A group of us are planning a trip to the Rhone Valley in April 2025.
We will be staying in Avignon for 5 nights and then traveling to Lyon for 5 nights.
Would love to get some lunch and dinner recommendations in both areas.
My wife and I did a few quick stops in that area and you might find this post helpful: Chateauneuf du Pape and Hermitage - pit stops during my recent vacation
Of course it depends on what you’re looking for, but we enjoyed lunch at Hostellerie Chateau des Fines Roches in CDP. We also had a great dinner at Monsieur P in Lyon (https://www.monsieurp.fr/en).
My wife and I spent a few nights in Avignon and Lyon in February. 5 nights in Avignon is a lot unless you have a lot of day trips planned. Its a small city and sure there are a few museums which could occupy you for a few hours. That said there is a lot to see and do in that area if you have a car. Same with Lyon, a bit bigger and more to see, but I am assuming you’ll have a car and be visiting wineries in the region.
** my wife has a fairly limited diet - only likes white meat chicken/turkey, salmon and sometimes cod/haddock or flounder and that’s about it. She is allergic to shellfish, doesn’t like creamy/heavy dairy meals, no duck, no beef, no pork, doesnt like mushrooms (rules out lots of veggie dishes), nothing fried, etc. So I had to pick menus where there were 1-2 options for her **
Also we are not big lunch people, we usually eat a big breakfast at our hotels, for lunch we’ll grab a sandwich or just some pastries while walking around then have a proper dinner
In Avignon we really liked Arlequin, Carre Palais was ok. I would suggest seeking the “The Cookies” 1-3 Rue Henri Fabre, 84000 Avignon, France as they have some fantastic cookies!
In Lyon our two dinners were Cafe Terroir and Le Poelon d’Or. Both were very good in their own right - Le Poelon d’Or more classic Bouchon (my wife struggled to find something to eat but was a trooper for me) whereas Cafe Terrior was more modern/swanky and we got to try the famous Bresse Chicken which delighted my wife. And if you like chocolate, seek out https://www.bertrandchocolatier.com/ - we ate a few, but this was our favorite
Both cities are really wonderful and good central locations for day trips and hopping around the region.
Would also recommend Café Terroir as well, although they need to bring back the chicken with morels, orecchiette, and vin jaune. Absolutely epic when paired with a bottle of d’Auvenay from their cellar.
Avignon is a good base for exploring Southern Rhone if you have a car. It’s easy to get to Arles, Nimes, Gordes, Roussillon, etc… None of the restaurants really stood out to me. L’Épicerie de Ginette is a popular open-faced sandwich place. Not sure if it’s worth the hype.
In Lyon we liked Le Jean Moulin for nice restaurant and Restaurant Le Musée for traditional Bouchon style place. I thought Burgundy by Matthieu was very disappointing, especially the wine pairings.
If you’re driving up from Avignon to Lyon definitely stop in Tain-l’Hermitage. Even if going by train, the stop is right in the middle of town and it’s pretty easy to arrange tastings at the big producers. Delas has a beautiful facility that used to be Jaboulet before family squabbles tore it apart. We really liked Assemblage on Tain side of the river. Their wine cellar is amazing as well.
just want to add that st remy de provence is IMHO the most ideal hub to explore the southern rhone area.
@Joel_Pulver - For Lyon here is our list (in addition to the ones above)
–Prairial - 1 Michelin star and has a seafood bent the last time I checked
–Cafe Comptoir Abel - great Bouchon
–Cafe Des Federations - another VERY traditional Bouchon - good luck in consuming everything they feed you!
–La Bouteillerie - this is a wine shop that also serves food, the owner is a so fun and has great recommendations on new or emerging restaurants in Lyon, so try to make this a first night stop
–Daniel et Denise St. Jean - a little bit more refined bouchon
–Le Boeuf d’Argent - Wonderfully small and inventive place - the foie gras in raspberry foam was to die for and I am not a foam guy at all
–Carré Royal - we chose this place because it was open on a Sunday and it was awesome!
If you looking for a wine tour, let me know, the person who got me started in wine, lives in Condrieu, makes wine, has become a good friend, and can put together whatever type of wine tour you would like
Strangely enough, as many times as I have been to Lyon, I have never been to any of the Paul Bocuse resturaunts - so you should try these!
My ex-girlfriend (now wife) and I stayed in St Remy for a few nights as we toured around in our rental car. We stayed at Le Saint Remy which was excellent. Definitely go to the town’s market on Wednesday mornings. We loaded up on cheese and bread and sausage and stuff like that before driving up to have a picnic lunch looking out over the vineyards of Hermitage. Definitely worth seeing and walking around Hermitage hill if you’re in that area.
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