Hello Fodorite friends,

I am in the beginning planning stages for a trip next year (2027). I will have a busy section of the trip including Prague and Budapest and then want to take a train somewhere for a "quiet" week. I think that base will be Lyon. I've done some very basic early planning but only basic so far. I want to stay in the city for a couple of nights, then pick up a rental car and "just wander". This would be my "slow week" (I like to follow busy with slow times). For example, last year we had a faster pace for Venice and Florence and then a "wandering" kind of week with a rental car in Tuscany. Similar trips with Paris followed by wandering with Provence down to Cannes.

Hoping people will share their favorites. If that's too wide open a request, just disregard. Returning to Lyon to take the train to Paris and then flights home.

Post #190 and following:
A stellar month in southeastern France

Yes, I plan to access TRs. I was hoping for a more conversational tone, along the lines of - A favorite place/stop/inn/ restaurant/ etc is XYZ because of yada yada yada. I'm not looking for a comprehensive list of options but folks sharing a particular favorite.

But TRs are always a great resource!

Starrs, am (hopefully) heading to Lyon in June (assuming fuel situation...improves). I will be sure to add my thoughts to this thread upon my return.

Starrs, a decade ago we stayed in an old Lyon rental in an unbeatable location: La Tour Rose. That apartment is all about the location: smack dab in the middle of that eponymous 'miraboule' (i.e. an open-air equivalent to those famed traboules). *Not to be confused with the nearby 4 star hotel of the same name.

One could also see the namesake pink historical tower that gave the apartment its name in Coquelicot's old covid-era 'Photos of France' thread--towards the end I posted daytime/nighttime shots of that very tower, the apartment's faux-historical wooden door plus the courtyard. Then Coquelicot also posted a linked travel article a few years ago that by coincidence, showed a photo including the front courtyard of that same apartment within its rarefied setting. The owners are a couple named Patrick & Francoise Mouton. Their outfit is called Lyon-Renaissance and the contact is @lyon-renaissance.com. They also have a site: www.lyon-renaissance.com
Two phone numbers:
(fixe) 33(0) 4 27893058
(mobile) 33665032434

Also, we loved the quai St. Antoine farmers market, held (if memory serves) every Sunday. *Bonus: the pottery and also the stamp collectors markets occur on the same day within easy walking distance.
Good luck.
I am done. the vieux

Not sure how far you want to veer from Lyon but Perouges is lovely. The Auvergne has much to explore, but further away (more details in my TR here)
TRIP REPORT : THE Auvergne and Languedoc, June 2022

Thank you, Travel_Nerd!

z, that rental sounds perfect! Thanks!

I love this recommendation too. I fell in love with the brocante market at Marche Forville in Cannes (on certain days). Farmers markets are always great but the pottery market really appeals to me too.

Thanks!

Yes, I was considering Perouges. Thanks for the link to your TR too!

Vienne and the Roman town ruins and museum across the river at Saint Romain en Gal are worth a trip.

If you want to go further along the Rhone then the Cité du Chocolat Valrhona in Tain l'Hermitage is interesting, but possibly not interesting enough of itself for a trip that far from Lyon. It was a very nice place to spend a soggy day and free samples of chocolate are always good! It is about an hour from Lyon by train, and you could probably combine it with Valence if you are tempted.