The 8 Most Essential Things To Do In Lyon France

Lyon is often listed as one of the most underrated destinations in France. Which means that it may not get the tourist attention it deserves. Lyon is often forgotten in the stampede to visit Paris or Provence. However, if you are traveling in this part of the world, you really shouldn’t miss spending some time in France’s third largest city.

We recently enjoyed a full week exploring Lyon. And I struggled at first to write this blog post about our visit. Why? Because there are so many great things to do in Lyon! How could I possibly condense everything we experienced into a reasonably sized post?

Ultimately I remembered that most Lyon visitors will not have the luxury of spending a full week. So for those looking to experience the very best of this city in a short time, here’s my take on the things to do in Lyon that I believe are the very most essential.

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Wander Lyon’s Historic Old Town

If you like a picture-perfect European Old Town, then Lyon will not disappoint. In fact, Lyon’s Old Town (called Vieux Lyon) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the best preserved Renaissance-era Old Towns in all of Europe. Exploring Vieux Lyon is certainly one of the most essential things to do in Lyon.

As you wander Vieux Lyon, you’ll discover narrow cobblestone streets, colorful 15th & 16th century buildings, hidden courtyards, churches, and even a Gothic Cathedral.

You’ll also find plenty of quaint shops, bakeries, cafes, and restaurants where you can dine underneath low ceilings and centuries-old wooden beams.

Vieux Lyon is also famous for its Traboules. These are hidden passageways cutting through the buildings of Old Town, providing a shortcut from one parallel street to another.

Traboules can be found throughout all of Lyon’s historic districts. However the largest concentration are in Old Town – around 200 of them. And some of these are open to the public. But while exploring traboules is one of the most popular things to do in Lyon, they can be a little tricky to find (though some are marked on Google Maps).

So here’s a hint! If you look in the photo below, you’ll see a wooden door with a triangular sign. These signs mark some of the most historic traboules. If you see a doorbell, push it. If the traboule is accessible, the door will unlatch and you can enter.

During the time of our visit, several of the traboules in Old Town were closed for renovation. But we did successfully enter the traboule pictured above. It’s located on Old Town’s main (and most touristy) street called Rue Saint Jean. Conveniently this traboule is one those that are labeled on Google Maps, so it is relatively easy to find.

Explore Fourvière Hill

Adjacent to Vieux Lyon you’ll find a historic hill. This is called Fourvière Hill. Lyon was founded by the Romans in 43 BC (a city then called Lugdunum), and their initial settlement was on Fourvière. Several of the best things to do in Lyon are located on this hill.

While you could climb the hill by foot, it’s much easier to take advantage of the Funiculars of Lyon. This is one of the oldest funicular lines in the world still in operation, and was first established in 1862 (though it’s been modernized multiple times since). As you can see below, they pass directly up through Old Town in a very picturesque manner.

Two different funicular lines originate at the base station in Old Town, and the ride only costs a couple Euros. One takes you directly to a famous church. The other takes you directly to famous Roman ruins. Once on top of Fourvière Hill, it’s a short walk between these two sites. Consequently we took one of the funiculars up and the other one down.

The famous church atop Fourvière is called the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. This uniquely-designed church dominates the Lyon skyline from atop this hill. It was constructed in the late 1800s and uses mixed architectural elements including Byzantine influences.

The Basilica is free to enter and I highly recommend that you do. (I also recommend that you watch the short historical movie about the Basilica in the adjacent Visitor’s Center). The interior is very ornate with detailed mosaic walls, stained glass, massive grey pillars, and a beautiful mix of gold, turquoise, and deep red colors. In fact, Mrs. TT immediately declared this her favorite church in all of our travels! And we have visited lots and lots!

After you exit the Basilica, be sure to make your way towards the back of the building. On either side, you will find some of the very best views of Lyon (note Old Town’s Gothic Cathedral in the foreground)

The other essential site on Fourviére Hill is the Lugdunum Roman Theaters. And as I mentioned before, this is just a short downhill walk from the Basilica.

We’ve visited multiple Roman theaters throughout our European travels (like this one in Malaga Spain), but this is undoubtedly one of the most impressive we’ve seen. The hilltop location is perfect, the structure itself is relatively well-preserved, and it’s actually a dual amphitheater – a large one and an adjacent smaller one. And entry to the site is free!

Note that there is a Museum located on the site as well with a paid admission. It contains a huge collection of Roman artifacts. But we did not visit. If you want the truth, we get a little tired sometimes of looking at Roman antiquities in our European travels, so we skipped it. But from what I understand, the collection is excellent.

Stroll The Saône River

Lyon is intersected by two rivers – the Rhône and the Saône. In fact, these two rivers converge in the center of Lyon and continues on as the Rhône through the south of France . The convergence of these rivers creates a peninsula – a peninsula that makes up another of Lyon’s most historic districts called Presqu’île.

Consequently, you’ll find lots of riverfront in central Lyon. But the very most scenic riverfront is along the Saône. So unsurprisingly, strolling along the Saône is another of the very most essential things to do in Lyon. Seriously…look how beautiful this is!

The Saône is the river that separates Old Town and the Presqu’île. And so as you stroll the riverside promenade, you’ll be surround by historic and scenic buildings on either side.

And there are bridges. Unique pedestrian-only bridges that connect the two sides of the river.

And if that’s not enough, Lyon’s largest outdoor food market (called Market St Antoine Célestins) takes place on the Presqu’île side of the river every morning except Mondays. Even if you don’t plan on buying anything, perusing the various vendors with the riverfront in the background is undoubtedly one of the best things to do in Lyon.

Eat Some of The World’s Greatest Food

OK. Enough about Sites for a minute. Let’s switch gears and talk about what Lyon is probably most famous for. Food!! Eating Lyonnaise cuisine is absolutely one of the most essential things to do in Lyon.

Lyon is generally considered the gastronomic capital of France. Yes that title goes to Lyon, not Paris. In fact, it’s not uncommon to even see Lyon labeled as the gastronomic capital of the World!

It’s beyond the scope of this post to go into all the reasons why Lyon wins this title (though here’s a good reference). Some of these reasons include the quality of local products, rich culinary traditions, famous French chefs, a mini-galaxy of Michelin stars, and an abundance of culinary schools regularly churning out great talent.

As you prepare to visit Lyon, you will certainly read a lot about eating at the ciy’s Bouchons. These are the most traditional Lyonnaise restaurants, and are known for their hearty rustic fare and causal vibe. Les Lyonnais – pictured below – is one of the popular Bouchons in Old Town. Only a limited number of restaurants in Lyon carry the official Bouchon designation. The tradition is highly protected.

A very common dish served in these Bouchons is pictured below. This is a Quenelle de Brochet. It’s an oblong-shaped dumpling filled with minced pike fish and topped with a rich crayfish sauce.

But here’s a confession. Even though eating at a Bouchon is usually listed as one of the essential things to do in Lyon, we didn’t visit one. As I mentioned, their menus are traditionally quite rustic. And other than Quenelle, their main courses usually feature offal. And even though I am an affirmed Anthony Bourdain disciple – I struggle to eat the nasty bits.

But the good news for the offal-wary eater is that you don’t have to eat in a Bouchon to immerse yourself in the best of Lyonnaise cuisine. You can get Quenelle in many types of restaurants (the one above is from a restaurant called Le Layon). And Lyon is home to around 4000 restaurants – many offering very reasonably priced 3-course lunches (often for less than 30 Euros). And true to Lyon’s reputation, we found that the quality of these meals was exceptional. Fresh, seasonal, beautifully-plated, and always delicious.

Our France itinerary this time also included stops in Paris and Toulouse, but our food experience in Lyon was overall the very best. The city absolutely lives up to its reputation.

(If you would like to read about another of the world’s culinary capitals, then check out my post on The Food Of Merida Mexico)

Go Shopping In A Gourmet Market

Speaking of food, another of the most essential things to do in Lyon is visit the Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. This is one of the world’s greatest gourmet markets.

I always make it a point to visit local markets when we travel. I think it’s very interesting to wander these markets for insight into both local food and local way of life. Favorites have included Bazurto Market in Cartagena Colombia and San Telmo Market in Buenos Aires Argentina.

Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is unlike any market we’ve ever visited. Its bears the name of Paul Bocuse – France’s most legendary chef and a native of Lyon. And it really does seem like a temple to gourmet food. It’s spectacularly clean and organized and professional.

It features kiosk after kiosk of some of the most beautiful food you have ever seen. Like these amazing desserts…

Or these different types of cheese…

It’s easy to wander from kiosk to kiosk and admire it all. It’s not only a Temple, but also a Museum for foodies. A museum where you can buy any piece of art you want…take it home…and eat it!

The market is also home to several small restaurants. And naturally, these serve some of the best food in Lyon. One of the most popular is called Baba La Grenouille. This is one of the best places in Lyon to get the classic French dish of Frog Legs. And I strongly recommend that you eat here when visiting the market – it was one of my favorite things to do in Lyon (and one of my favorite meals too).

The chef cooks the frog legs in an open kitchen. And watching him is part of the experience of eating here. Olive oil, white wine, garlic, parsley, flour, and loads of butter all go into the creation of this spectacular dish. (And I wouldn’t say frog legs taste like chicken as is often said. I think they are more similar to a mild fish.)

Note that Baba La Grenouille is very popular. They start serving frog legs at noon and reportedly sell out before lunch is over. So in order to not miss out on one of the best things to do in Lyon, I would suggest making a reservation. We made ours when we arrived at the market at 11:15 that morning.

Hang Out In An Elegant Square

Now let’s talk a bit more about the Presqu’île. This is another of Lyon’s historic parts of town and is found on that peninsula between the two intersecting rivers. In fact, Presqu’île means peninsula. This section of town is also part of Lyon’s UNESCO World Heritage designation and is known for its elegant 18th & 19th century buildings, majestic squares, fountains, and pedestrian shopping streets.

Spending time in the Presqu’île is certainly one of the essential things to do in Lyon. Here you’ll find all the elegance of Paris without having to deal with the crowds. Our favorite thing to do in Presqu’île was enjoying a drink at a cafe during the late afternoon, while simply soaking in the Lyonnaise atmosphere.

Our favorite place to do this was in a square called the Place des Terreaux. This is where you find Lyon’s ornate 17th century City Hall called the Hôtel de Ville and the impressive Bartholdi Fountain. The fountain was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi whose most famous work is The Statue of Liberty (yeah, the one in New York). It shows a woman (a representation of France) driving a chariot with four wildly rearing horses (representing the four great rivers of France).

You’ll find multiple cafes and restaurants in the buildings surrounding the square, each with outdoor tables. We’d pick a place near the fountain and people-watch while listening to the roaring water. Time well spent!

Learn About The Silk Trade

You really shouldn’t visit Lyon without learning about the importance of silk to this city. Lyon was the capital of global silk production and trade for over 300 years, reaching a peak in the 1800s. Much of the city’s silk production was centered in Lyon’s third important historic district – a hilltop district called Croix-Rousse. This is where the city’s silk workers called Canuts lived and worked, and it’s also part of Lyon’s UNESCO designation. Tracing the city’s silk history in Croix-Rousse is another of the most essential things to do in Lyon.

One of the best ways to learn about Lyon’s silk history is to visit La Maison des Canuts. This former silk workshop in Croix-Rousse is now a small museum dedicated to teaching visitors about this history. As an example, we learned that the piece of silk in the photo above is made with gold threads and costs 20000 Euros per meter!!

While the museum does have several informative displays, I would recommend that you take one of the twice-daily guided tours. You will go across the street from the museum for an actual working demonstration of the Jacquard Loom (also seen in the photo above). This 19th century invention revolutionized silk production and your tour guide will demonstrate how it operates. It’s really quite amazing.

Here’s a useful note though when booking this tour (which you can do via their website). This first half of this tour is in both French and English. This half includes the loom demonstration and an explanation of the difficult working conditions for the Canuts. The second half of the tour is entirely in French, but non-French speakers can leave at this point. The museum therefore offers a discounted “English Ticket” (currently 7.50 Euros). If you don’t speak French, buy this one.

After you’ve learned about silk at the museum, you should also spend some time exploring Croix-Rousse. For us, this included walking through the district’s most famous Traboule called Cour des Voraces – one of many used by the Canuts for transporting silk through this part of city.

And walking down from hilltop Croix-Rousse to the Presqu’île below along a long steep street called Montée de la Grande-Côte. This is a pedestrian street that historically connected the two districts and was a common route for silk transport back in the day. It’s also one of the most scenic streets in Lyon.

Go Underground With The French Resistance

Finally, what about Lyon’s other Museums? You’ll come across several options when looking for things to do in Lyon. And we visited a few of these, including the ultra modern-looking Musée des Confluences that sits at the confluence of the two rivers.

However, I think the most essential non-silk museum to visit in Lyon is the Resistance & Deportation History Center. Lyon was the center of the French Resistance during WWII. And I believe that as with the silk trade, learning about this history is essential to fully appreciating Lyon.

This museum is located in a building that was once the Gestapo’s headquarters in Lyon. The multimedia exhibits do a fantastic job of explaining all the details of Nazi occupation and the resultant French Resistance. The audioguide is great and some of the artifacts are very impressive.

Plus there are reproductions of rooms and basements from Lyon during that period of time. These further help set the tone for understanding the brave people that fought the Nazis and the compliant Vichy French government at the time. Plus, you’ll appreciate Lyon’s traboules even more when you understand how these secret passageways were used for subversive activities.

Though it’s on a smaller scale, our experience at this Lyon museum was very reminiscent of our visit to The Museum of The Second World War in Gdansk Poland.

And the Deportation part? Yes, Lyon’s Jewish population was sent to Auschwitz. So, somber history is depicted here too. And having visited Auschwitz ourselves, it was further enlightenment on our own ongoing path of further understanding WW2 history during our travels.

Getting Around Lyon

You may be wondering at this point about getting around Lyon. Well, good news! It’s easy!

First of all, Lyon is a very walkable city. The historic center is relatively compact. So it’s not hard to discover many of these things to do in Lyon by foot.

Lyon also has an excellent public transportation system. Our Airbnb was located in one of Lyon’s newer districts. We therefore regularly used both the underground Metro and the light rail Tram system on a daily basis.

All routes and times are available on Google Maps. And we used multi-day passes that can be purchased from ticketing machines at the various stops (all with an English language option). These tickets can be used on all form of public transportation in Lyon including buses and the funiculars.

Uber is also available in Lyon if you prefer, but I thought it was quite expensive for even relatively short distances.

Final Thoughts

Clearly there is absolutely no reason to underrate Lyon. It’s an amazing place and we loved our visit. A scenic riverfront, a picturesque Old Town, elegant architecture, unique history, and some of the world’s best food! With so many great things to do in Lyon, I’m confident that you will not struggle to fill out your own Lyon itinerary.

If you will be spending time in Paris, then you should definitely check out this post

Paris On A Budget – 8 Tips So You Won’t Break The Bank

If a visit to Provence is on your France radar, then you may find this post helpful:

A Week in Provence – the Luberon, the Rhône, and Cassis

If you would like to read about essential sites in another great European city, then check out this post:

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