As a “lyonnais” I’m happy you pay attention to our city. I have been living there for thirty years and would hardly move to another location.
Most of the restaurants in the city are good value for money. I would recommend you,
Le Flair (wines are common but the food is really great and amazing. The Japanese chef adds something special to a french background. The menu is under 20 euros at lunch)
Les Saveurs de Py
Le Danton
Le Supreme
L’Ourson qui Boit
Le Café du Soleil (It’s what we called a “Bouchon”, I mean a place in between a Café and a restaurant where you are served typical dishes from Lyon like quenelles, salade lyonnaise, poulet aux écrevisses, …) It’s worth to be try and in my opinion the best Bouchon in Lyon but you’d better be starving when entering it (big portions!).
L’Argot It’s a butcher shop in the morning that turns into a restaurant at lunch. Don’t go there if you are a vegan! Everything is meat! There is a menu based upon meat but you can also chose the piece of meat you want as at the butcher’s and it will be cooked forthwith.
These are all small restaurants with few tables and you would have to book in advance, specially in the case of L’Argot. Be aware that many restaurants that are not located in the center of Lyon can be closed on Saturday and Sunday. It’s the case with Le Danton.
If you are not reluctant to spend more, of course the stars restaurants are all good places to be. In particular, Mathieu Vianney at La Mère Brazier, La Villa Florentine (beautiful location on the slopes of Fourvière hill) and Le 14 Février named by the japanese national day (you have guessed the chef and owner is …).
Someone recommended Le Palégrié that is no longer in Lyon. Actually the restaurant moved to Corrençon, a little ski resort in the Vercors mountains. It’s part of a nice hotel “Hotel du golf”. It’s only one hour and half drive from Lyon. Both the restaurant and the hotel are worth a visit and plus the scenery is beautiful. So if you have a car …
Apart from food, Lyon is a city to walk. There is a kind of catwalk along the Saone banks you can walk on. When walking you have a changing sight on the Fourvière Hill and the districts below. You also have to climb the hill from “quartier Saint Jean” to the Fourvière Basilic (amazing view on the city and the whole alps if the air is clean). From that point you can use a network of stairs to go downhill to the Saone river and then take a pedestrian bridge to reach the catwalk and go back to the city center… or climb the Croix Rousse hill and roam through the food market …
Something you shouldn’t miss is the Traboules. It’s a network of passageways mainly under the Renaissance buildings of the old Lyon. Most of them are closed and you have to attend a guided visit to get in there.
At last, if you have one hour or two to waste when you are in Lyon, you could stop at home for an “apéritif” so I can make you try some local wines that are not yet shipped to US.
Thank you Bernard. I only wish I had this wonderful information when we went in 2012. We had a fabulous time; stayed in the old city. Lyon quickly became my favorite big city that I have ever visited and I have visited quite a few. A close second is Buenos Aires.
Hello Michael. One can’t be more enthousiastic as you are! You just have to come again and try the restaurants I quoted. Good news, the Beaujolais is getting better and better and will soon be restored as the third river that flows through the city alongside with the Rhone and the Saone.
It’s good that this thread has popped up again. Merci Bernard for the great info. I’ve visited Lyon before and the food is great … I’m going again in a few weeks …
Is there anywhere central you would particularly recommend for its wine list? (I don’t have the transport to get far out of town …).
I honeymooned there about 5 years ago, and I imagine that things have changed a bit. With that said, I love Lyon. I had my first child while living in Annecy, and Lyon was a frequent stop.
I did do a google map of restaurants, hotels, etc in preparation for my trip that I will link below. I used Chowhound and eGullet for a lot of the input at the time and also other forums and travel guides.
I will say that when I went there I contacted Lucy Vanel. She is an American living in Lyon for many years who runs a popular blog and teaches cooking courses at Emile Henry (or used to). For 150 Euro she led my wife and me around for six hours to some amazing places, told about the history of food in the city, and acted (more or less) as a concierge for us during our time. She knew the best tables to book, the new restaurants, and even fielded questions about antique shops to get things like cookware, knives, and screw pulls. She then met me another day to take me there to find dusty trinkets.
It was money well spent and a memorable experience. I am not sure she conducts these tours anymore, but if you google Lucy Vanel Lyon, I am sure some sort of contact will come up.
I will be in Lyon in around a week or so and cannot wait. I have heard many great things about the city and we love food and wine so Lyon should not disappoint.
Bernard, if you have any particular suggestions for sites or things to do, let me know. We have our restaurant reservations booked and have general plans for our days but certainly would love a local’s perspective.
L’âme Sœur. I went there for the first time last week. It’s worth a try both for the food and the wines. The wine list is really great! I like very much the “vins natures” orientated Beaujolais/Macônnais sample (Lapierre, Foillard, …, Denogent). If you’re eager to break the bank you can take a look at Ramonet’s wines or have a Côte-Rôtie from Rostaing or Ogier. The full wines list is below,
La Table 101 is also a good place for wines where you can try the Cornas of Domaine du Tunnel and the amazing Crozes of Emmanuel Darnaud.
These two restaurants are accessible by metro but in my memory are closed on weekends.
Hi Rich
I guess you are already aware of the main sights and maybe you’d like to get off the beaten track. It’s a hard task… but if you are not reluctant to walk a bit it could be interesting to combine a walk and a pause in a café or a casual restaurant. I would suggest three options.
In the morning,
⦁ The Croix Rousse market is a very busy place along the boulevard de la Croix Rousse where producers from the nearby of Lyon and close areas offer vegetables, cheeses, bread, …. The Croix Rousse district is a typical venue on the hill with plenty of café and restaurants. There is a special mood out there especially in the morning because of the market
Don’t miss the café Trois Cochons. It really is an authentic and old fashion place where you can have a coffee or a meal among regulars from the neighborhood. You can also have a drink at Le Bistrot Fait sa Broc a trendy place where people of all backgrounds are melting. You’ll have something similar for lunch at Les Galets Bleus La Nuit.
If you haven’t still planned to take a look at La Cour des Voraces it’s something to consider. It’s an original location that belongs to Lyon history (you will easily find some informations about it on internet) but it’s also the starting point to walk down to the Place des Terreaux using paths under the old buildings. It’s a short walk I’m never fed up with!
You can access the Croix Rousse district using the metro network that turns to be a funicular from Hotel de ville to Croix-Rousse.
⦁ The Quai Saint Antoine market is an alternative to Croix Rousse market. It’s located along the Saône left bank. You can find all kind of food and even sit at some little shop and try out some oysters along with a glass of wine or cross the street and sit at a café’s terrace.
From there you have a panoramic view on Fourviere’s hill and can cross the river on a pedestrian bridge to reach the Vieux Lyon and take the funicular (the so called Ficelle in Lyon) to Fourvière. When you exit the metro, go to the end of the car park on the left hand side of the church. You can step into the gardens below and either go down straight forward to Vieux-Lyon or go right (great view on the city) and reach the roman amphitheater you can visit. Then you have to walk down Montée du Gourguillon (a steep street paved in its low half) to Saint-Jean. It’s a charming location with old buildings and some terraces that overhang the street. When you are about to reach the bottom don’t miss impasse Turquet on the right where you will see the house is supposed to be the oldest of the city. Finally at the very bottom of the street make a stop at Le Café du Soleil where you can either have a traditionnal lunch or a drink.
In the afternoon or the evening
The left banks of the rhone are a nice place to walk from Pont de la Guillotière to Parc de la Tête d’Or with a panoramic view on the city . You have both a pedestrian and a cycling lanes (it’s worth to rent a V’Lib bicycle). Some fluvial boats (péniches) are tied up to the wharf that have been turned into bars or restaurants. As a result the section close to Pont de la Guillotière is very busy in the evening.
My last advice would be to not hesitate to walk around and get lost in the city especially in the Croix-Rousse district as a lot of typical things are nested here and there and can’t be enumerated.
We are in Lyon now and have reservations at 3 of Bernard’s recommendations. We had a good meal at Le Jean Moulin close to our hotel last night but it took > 3 hours for 3 courses. The staff said they had a problem in the kitchen. The plat course arrived 2 hours after we ordered.
You must be happy Steven to not have ordered a ten meals “dégustation menu” at Le Jean Moulin…, let me know about the restaurants you have been.
Hope you’ll have a nice stay in Lyon. It may be rain today, mais c’est la vie!
The last post of Patrick reminded me I stopped one day before the Burgundy Lounge. I promised myself to go there and it went out of my mind. Thanks Patrick for reminding me.
I took a look at the wine list. I had never seen such a thing before. I’m looking forward to having a lunch there.
Le Jean Moulin - Tuesday - good food, but slow service was a problem.
Les Saveurs de Py - Wednesday - Just a wonderful experience and a terrific well priced wine list. We will highly recommend to anyone.
L’Abbaye De Collognes - Thursday - really fun large group dinner. Perhaps the best large group dinner we’ve ever experienced. I was hoping we were going to the 3*, but was not the case.
Friday is Le Danton and Saturday lunch may be Le Flair but we may drop the Saturday reservation and just wander around and randomly grab a bite here & there.
Thanks for the suggestions. Saturday is a walk about.
So far we absolutely love Lyon. Walked around Croix Rousse and most of Vieux Lyon today during a guided walking tour. Had a fantastic traditional Lyon meal at Le Garet last night and have the Burgundy Lounge tonight and La Mere Brazier tomorrow night. Life is good.
Thanks for the above information. I will need time to sort through it and decide which restaurants I can make it.
We will be there for four days in the first week of July. Prior to Lyon we will be in Colmar for a week and from Lyon we will go to Avignon for a week.
