Lyon

Enter through the grand wrought-iron gates on Boulevard des Belges — a five-minute walk north from Masséna metro station — and head straight along the lake path where morning mist still clings to the water. Loop northeast to the Roseraie, one of Europe's largest rose gardens with over 16,000 varieties, then circle back past the free zoological park where giraffes and elephants graze in open paddocks. This is your warm-up lap — gentle on the legs, rich in photos, and the only quiet hour you will have all day.

Tip: The lake's western bank gives the cleanest reflection shot of the park's century-old plane trees — arrive before 09:30 while the surface is still glass. The Roseraie peaks from mid-May through June; walk the interior arched trellises, not just the perimeter path. Skip the pedal boats: they eat thirty minutes you cannot spare today.

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Exit through the park's southern gate and walk south through the elegant Brotteaux quarter — pause at Place Jules Ferry to photograph the ornate Belle Époque facade of the old Gare des Brotteaux — then continue down to Cours Lafayette (25-minute walk). Spend the first half-hour browsing: cheese pyramids at Fromagerie Richard, curtains of cured saucisson at Maison Sibilia, and pastry cases that belong in a museum. At noon, claim a counter stool and order a saucisson brioché from Sibilia (€6) and a golden quenelle de brochet (€14) with a glass of Saint-Joseph — this is how Lyonnais actually lunch.

Tip: Saturday morning is electric but crushing; weekday lunchtimes are calmer and vendors have time to chat. Budget €20-25 for a full grazing session. The tarte aux pralines — neon-pink, unapologetically sweet — is the local obsession: grab one from any bakery counter (€4) as your walking dessert.

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Head west along Cours de la Liberté and cross the Pont de la Guillotière over the Rhône — pause mid-bridge for a wide-angle view of the Presqu'île with Fourvière's basilica crowning the skyline behind it (20-minute walk from the market). Place Bellecour is the largest pedestrian square in Europe, a vast expanse anchored by the equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Stand at the statue facing west: the basilica framed by honey-coloured mansard rooftops is the definitive Lyon photograph — and in two hours you will be standing on that very hilltop.

Tip: In afternoon light, turn away from Fourvière — the sun-warmed Presqu'île facades behind the statue are the shot locals actually share. The tourist cafés ringing the square charge €6 for a €2 espresso; save your coffee money for Vieux Lyon.

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Cross Pont Bonaparte — the upstream view along the jade-green Saône with stone bell towers on both banks is quietly one of Lyon's most beautiful sights — and turn right onto Rue Saint-Jean, the cobblestoned spine of this UNESCO Renaissance quarter (8-minute walk). The traboules are the reason you are here: hidden passageways cut through entire city blocks, built by silk workers who needed rain-proof shortcuts between workshops. Push open the heavy door at 54 Rue Saint-Jean to walk through four linked Renaissance courtyards, then find Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste at the street's southern end for the flamboyant Gothic facade and its 14th-century astronomical clock.

Tip: The two unmissable traboules: 54 Rue Saint-Jean (four linked courtyards with Renaissance galleries) and 27 Rue du Boeuf (spiral stone staircase into a vaulted passage). Push doors firmly — heavy but unlocked during daytime. Avoid souvenir shops on Rue Saint-Jean selling lavender sachets and Provence tablecloths — this is Lyon, not Provence, and those shops exist purely for tourists.

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From the square behind Cathédrale Saint-Jean, take the Funiculaire F2 to Fourvière — a two-minute ride that spares you a punishing twenty-minute climb. Step off and walk thirty seconds to the esplanade: the entire city unfolds — two rivers converging, the Presqu'île's terracotta rooftops, the pencil tower of Part-Dieu, and on clear days the white chain of the Alps on the horizon. The basilica itself is a nineteenth-century confection of ivory turrets and gilded Madonnas — circle the building to the side terraces for angles the crowd at the main viewpoint never sees.

Tip: At 16:00-18:00 the sun is behind you and the entire eastern cityscape is perfectly front-lit — this is the single best window for photography from this esplanade. Follow the path past the Théâtre Gallo-Romain sign to find a smaller terrace with an unobstructed southward panorama most visitors walk right past. A TCL day pass (€6.70) covers the funicular and any metro rides; well worth it if you used transit this morning.

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Take the funicular back down to Vieux Lyon and walk three minutes south along Rue Tramassac, where warm light spills from bouchon doorways onto Renaissance stonework. Daniel et Denise is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France bouchon — not tourist French food but the living craft of Lyonnais cooking on a plate. Order the quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua (€22), a cloud of pike mousse in crayfish cream that defines this city, then the tablier de sapeur (€18), crispy breaded tripe that converts even the squeamish — finish with the tarte aux pralines you already fell for at the market.

Tip: Reserve three days ahead for Friday or Saturday; weeknights you can walk in at 19:00 sharp. The prix fixe menu (around €35) includes the house quenelle and is the best value on the board. Ask for the stone-cellar dining room downstairs — far more character than the ground floor. When you leave, steer clear of any Rue Saint-Jean restaurant with laminated photo menus outside: those are Vieux Lyon's tourist traps, charging double for half the craft.

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Take Métro D to Vieux Lyon, then board the F2 funicular — the two-minute ascent reveals the city spreading below you like a relief map. The basilica's white limestone exterior is imposing, but step inside and it explodes: every surface is covered in Byzantine mosaics, gold leaf, and stained glass that catches the eastern morning light in shifting columns of colour. Walk through the nave to the esplanade terrace behind the apse for an unobstructed panorama stretching from the terracotta rooftops of Presqu'île to the distant Alps.

Tip: Skip the crowded front steps and walk directly to the terrace behind the apse — at 9 AM you will share it with maybe three other people. On clear mornings Mont Blanc is visible on the eastern horizon; the basilica's rooftop guided tour (€6, book online) offers the highest viewpoint in the city.

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Exit the basilica garden on the south side and follow the gravel path downhill for 3 minutes — the two-thousand-year-old amphitheatre appears suddenly below you, still carved into the same hillside the Romans chose in 15 BC. The Grand Théâtre seats 10,000 and still hosts the Nuits de Fourvière festival each summer. Mid-morning sun illuminates the stone tiers from above, making the entire semicircle glow warm against the city skyline beyond the stage wall.

Tip: Climb to the very top row of the Grand Théâtre for the full sweep of the semicircle with Lyon's skyline behind it. Then duck into the smaller Odeon next door — its intricate geometric mosaic floor is one of the best-preserved in France and most visitors walk right past it.

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Walk down the steep Montée du Chemin Neuf — 10 minutes of ivy-covered walls and hidden gardens that deliver you to Rue Saint-Jean, the cobblestoned spine of Renaissance Vieux Lyon. The traboules are hidden passageways cut through entire buildings, built so silk workers could transport delicate fabric to the river without exposing it to rain. Push the heavy door at 54 Rue Saint-Jean to enter the longest traboule in Vieux Lyon: it threads through four galleried Renaissance courtyards and deposits you on Rue du Bœuf. Look up at the spiral stone staircases and timber balconies — this is 16th-century architecture, and people still live here.

Tip: After exiting at Rue du Bœuf, turn left to number 16 and push the door — behind it is the Tour Rose courtyard, a pink Renaissance tower hidden from the street that most visitors never find. If the door opens, you are welcome; a locked door means private.

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Walk south along Rue du Bœuf for 2 minutes, then turn left onto Rue Tramassac — the timber-framed facade with its hand-lettered sign is unmistakable. Chef Joseph Viola holds the Meilleur Ouvrier de France title, and this 26-seat bouchon is where he serves textbook Lyonnaise cuisine in its purest form. The pâté en croûte (€16) won the World Championship — flaky pastry sealing a mosaic of foie gras, pork, and pistachios. The quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua (€18) is a cloud of pike mousse in crayfish cream, the single dish that defines this city. Budget €25–35 for a two-course lunch formule.

Tip: Book 2 days ahead — 26 seats fill fast for the lunch service. Ask for the table by the window facing the street; the kitchen is open and you can watch the quenelles being sauced to order.

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Walk 3 minutes north on Rue Tramassac to Place Saint-Jean — the cathedral's asymmetric facade rises directly ahead. The Primatiale took three centuries to build, and you can read the transition from Romanesque base to Flamboyant Gothic crown in the stone itself. But the star is inside: a 14th-century astronomical clock that still tracks moon phases, feast days, and the rising of the stars over Lyon. At 14:00 the automata spring to life — an angel, a rooster, and Annunciation figures perform a creaking mechanical ballet that has run, with repairs, for six hundred years.

Tip: Arrive at 13:55 and stand in the left aisle near the clock to see the automata at eye level while everyone else crowds the centre nave. Afternoon light floods the western rose window from behind you, painting the nave floor in colour — this is the best-lit hour of the day inside.

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Spend the late afternoon wandering the quays of the Saône — the golden-hour light on the Renaissance facades across the river is worth the stroll alone. Cross Pont Bonaparte and walk 12 minutes south through the quiet Ainay quarter to Rue Guynemer. Lyon's oldest bouchon has served from the same stove since 1928: red-checkered tablecloths, handwritten menus on paper, and the kind of hush that falls when serious food arrives. The tablier de sapeur (breaded tripe in gribiche sauce, €16) is the dish that separates tourists from converts. The cervelle de canut (silk worker's brains — actually whipped herbed fromage blanc, €8) is this city's most misunderstood and most addictive appetiser. Budget €30–40 with a pot of Brouilly.

Tip: Avoid the tourist-trap restaurants on Rue Mercière near Place des Célestins — menus in five languages, prices doubled, and freezer-to-microwave kitchens behind the scenes. Abel is a 10-minute walk further south but an entirely different planet. No reservation needed on weekdays; book for Friday or Saturday dinner.

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Take Métro B to Place Guichard or walk 15 minutes east from Presqu'île along Cours Lafayette. Lyon's legendary indoor market is named after the chef who put this city on the world's gastronomic map, and arriving at opening means you browse alongside the chefs who supply the city's best kitchens. Work from back to front: start with a sliced rosette de Lyon and a glass of Côtes du Rhône at Maison Sibilia's charcuterie counter (€6), move to the oyster bar at Maison Rousseau (six Marennes-Oléron with lemon, €12), then finish with a warm praline brioche at Sève — the city's finest chocolatier-pâtissier. This is breakfast, cultural education, and the best €20 you will spend in France.

Tip: Saturday before 10:00 is when the real chefs shop and vendors have time to let you taste; after 11:00 it becomes elbow-to-elbow. Head to the back of the hall first — the best stalls are furthest from the Cours Lafayette entrance and most tourists never reach them.

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Walk 20 minutes west along Cours Lafayette and across the Rhône, or take Métro B two stops to Hôtel de Ville — the grand facade of the Palais Saint-Pierre appears on Place des Terreaux. France's largest fine-arts museum outside the Louvre fills a 17th-century Benedictine abbey. The Egyptian antiquities hall is unexpectedly world-class, and the Impressionist gallery on the second floor — Renoir, Monet, Degas — fills a sun-flooded room. For a 90-minute sprint: Egyptian rooms on the ground floor, then straight upstairs to the Impressionists, finishing in the sculpture-filled cloister garden that feels a century removed from the city outside.

Tip: The cloister garden is free to enter even without a museum ticket — access it through the side door on Rue Paul Chenavard. It is one of the most peaceful spots on Presqu'île and locals come here to read at lunchtime. The museum is closed Tuesdays and public holidays.

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Exit the museum onto Place des Terreaux, glance at the Bartholdi Fountain (yes, the same sculptor behind the Statue of Liberty), and walk 2 minutes east to Rue Pizay. This no-frills bouchon has not changed its formula in decades: communal tables, paper menus, and portions that would stun a farmhand. The salade lyonnaise — frisée, lardons, a perfectly poached egg in warm vinaigrette (€13) — is the simplest and best version you will eat anywhere. The andouillette à la moutarde (€16) is for the bold: pungent tripe sausage in grain-mustard cream that divides the room and rewards the brave. Budget €18–25 for a lunch formule with a glass of Beaujolais.

Tip: Arrive at 12:15 to claim a spot on the communal bench — by 13:00 every seat is taken and there is no waiting area. Point to whatever the table next to you ordered; the regulars never look at the menu.

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Walk 5 minutes northwest through Rue de la Platière to the corner of Quai Saint-Vincent — you cannot miss it. An 800-square-metre trompe-l'œil mural covers an entire building facade, painting 30 famous Lyonnais figures into a single imaginary street scene: the Little Prince peers from a window, Paul Bocuse stands in a doorway in full chef whites, the Lumière brothers set up a camera on the pavement, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry leans on a balcony railing overhead. Each figure is at street level and uncannily lifelike. Cross to the opposite quay for the full effect — the painted balconies, shutters, and shadows align perfectly with the real architecture beside them.

Tip: Early-afternoon light falls directly onto the mural's south-facing facade, making the painted shadows match the real ones — this is the only time of day the three-dimensional illusion fully works. A small brass plaque at the base identifies every figure.

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From the mural, face the Saône and look right — the wide stone steps of Montée de la Grande-Côte rise steeply ahead of you. This 10-minute climb is the path silk workers took every morning to reach the hilltop workshops, and the view back over the city improves with every switchback. At the top, Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse opens into a village within the city: independent bookshops, bold street art, third-wave coffee roasters, and the silk workers' traboules — longer, rougher, and less polished than their Vieux Lyon cousins. Enter the passage at 9 Place Colbert and descend through a labyrinth of workshops where you can still hear the clatter of Jacquard looms in one or two surviving ateliers.

Tip: At the top of the Montée, detour 5 minutes west along Boulevard des Canuts to the Mur des Canuts — a 1,200-square-metre trompe-l'œil mural so lifelike that pigeons attempt to land on the painted balconies. It is repainted every decade as the real neighbourhood evolves around it.

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Walk down the Croix-Rousse slope via Rue des Capucins — a gentle 15-minute descent through quiet side streets that deposits you near the Opéra. Turn right onto Rue du Garet, a narrow lane behind Hôtel de Ville. Le Garet is the bouchon that other bouchon owners eat at after their own kitchens close. The saucisson chaud pistaché (warm pistachio sausage on a bed of green lentils, €14) arrives steaming with the kind of simplicity that only confidence produces. The pot-au-feu (slow-simmered beef with marrow bones and root vegetables, €18) is cold-evening perfection. Finish with a tarte praline — the hot-pink almond-praline tart that exists nowhere outside the Rhône Valley. Budget €28–35 with wine.

Tip: Skip the restaurants ringing Place de l'Opéra that offer a 'menu dégustation lyonnais' for €35+ — these are tourist-priced compilations of reheated food. Le Garet is two streets behind them and half the price for the real thing. The dining room fills by 19:30, so arrive at 19:00 sharp. Part-Dieu TGV station is a 20-minute walk east or one stop on Métro B.

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Take the Funiculaire from Vieux Lyon–Cathédrale station — ninety seconds that deposit you above the entire city. At nine the basilica is near-empty and morning sun floods the gilded mosaics through the east windows, turning the interior into a fever dream of Byzantine gold and Venetian glass. Step onto the esplanade for the panorama: both rivers, the full Presqu'île, and on clear mornings the Alps on the horizon.

Tip: Skip the crowded main esplanade — walk to the Jardins du Rosaire viewpoint 50 meters south for the same panorama with no one else. The optional rooftop tower tour (€5, from 09:15) gives a full 360° view; the first group up has the platform to themselves for five minutes.

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Walk 300 meters downhill through the Jardins du Rosaire — five minutes of rose-bordered paths with the city glowing below. Two Roman theatres carved into the hillside two thousand years ago appear suddenly, from when Lyon was Lugdunum, capital of Roman Gaul. The museum tunnels into the hill behind them, displaying extraordinary mosaics and a marble calendar of Gaulish festivals.

Tip: Sit in the top row of the Grand Théâtre facing east — the modern city skyline frames the ancient stage, letting you photograph two thousand years in a single shot. The museum is underground and cool even in July heat.

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Descend to Vieux Lyon via the Montée du Chemin Neuf — a steep cobbled path with street art and framed views of Cathédrale Saint-Jean below, ten minutes on foot. This is the bouchon that other chefs send visitors to, run by Joseph Viola, one of France's Meilleurs Ouvriers. The quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua (pike dumpling in crayfish cream, ~€18) is the single dish that defines Lyon's cuisine; follow it with cervelle de canut (herbed fromage blanc, ~€7).

Tip: Book 3 days ahead for weekend lunch. The prix fixe menu (entrée + plat + dessert, ~€28) is the best value in Vieux Lyon. Ask for the cheese trolley — the Saint-Marcellin is kept at a perfect runny consistency.

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Step directly from lunch into the traboules — hidden passageways cutting through Renaissance courtyards, built so silk workers could transport fabric without rain damage. Push the heavy door at 54 Rue Saint-Jean, walk through to Rue du Boeuf, then enter the Longue Traboule at 27 Rue du Boeuf — a 300-meter tunnel through four courtyards. End at Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, whose astronomical clock has chimed since the fourteenth century. Leave thirty minutes to wander the cobblestone lanes freely.

Tip: The traboule doors look private — they are not. Push firmly and walk through. The Longue Traboule is the most dramatic passage in the city. In the cathedral, the astronomical clock performs a short automaton show at 14:00, 15:00, and 16:00 — catch the 15:00 showing after your traboule walk.

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Cross Pont Bonaparte over the Saône — a five-minute walk with the cathedral glowing behind you — and turn right onto Rue des Marronniers, Lyon's best-kept restaurant street. Chez Mounier serves poulet au vinaigre (chicken braised in vinegar and tomato, ~€17), one of the mères lyonnaises' recipes that tastes like it has been simmered for a generation. The gratin de cardons à la moelle (cardoon with bone marrow, ~€14) is a winter specialty unique to this city.

Tip: Arrive by 19:00 — tables fill fast and reservations are not always possible. The house Côtes du Rhône by the pot (46cl carafe, ~€8) is the local move. Avoid the overpriced restaurants on Rue Saint-Jean with photos on the menu and staff beckoning from doorways — locals never eat there.

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Take Métro D two stops to Part-Dieu, then walk five minutes west along Cours Lafayette. Lyon's legendary covered market hums with energy in the first hour: fishmongers shucking oysters, charcutiers slicing rosette de Lyon, fromagers cutting wheels of runny Saint-Marcellin. This is breakfast — graze the stalls. Start with a half-dozen oysters and a glass of Pouilly-Fumé at one of the seafood counters (~€15), then a warm praline brioche at Sève (~€5).

Tip: Arrive before 10:00 — after 11:00 the aisles are shoulder-to-shoulder with tour groups. The Saint-Marcellin at Mère Richard's stall is considered the best in France, served so runny it nearly pours — buy one to eat on the spot. Closed Mondays.

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Walk west from Les Halles along Cours Lafayette, cross the Pont Morand over the Rhône, and continue to Place des Terreaux — eighteen minutes on foot through Lyon's elegant 6th arrondissement. Housed in a former Benedictine abbey, this is France's finest art collection outside the Louvre: Veronese, Rubens, Monet, and an entire Egyptian antiquities wing. The sculpture garden in the cloister courtyard is one of the most peaceful corners in the city.

Tip: Enter through the cloister garden first — it is free and uncrowded. Most visitors turn right toward the paintings; go left into the Egyptian rooms and work backward to reach the Impressionist gallery (Renoir, Monet, Gauguin) nearly alone. Closed Tuesdays.

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Exit the museum onto Place des Terreaux — glance at the Bartholdi Fountain, by the same sculptor who built the Statue of Liberty — then walk one block east to Rue Pizay, three minutes total. Chez Hugon is the bouchon where the patron greets you personally and the menu lives on a chalkboard. The tablier de sapeur (breaded tripe in gribiche sauce, ~€16) is Lyon's most divisive and rewarding dish. The andouillette à la moutarde (~€17) is for the bold.

Tip: The three-course formule déjeuner (~€24) includes a quarter-litre of wine. Ask for the potée lyonnaise if it appears on the specials board — a slow-cooked pork and vegetable stew that only surfaces in cooler months. No reservation needed if you arrive before 12:30.

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Walk south from Rue Pizay along Rue de la République — Lyon's grand Haussmann-era boulevard — for fifteen minutes. Pass the Opéra de Lyon (Jean Nouvel's striking glass barrel vault atop a neoclassical shell) and arrive at Place Bellecour, the largest pedestrian square in Europe. Cross to the southwest corner and drift into the Quartier d'Ainay — cobblestone streets, independent boutiques, the Romanesque Basilique Saint-Martin d'Ainay. Leave thirty minutes to wander with no agenda.

Tip: On Place Bellecour, face west in the late afternoon — the Fourvière basilica glows gold above the rooftops, the single most photographed view in Lyon. In the Ainay quarter, stop for a coffee on one of the quiet terraces along Rue Auguste Comte.

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Walk south from Ainay along Rue Victor Hugo for twelve minutes toward the Perrache area. Brasserie Georges has served continuously since 1836 in a cavernous Art Deco hall that seats six hundred. The choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with three sausages and pork belly, ~€22) is the house monument. The profiteroles au chocolat (~€11) arrive as a mountain of choux pastry drowning in hot chocolate sauce — split one order between two.

Tip: Sit in the main hall — the coffered ceiling and Art Deco columns are the experience. Arrive at 19:00 sharp on weekends; by 19:30 the wait is twenty minutes. The Côtes du Rhône by the 25cl carafe (~€6) outperforms the bottled list. Avoid the fast-food strip around Perrache station directly south — it is Lyon's least charming block.

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Take Métro C from Hôtel de Ville to Croix-Rousse — three minutes. Start at the Mur des Canuts, a 1,200-square-meter trompe-l'oeil mural depicting daily life in the silk workers' quarter, repainted every decade so its residents visibly age. Then walk along Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse, where the daily market stretches for half a kilometer with the city's best produce, charcuterie, and pralines roses. This plateau feels like a village dropped onto a hill — locals in slippers buying bread, zero tourists.

Tip: Stand across the street from the Mur des Canuts and try to find where the painting ends and the real building begins — it takes a moment. The market runs Tuesday through Sunday mornings. For the best specialty coffee in Lyon, find Mokxa on the boulevard — they roast their own beans.

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Walk south from the plateau and begin descending through les pentes — the steep, street-art-covered slopes where the canuts once hauled silk looms on their backs. Enter the Cour des Voraces at 9 Place Colbert: a six-story open staircase cascading down the hillside, used by silk workers as a shortcut and by the 1831 insurrectionists to escape the army. Continue downhill through Passage Thiaffait — now a village of artisan ateliers — emerging near Place des Terreaux at the bottom.

Tip: The Cour des Voraces is a residential courtyard — visit before noon when residents are more welcoming. In Passage Thiaffait, the small shops (ceramics, silk scarves, leather goods) are run by the artisans who make them — prices are fair and everything is handmade locally.

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Emerge from the slopes near Place des Terreaux and walk two minutes east to Rue du Garet. This tiny, no-frills bouchon has barely changed in decades — expect paper tablecloths, handwritten menus, and cooking that silences the room. The saucisson brioché (warm pork sausage baked into buttery brioche, ~€12) is a Lyon invention. Follow it with gâteau de foies de volaille (silky chicken liver cake with tomato coulis, ~€14) — a Lyonnais classic almost impossible to find outside this city.

Tip: The lunch formule (entrée + plat, ~€20) with a pot of Beaujolais is the neighborhood ritual. Ask for the tarte aux pralines roses for dessert — this neon-pink almond tart is a Lyon obsession you will not find anywhere else in France.

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Walk five minutes west from Rue du Garet to Quai Saint-Vincent along the Saône. The Fresque des Lyonnais is an eight-story trompe-l'oeil featuring thirty famous Lyonnais across history — the Lumière brothers, Saint-Exupéry with the Little Prince on his balcony, Paul Bocuse in chef's whites — each painted into windows that look startlingly real from the street. Turn south along the car-free Berges de Saône and stroll at your own pace for thirty minutes. The afternoon light on the water gilds the old town facades across the river.

Tip: At the fresque, find Paul Bocuse on the second floor and Saint-Exupéry with the Little Prince on the balcony above — both face the river. Under Pont de la Feuillée, local pétanque players gather on weekends; stop and watch a round.

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Continue south along the Saône quays, cross onto Presqu'île at Pont Bonaparte, and walk through the Ainay neighborhood — fifteen minutes total. Abel has served since 1928, making it Lyon's oldest operating bouchon. The wood-paneled dining room feels like stepping into a private club frozen in amber. Order the poulet de Bresse à la crème (free-range chicken in cream sauce, ~€24) — the kind of dish that built Lyon's reputation — with a gratin dauphinois that arrives bubbling and golden.

Tip: Reserve at least two days ahead — this is a local institution and the dining room is small. The prix fixe (~€32 for three courses) is generous. Parting tip: do not buy souvenirs on Rue Saint-Jean in Vieux Lyon — prices are triple what you pay elsewhere. Instead, pralines roses from Voisin (any Presqu'île location) make the perfect Lyon gift to bring home.

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