Lyon - France

In August 2016, I revisited Lyon as part of a scouting trip for the upcoming “Bonjour Bourgogne-Champagne” 2017 tour which I am running in collaboration with Craig Mathieson’s Experience Travel and Cruise Agency.  The inaugural tour for this brand-new destination will start on 07 September 2017 and will complement the popular “Bonjour Provence” tour of the last four years.  The new 8-day tour will start in Lyon and then travel to Beaune and Dijon, right in the heart of the famous Burgundy wine region and then on to Epernay, the capital of Champagne.  The last destination will be Paris.  All in all, the promise of a wonderful journey through History with delicious foods, fine wines, great sites and yours truly to ensure that the trip will be an affair to remember.  Let’s start with Lyon.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - View of Lyon, France.

Lyon is a city in east-central France, in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region about 470 km from Paris and 320 km from Marseille.  Its Inhabitants are called Lyonnais.  It is France's third-largest city after Paris and Marseille.  The city is known for its fine cuisine and gastronomy as well as its historical and architectural landmarks.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Lyon was an important area for the production and weaving of silk.  All periods of Lyon's 2000-year history have left visible traces.  The city never went through a major disaster or a complete redesign by urban planners.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - a Grand Building in Lyon, France.

Early traces of settlement date back to 1,200 BC but there is no evidence of continuous occupation prior to the Roman era.  Lugdunum, the Roman name of the city, was officially founded in 43 BC.  The first Roman settlements were on Fourvière Hill.  It was promoted Capital of Gaul in 27 BC.  The main period of peace and prosperity of the Roman city was between 69 and 192 AD.  Two emperors were born in this city: Claudius and Caracalla.  Lugdunum was the place where the first Christian communities of Gaul appeared.


Daniel Food and Wine Tours - The Roman Amphitheatre, Lyon, France.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Roman carving in Lyon, France.

A display of Roman Coins...

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Roman Coins

 

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Roman Bust in Lyon, France.

A display of Roman Jars...

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Roman Jars in Lyon, France.

The name Lyon appeared in the 13th century.  The city belonged to multiple provinces and then to the Holy Roman Empire from 1018 to 1312, when it was given to France.  In 1572, Lyon was a scene of mass violence by Catholics against Protestant Huguenots in the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacres.  In 1793, after the French Revolution, the city was assaulted by the Revolutionary armies and after a siege of over two months, it eventually surrendered.  Several buildings were destroyed.  A decade later, Napoleon ordered the reconstruction of all the buildings demolished during this period.  During the Renaissance, the silk trade drove the city’s development and Lyon became an important industrial town during the 19th century.

During World War II, Lyon was a centre for the occupying German forces, as well as a stronghold of the Resistance.  The traboules (secret passages) that pass through buildings and link streets on either side enabled the local people to escape Gestapo raids.  These originally allowed the inhabitants to get from their homes quickly and allowed the canuts (silk workers) to get from their workshops to the textile merchants at the foot of the hill.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - A Traboule, Lyon, France.



Daniel Food and Wine Tours - A Traboule Passage Lyon, France.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - The Narrow Traboules, France.

The Rhône and Saône rivers converge to the south of the historic city centre forming a peninsula.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - The Saone River and its Grand Buildings in Lyon, France.



Daniel Food and Wine Tours - the Lyon Peninsula, France.

West of the peninsula, the original medieval city Le Vieux Lyon was built at the foot of the Fourvière hill, also known as "the hill that prays".

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - a Street in the Vieux Lyon, France.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Bouchons in the Vieux Lyon, France.

This is the location for the highly decorated basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière, and a funicular for the climb of the steep hill.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - The Basilica, Lyon, France.

Wow...


Daniel Food and Wine Tours - The entrance of the Basilica, Lyon, France.

 

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Boarding the Funicular, Lyon, France.



Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Ready to climb the Hill, Lyon, France.

Place Bellecour is located on the peninsula between the two rivers and is the third-largest public square in France.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Palace Bellecour Lyon, France

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Palace Bellecour Lyon France

Lyon has a long culinary arts tradition and is referred as "the gastronomic capital of the world".  Renowned 3-star Michelin chefs have developed the Lyonnaise cuisine into a national phenomenon; a tradition which Paul Bocuse later turned into a world-wide success.  The famous covered market in Lyon – Les Halles has been renamed in his honour.



Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Paul Bocuse at the Lyon Tourism Office, France

 

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Les Halles Paul Bocuse, Lyon France

Cheese wonderful, cheese...

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - A Cheese Stand, Lyon France

 

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Food and Wine to go! Lyon France

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Smallgoods Galore, Lyon France

The "bouchon" is a traditional Lyon restaurant that serves local dishes such as sausages, duck pâté or roast pork; along with local wines.  Two of France's best known wine-growing regions are located near the city: the Beaujolais to the north and the Cotes du Rhône to the south.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - Bouchons in the Vieux Lyon France

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - A typical Bouchon in Lyon France

Another Lyon tradition is a type of brunch food called "mâchons", made of local charcuterie and usually accompanied by Beaujolais red wine.  Mâchons were the customary meal of the city's silk workers, who ate a late-morning meal at the end of their shifts in the factories.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours - A Mâchons For Lunch



Other traditional local dishes include Rosette Lyonnaise, saucisson de Lyon; andouillette (a sausage of coarsely cut tripe); coq au vin; gras double (tripe cooked with onions); salade lyonnaise (lettuce with bacon, croûtons and a poached egg); marrons glacés and Cervelle de canut (lit. silk worker's brains) is a cheese spread/dip.

I hope to see you soon on one of my next Bourgogne–Champagne tours and I look forward to sharing this truly amazing place with you.