stuck in lyon - any sidetrips
 

I have a fully packed meeting in Lyon for 3-4 days end of March. I want to stay for another 3-4 days (thru the weekend before flying back). Is it too long in Lyon alone? What can I do in Lyon for 1 week? Any suggestion for sidetrips or daytrips? I want to see if I should book a hotel in Lyon for the whole week or should break it up?
Thanks.
MN

Hello,
I think you could happily stay in Lyon for 3 or 4 days after your meeting - taking 2 days to visit the city and then adding on a couple of day trips.

The city itself is a lovely place to walk around, as the centre is very compact and much of it is pedestrianised.

The old town area (Vieux Lyon) is well preserved and you can easily spend a morning wandering through the network of "traboules" - covered passages between houses that were built by the silk workers in order to transport their wares without risk of damage by the elements. Many of the traboules in the old town lead through beautiful Renaissance courtyards. You can get a map of them from the Tourist office (on Place Bellecour).

One thing I'd recommend is the Lyon City Card, which you can purchase from the TOurist Office (or online http://www.en.lyon-france.com/page/p.../?id_produit=7) and which includes unlimited transport on the tram/metro/bus/funicular, access to the city's main museums (the fine arts museum and the museum of Gallo-Roman history are my top two), guided tours/audio tours, and various discounts at department stores. You can get the card for 1, 2 or 3 days.

As for sidetrips, it does depend whether you want to rent a car, take a bus/train somewhere or go on an organised tour.

A few suggestions:
The beautifully restored medieval village of Pérouges, about 30 minutes by car east of Lyon. There is a bus that goes there from Perrache train station but beware there is a steep uphill walk from the bus stop to the village.

A tour of the Beaujolais vineyards (beautiful countryside and scenery) - I think you would need to book this through the tourist office.

A day-trip or 2-day trip to the lovely town of Annecy on the edge of the Alps - you can get the train there from Lyon and could easily spend a day or two wandering the pretty streets and admiring the beautiful views of the lake and mountains.

Anyway, those are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Hope it helps!

About 30k south of Lyon is Vienne. Quite recently an entire Gallo-Roman town was discovered there, and the site and the associated sensational museum are well-worth the short trip by rail.
About 60k north-west of Lyon is Roanne. If you can get a booking, lunch at the ***restaurant Troisgros there is certainly a pleasant way to spend the day!

Oh, had forgotten about Vienne!
There are also river cruises that go from Lyon to Vienne and back in a day.

I had the same situation in 2001. I spent the day I arrived (sunday) exploring Lyon so I could get adjusted to the time zone for my meetings mon-thurs. I went to Avignon on the TGV for an overnight and took a bus to the Pont du Gard from there. I wanted to get to Annecy for a day but the train connections I was looking at were not good. So another day I took a day trip to Geneva. Not a city I would have stayed at but it was fun to day trip there.

Go to Annecy.

There is a Resistance Museum in Lyon that is worth at least 1/2 day of your time.

http://www.lyon.fr/vdl/sections/en/c..._resistance_1/

Hi P,

You might want to look up Lyon under "Destinations".

((I))

As others have pointed out, Avignon is not far from Lyon -- it's just over an hour on the TGV, so you could do it either as a day trip or overnight. If you are gastronomically inclined, by all means splurge on a meal at Paul Bocuse, just north of Lyon on the Saone River. It's one of the great 3-starred Michelin French restaurants.

Perouges is a very well preserved medieval village about 20 miles northeast of Lyon; perfect for a 1/2 day trip. Make sure to have a tarte au sucre!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I might do the Vienne or Perouges for a day.
Been crazy with the work and no time to plan. Does anyone know where I can book a wine tour trip (somewhere close by Lyon as a day trip) for a group of physicans who will be attending the Congress in Lyon with me? Or should we hire a driver to take us all there? I think a guided tour would be better to entertain my clients.
Thanks. MN

I'd love to be STUCK in Lyon with all the famous old Bouchons that I have not dined at yet.

For those who don't know what a Bouchon is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouchon

pharmap, I like Peruges alot. so unlike any other part of that area. On dy or night is all you need there.

mlafitte, it was only today planning my trip. Th TGV from Avignon to Lyon was
2hours and forty minutes and alot of $.

cigalechanta, bouchon sounds like good food (hearty and flavourful). Do you have a few favourite places that I can try?
How do I get to Perouges? The train site saids Lyon-part dieu to MEXIMIEUX PEROUGES, is that the right station? The non-stop ride is 30mins.
Vienne is about the same distance away. Is it more touristy than Perouges?

I think Annecy is too far for a day trip (train is 3 hours away).

I emailed beaujolais.net and the hotel to see if they have any info. The offical tourism does not have any email address to book or request for wine tour info. Just have to wait and see.

MN

Alas I don't drive , my husband does, so I'm not much help in how or how long for most places. I have never seen mobs in Perouges. We stay overnight there.
Annecy is too far unless you do stay a few days. We love that area. One of France's best restaurants is on Lake Annecy. (Watch the Film, Claire's Knee, it was photographed there.)
Any of the designated Bouchons on the list is where to go.

Pharmop, as I mentioned in my earlier post, there is a bus that goes to Pérouges from Lyon Perrache station, but you then have a steep uphill walk to get to the village.
If you get the train, it stops at nearby Meximieux, and you then have about 2 km to walk to Pérouges (again, you'll have the steep uphill walk to get to the old village).

Pérouges is a lot more touristy than Vienne - the whole fortified village exists essentially as a tourist attraction capitalising on its "medieval" atmosphere. It's extremely pretty and a fun place to visit, but there will be many other tourists there.

When my parents visited Lyon, they went on a day tour of the Beaujolais area, including the Georges Duboeuf vineyards. They booked it through the tourist office in Lyon.

Thank you hanl. I will email the tourist office, I've found their address [email protected] , the wine tour in beaujolais area [email protected] . It looks very touristy (like some of the Napa ones) but that will do for my guests.
MN

Think seriously about Avignon...it is a very interesting place.

I agree, Avignon is terrific ... and contrary to what was posted earlier in this thread, the trip is not long or expensive. It is only 1 hr and 9 mins by TGV from Lyon, and checking on the SNCF website just now I found a roundtrip fare of 55-65 euros, depending on what time of day you travel. (I think maybe the earlier poster looked at the TER regional train which takes much longer.)

For Avignon, do I stop at the TGV station or City Center Station?