Lyon

I hadn't done a lot of research about Lyon before going there. All I knew was that I wanted to go. Well, I certainly wasn't disappointed. Lyon is absolutely amazing! It's central location makes it very easy to get anywhere in France. It was an hour and twenty minute train ride from Aix (also round trip cost 150 Euros...) and the transportation in the city is super easy. For 5 Euro 50 cents you can buy a day pass that allows you to go anywhere in the city on any of the public transportation.
When I first arrived my first thought was lunch. All I knew is that I wanted to go to the Vieux Lyon (Old City) because that is what I had read would be a good place to start. By the way, Lyon is divided into three sections: Vieux Lyon (the medieval city), Fourvière (the hill with the Basilica and roman ruins), and Croix-Rousse (the old silk district).
When I got out of the metro stop, I was standing right in front of the Cathedral St. Jean. Since I was right in front of it anyway I thought I might as well go in. Unfortunately, lots of areas in Lyon were under restoration and the Cathedral was one of them but what I got to see was very nice.

After this I really needed to get some food. I wandered around a bit while looking at all the places until I found one that didn't look too touristy/expensive and went in. Lyon is has been called the culinary capital of France, or even the world, so there are lots of restaurants to choose from. The one I went to was a really good choice. The food there was amazing. Again, I broke my no taking photos of food rule because of Lyon's reputation. I took the waiter's recommendation of what to eat and he gave me an amazing first dish of cheese and a salad. The cheese when added to the bread was to die for. I was pretty full after the first dish but I managed to polish off the pike soufflé that was next which was also delicious. The wine of the day that they had was from the region and was really good too (sorry, I don't know what type of wine it was). Then I ended with a chocolate dessert.

Absolutely stuffed, I headed out on my journey some more. I knew that there was a tourist information center at the Place Bellecour so I started following signs in that direction and crossed over the Saône River. Did I mention that Lyon has two rivers running through the city? It makes for an amazing experience. On the way I saw a beautiful fountain and a theater.

Once I got to the Place Belecour, which is a wide open place with a statue of Louis XIV in the center, I went to the tourist office and got the information from a very helpful woman who told me about what I wanted to see and gave me a map. I already knew I wanted to go to the Basilica and she gave me a walking route after I was done there. This is the Place Belecour.

After that I headed to the Basilica of St-Martin-d'Ainay. If there is a "must see" attraction in Lyon, this is it. At the top of the hill (see top picture) the Basilica looks out over the city and is gorgeous. You can walk up there but I chose to take the cable cars that reminded me of San Francisco but instead of out in the open like SF they were enclosed and went through tunnels.

After the basilica, I walked down to the city through the roman ruins where there were the remains of an ancient theater and amphitheater. It was cool walking through the ruins which are right next to the Basilica.

After that I just walked through the city for a while. In the old town there are houses which you can walk through to see the shared courtyards which is pretty neat. I visited another smaller church on my way up to the Hôtel de Ville. The Hôtel de Ville and the fountain next to it are pretty spectacular.

After that I just walked through the city. The final photos are from walking along the Rhône river. The next blog I post will be about Avignon, so enjoy the final pictures of Lyon :)