Anjony is a typical Auvergnat chateau with Chateau Tournemire practically next door.

If you like Roman ruins, Vienne is an easy day trip by train (half-hour ride). Temple, amphitheater, and a great museum with outdoor ruins and super mosaics inside.
ssander

Yes, I love Roman ruins and Vienne is definitely on my to see list 😊

Caveat for Vienne: When buying your train ticket on a machine, we accidentally bought a bus ticket for the trip out. Not sure why, whether it was a temporary thing due to a problem on the line or whether they generally sell bus tickets on the same machine. Not a major issue since the trip was only about ten or fifteen minutes longer but something to watch on the screen when buying.

ssander

Thanks for the heads up on that. Will do!