Lyon, Rhône, France
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I miss this city so much. I was supposed to be there during April
We miss you too.
Love your country fam.
Is that the reason for all the caravans? 🤔
im in a 30 year old tent and a beat up volvo. but yeah tht is the reason.
Glad you like it! Lyon is particularly cool too which definitely helps.
corny!
It is, dear sborrosullevecchie.
I'm stuck at home in the middle of it. Wish I could enjoy it more :/
One of the most beautiful cities I have visited in France so far.
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One of my good friends grew up near there and always mentioned how much better lyon is compared to paris. Got my chance to visit and can 300% say it is way better not to mention the food is fucking fantastic and les lyonnais are super friendly. That basilica is unreal and absolutely beautiful inside too!
As a Canadian who lived there for four years: all too true. Amazing city, so much to offer. Miss it dearly.
Just curious about that timeframe and you being Canadian: were you doing a PhD there?
Bit of a doozy of a story, tbh. I lived in Lyon for four years or so, then went to utrecht, berlin, lausanne, and some time in NYC and Dublin. I just moved back to Amsterdam where I intend to settle
Ill add that Lyon's department ( Rhône ) is number 69.
Nice
No, Nice's department (Alpes-Maritimes) is number 06.
Why did you leave
I moved to Utrecht to do a master's. Fell in love with the Netherlands, so after some years in Berlin and Lausanne moved to Amsterdam almost two years ago, and plan on settling here.
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I wouldn't compare Amsterdam and Paris, Amsterdam is tiny compared to Paris and easily walkable. As a consequence, the difference between Amsterdam and Utrecht isn't nearly as large as the difference between Paris and Lyon.
There are so many smaller European cities that don’t get the tourists they deserve because a lot of Asians and Americans hit the capital and then move onto the next country while Europeans are usually just in the big cities for a weekend and then home. I’m European myself and if someone mentioned going to Netherlands it was, perhaps sadly, automatically taken to mean Amsterdam.
I feel like Berlin, Barcelona and Paris possess a disproportionate share of tourism in their respective countries and that they have many smaller cities that would delight and astonish visitors.
Italy seems less affected by this for whatever reason, with cities like Florence, Venice and Pisa doing quite well compared to Rome.
Them not getting the tourists “they deserve” is a great thing for the vast majority of their population. While tourism brings money to a few, it gentrifies cities, add strains to their infrastructure and create lots of nuisance for locals. Cities are already messy enough that tourism is mostly undesirable. Although being a tourist in those “smaller European cities” is definitely a good experience, because they’re yet to be hit by the big waves. Ah, the paradox of tourism.
Am American who recently traveled Europe. It's because of ease of access mainly because of airports. We're somewhat aware of lesser known cities, but trying to add it to our itinerary is harder to squeeze in; we're always on a time crunch. Europeans traveling between countries is much cheaper and convenient than Americans traveling overseas. It's easily a few thousands for a couple to travel for a week.
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THE FOOD?
OOOOOHHHHMYYYYYGOOOOOD
Best food ever.
Le bouchons are the best! Ate so much, for a not that high of a price, and it so tasteful.
Bruh seriously! I was unprepared and wish i had brought the stretchy pants cause i was unprepared for that much delicious food
I find that the Lyonnais are among the most unfriendly and snotty people in France.
I think Parisians reputation is very overdone.
Edit: Of course this is only true of the people I've met, this type of generalisation is always silly.
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I mean, I know it's only some people I had bad experiences with, so don't worry too much :-)
I love Lyon, the city is beautiful, the traboules are so amazing, the food is great and most of the people are fine. I just don't get why Parisians are hated so much I guess.
En vrai c'est les bourge du 6emes mdr. Le reste de la ville ça va. De tout de façon, il y a rien à faire dans le 6eme à part le parc, donc pour les touristes pas de problème.
I remember people at Lyon tourist office, restaurant (Bouchon des Georges), at some shops were fine. The main train station ticket office lady was downright unpleasant: it was stereotype “non” when I didn’t have enough change and asked if I could buy ticket from a booth instead (the automatic ticket vending machines don’t accept notes, only cards or coins). At the end ran to Relay and bought a bottle of water to get the change.
Plus there was a guy who was trying to scam me with reselling used tickets. I just ignored him especially he approached me first in English. I knew enough French customs to know this is sirens on. Then I found a ticket inspector checking ticket later on the same day ( and I managed to buy a ticket legitimately)
I will still give Lyon a chance, it’s high on my to go list if I visit France again in the future. I loved my time there my on last visit (it was only for one day, I hadn’t seen much at all)
I’d say Bordeaux is even worse. Plus the city is way less walkable and features the least amount of public benches and agreeable resting spots anywhere in France.
Wait how come Bordeaux is less walkable? I feel like it's pretty easy and enjoyable to walk in Bordeaux...
Bordeaux is the fucking worst, and it got even worse in recent years as the worst Parisians moved there.
The cannelés are good, but it's just not worth it.
Lyon is beautiful though, I love the city. And I love Bordeaux too, lovely city, although I find the wine way overrated.
I must disagree, Bordeaux is not a good exemple for bad quality of life at all.
It's actually one of the best big cities to live in in France
The city is rather "walkable" from my own experience, at least the center city + along the river as you said in another comment.
The center city is actually nice, its 18,1 square kilometers are the largest area registered to UNESCO's world heritage, but it contrasts massively to the ugly buildings of the banlieues,
Great region as well, with history, 2 hours from Paris by train, close to the sea and Basque country... If anything, it became a victim of its own success, the banlieues grew fast and are rather ugly, which contrasts massively with its small and beautiful center
Not the case in Lyon + The Rhône is smaller, there are hills so you can see the city from high spots. It has kept its own culture... It has a lot of charm and almost a mediteranean atmosphere actually.
And they have a relevant football club.
South Eastern France in general is pretty cool
But once again cant agree with your points on Bordeaux. I really like the city and region, its much better than Paris, and if it isnt walkable enough for you, its great by bike. It definetly is a great city to live in and so is Lyon.
Never seen anybody on reddit say they like Paris
People massively over exaggerate how bad Paris is. As far as big cities go, it’s way less dirty and aggressive than NYC, for example.
I think it's because of expectations. Paris is not bad at all and actually a very nice city to visit -- but it certainly wasn't towards top city I've been to in Europe. Because of this, when reality is significantly below expectations, people over react and act like it's a terrible place.
I love Paris
I agree and I love Paris.
Yep, I like smaller but densely urbanized cities like that. Not that Lyon is small, it's about the same size as Copenhagen, or Amsterdam. Downtown Paris is absolutely amazing, but due to its urban area having over 10 million people, it's extremely busy. When there's no global pandemic. :) That said, it's really hard to find a city in France, or all of Europe that isn't beautiful in its own way. Western, Eastern, Northern Europe or the Mediterranean. My actual favorites in Europe are Barcelona, Lisbon and north Italian cities.
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Can confirm. This and Avignon.
Growing up we spent most of our holidays in middle and southern France, and pretty much always close to the Rhône river (the Ardèche, Provence, often thereabouts). Beautiful environment and very nice people.
We were lucky and stumbled into some kind of yearly wine fest when visiting Avignon (right after our stop in Lyon). They had a whole (!) Ox grilling over a fire, I have never seen anything like this :D the smells and the culture, I was soaking it all up
The true food capital of France.
Well, pretty much the only one?
I am told that these days Bordeaux has taken the crown..
Who says this?
Liars
A bitch to drive through though. Always stuck in traffic when I pass through.
I love Lyon but Menton will always be my favourite place in France.
Feed the for 3 years and it's awesome. It's small and big at the same time.
Hidden gem is the best description. Very inviting, not too big nor small. No real world famous tourist spots, yet a lot of things to see (that could very well be world famous, especially if they were located in, say, Paris). My favorite thing was walking around looking for the awesome murals all over the city and seeing the city at the same time. And the people were super nice.
Calling the second city in France a hidden gem is a bit of an exageration
I think he meant it as a tourist attraction. For the French it is familiar, but I cannot even place it on the map. Whereas I could place non-capitals like Munich, Barcelona, Milan, Genoa, Rotterdam and Gdansk on the map and I know something about those cites, even though I have never visited any of them. But Lyon, I know nothing.
Yeah it makes sense. Still funny to read that as a french person. Most big cities in France are overshadowed by Paris but they all are interesting on their own. They usually have a long history and were not burnt to the ground or destroyed by a war in the last centuries
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that sounds so nice
always happy to see this from foreigner! it is indeed beautiful and full of history!
Bordeaux is lovely also. If you haven't been
Same for me...i was there on music day on June. The streets where flooding with artists and people. So cool
Hello from Lyon \0/
Ciao from your "neighbors" in Turin! Have been to Lyon a few times for work, really like the city!
Turin is definitely the city outside of Lyon that I feel the most at home in!
I feel like our cities are so similar in everything and it’s honestly great.
Hello from Monaco! Wish I could go there.
Hello fellow Lyonnais!
Where cinema was born
Georges Méliès?
Lumière brothers
Ohh cool, I never knew them until now. Thanks for the info
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The only solo weekend trip I've ever done.
Great city, great Airbnb host, great weather and the French practicing I did gave me confidence for the exam I had next week.
Good times.
How tf did the photographer get that picture? Did he/she climb on the roof of the basilica? Or it’s a drone?
From the description of the photo:
Statue de l'archange Michel vue de la tour de l'observatoire, Lyon depuis la Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, LYON, FRANCE, EUROPE
They seem to have taken from the observatory tower of the basilica (I checked and yes, one of the basilica's towers was originally built as a scientific observatory). Here is a panorama view from the top; you can see the statue (albeit with scaffolding).
You can go on guided tours. I took exactly the same picture at night (crappy cellphone quality).
https://i.imgur.com/zuTtDwS.jpg
That middle picture is awesome!!
Very very tall photographer
It is possible to climb on the roof of the cathedral during guided tours, I did it twice and it was absolutely stunning. If anyone's interested I'll find the link
Probably a drone
It's ok for someone not to answer when they don't know.
He's on the roof of the left turret probably
I confirm it's possible to go in the observation turrets. We sell touristy cards where I work and one of our provider explained to me how his wife went to take the pictures from up there for their postcards.
You can visit the rooftop of the basilica you have to book beforehand on their website and pay something like 10 or 15E. I did it once it was a wonderful experience
A few pics from my visit :
I think the basilica is even higher behind him. Looks like a shot from on top of the garden the goes around the basilica-mountain there
This is from on top of the basilica
Yup
Lyon is my favourite city in France that I’ve visited so far. Absolutely beautiful and the food, drink, and people were class.
Fun fact, Lyon is the city in the background of the lo-fi hip-hop radio homework girl on youtube
Was always wondering which city that was
Yep, here u can see it
Who drew that picture?
A guy named Juan Pablo Machado, here's an article about him and the drawing (in french) https://actu.fr/auvergne-rhone-alpes/lyon_69123/pop-culture-lofi-girl-live-youtube-lofi-hip-hop-radio-habite-lyon_32988561.html
All the history there and this is the first TIL comment I’ve read...
Jesus it's like everyone tunes in to those channels ?
A lot of my friends often asked why we used to go to France year after year on holiday and don't we get bored? Been going the last decade, still not got to this place. Gorges du Tarn and the Millau Viaduct was the last visit, total contrast to somewhere like this. As a visitor from outside of France the differences in the various regions probably stand out more to us. So much to visit, so little time.
I'm from France and I have the same questions from people that ask why I don't try to travel more abroad. There is so much different things to visit in France I will really wait to have an opportunity or being bored of it before going more abroad. I've never even visited the Alps or the Gorges du Tarn. And I was far too young to remember anything about the Pyrenees when I wen there.
And there are places like Carcassonne or Lyon I will gladly accept to travel back to it.
I miss you.
Spent my Erasmus semester in Lyon and loved every second of it. This city is just marvellous.
Looks beautiful
I remember my visit to Lyon. We drove to a town on the Italian/French border to go on vacation and my dad really wanted to make a stop in Lyon, because he loved it as a kid. We stayed for 2 days I think and it was such a beautiful city with lovely people. Only thing that sucked was that it rained on the first day, but I’m from the Netherlands so I’m used to some rain.
Kid: Mom I wanna go to Lyon.
Mom: No there is a pandemic. We have Lyon at home.
Lyon at home: https://www.saarland-lese.de/index.php?rex_media_type=resize_360w&rex_media_file=lyoner.jpg
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Easily the most hidden gem in Europe.
There is also Bordeaux
It's one of the most well known cities in France, not hidden.
I'm referring to tourism, and comparably, of course it's one of the most well known cities in France, but not outside of France. Hence why I called it a hidden gem.
Première fois que je vois cette ville. Merci.
I lived there for 3 years and it was one of the best times of my life. I miss my neighborhood, I miss the Parc Tête d’Or, I miss the people, I miss the tartiflette and vin chaud in winter, I miss my favorite shops, I even miss the Metro and taking the funiculaire on my commute to Fourvière.
I’ll be back when this is over.
Love living here. It doesn’t really have many tourist attractions, so for a major city it’s surprisingly off the radar of most tourists, but it’s a pretty and very liveable city.
I have this fantasy about moving to Lyon to learn French. It's unlikely to happen anytime soon but I would love to experience it.
Guessing you are from the USA? Weirdly, I find more Americans here than non-French Europeans (including British!) Seems it's not really on the radar of Europeans but many come from the USA to spend some time abroad and learn French at one of the language schools.
Love cities like this. Who needs silly tourist attractions if you have amazing food and a beautiful city.
I remember some local guys making fun of me that I was admiring some house in old town as it were the Eiffel tower. I was absolutely impressed with the city. While it might not have famous landmarks, it is full of attractions, Old town, Roman part, presque'ile, river with its amazing light reflections, little beaches and social life, some random islands with monasteries I stumbled upon, Nuits de Fourviere, Jazz at Opera, best icecream places, quenelle, traboules... How I miss the place.
I lived there for a while and used to walk through the square on the bottom left towards the subway to work every day. Still miss it.
Cathédrale Saint-Jean. Have you seen it during the Fete des Lumières ? I live in Lyon, and only go to the Fete des Lumières just to see it
We did a stop-over there many summers ago on our way to Ardêche. I still remember that square in the middle of town with fountains built flat into the ground, which got lots of kids soaking wet. And... ahem... some adults as well :D
You're talking about La place de la République, there's also le passage de l'argue there
I lived right near the second bridge visible by the Rhone, spent my days walking through the city and sitting along the rivers with wine and company. I miss the city and the people, good times <3
GF and I went a few years ago and that’s the one thing that stood out was the people just hanging down by the river with drinks. Also our rental car got broken into so that was fun.
What a beautiful city... I think I know where I'm going on my next holiday
My favourite European city. A food lover's paradise.
It's the city you can see in the background of the "lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to" btw
My city... I miss you dearly. I don't just highly recommend visiting it, but living there. It's much better than Paris in so many ways.
Kinda looks like Budapest from top of Gellert Hill.
Oui ma ville ❤️❤️❤️❤️
la plus belle!
I have been here three times for work trips and always stay 1-2 additional days to go exploring. Absolutely gorgeous city with amazing food to boot. “Old Lyon” was my absolute favorite spot to walk about. The party boats on the river weren’t bad either.
Host of the 2019 World Cup! They were magnificent hosts in a beautiful city.
One day I will stuff my face with your meats, Lyon.
I miss driving through your country, gabachos.
Lyon is a better city than Paris.
It still feels like France as opposed to whatever Paris has become.
i really love this city... Would love to live there....
It is really an awesome city to live in, it's a big city but you can take a bike and go through the city in 45 min. so many places to just chill with friends, lots of events and the food is glorious
That's a lot of chimneys
Just moved back from Lyon, its a great city and super underrated. Really miss this place.
Soul
Never saw a picture out of Lyon.
I didn’t expected it looking so ... mediterranean?
I was surprised on my visit to Lyon too. Before I always thought Lyon is central France psychologically, the tourist office’s guide told us Lyon is definitely southern in culture compared with Paris, with the cultural border somewhere at the Burgundy region (Dijon)
Guy living in Dijon here. I'd say the north/south buffer zone is indeed somewhere in Burgundy, probably between Dijon and Chalon-sur-Saône. (Chalon is my hometown, and Lyon just feels like a larger version of it.)
This is very true.
However further south they tell us that we aren’t really southern but we are not central French or northern French…
Throughout history we have strong connections with Italy and the Mediterranean, because of the Rhône, so it’s understandable why we are so much more Mediterranean than other cities at out latitude
It look mediterranean because of roman influence, Lyon aka Lugdunum was a big city in this time and you can still see the patern of roman influence from that time. there is still marking in the old buildings
I was hoping to visit in July, deferring to hopefully 2021 and cannot wait.
My favourite city to live in Europe.
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Hi, am currently an exchange student here at INSA, i will be staying in Lyon for about 2-3 weeks before i go back home. Anybody maybe want to show me around a bit? 24, M
For me Lyon is lovely, although my absolute favourite French place outside of Paris is Strasbourg in Alsace, followed closely by Avignon plus some tiny towns in Provence Vaucluse (Gordes, Orange, Apt)
The architecture kinda reminds me of Barcelona... anyone else?
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that's incredible... to me it's like something out of a fantasy game. Here in NZ our few "old" buildings are 120 years old and most of them were fairly cheap at the time lol.
To me 3-5 storey buildings is the sweet spot. Ample density and doesn't block out the sun :D.
Ironically the interiors are probably dated to not much older than the pre-earthquake Christchurch Cathedral in the 19th century. Most of the old cathedrals or churches we see in France were ransacked during the French Revolution, and later on refurbished during the mid 19th century. So the interiors we see are dated from that time period. This is within the period of New Zealand’s European colonisation history.
Other European cathedrals tend to suffer losses during the Napoleonic wars and/or upheavals in the World Wars II, so you probably can’t see much of pre-19th century attics either.
I studied abroad in Lyon. Amazing city. I miss it.
some of the best food I've ever had there
Wow. No wonder everybody wants to go there.
Spent nearly 7 years there. Loved it.
Lyon was a big shock to us, didn’t expect to love it as much as we did. Beautiful, fun and so so delicious
I love the old city in Lyon. However 90% of my experience of this city is trying to get past it driving down into the Rhône valley and in that regard it is the worst city in France.
The moral of the story: just stay in Lyon.
This is so beautiful... it makes me want to cry...
I Can the place where my girlfriend broke up with me
I‘m always jealous about the architecture of the other countries. It always seems to be so much more beautiful than here.
wtf, why so many chimneys?
Because 1st part is 500-600 years old building. Between the 2 rivers it is 200-250 years old and far away it is from the 20th century. Chimneys are part of the historical city. Of course they don't smoke anymore
I've been there last August on my interrail trip, very beautiful city and i hope to come back soon!
Absolutely stunning 🤩
Damn makes me sad I won't get to visit France this summer :(
Wow that's a lot of chimneys
Why are people down voting normal ass comments?
Nah I only eat croissants in France.
I miss my city so much!
Is that a statue of Nike?
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Notice there's no France there
Love the food here. My saddest memory however from a recent trip as a young driver intentionally tried unsuccessfully to run my child over. So many mixed emotions from the place.
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I like the colour of the water mixing in with the colour of the statue.
This picture was obviously taken by Ezio as he perched himself up to unlock more data on the map.
Where is this taken from? Closest thing I can get: https://www.google.com/maps/place/La+Basilique+Notre+Dame+de+Fourvi%C3%A8re/@45.7634754,4.8157941,139a,35y,112.58h,68.71t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47f4eba97571522b:0x9d1bcc791b678e29!8m2!3d45.7622928!4d4.822626
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GORGEOUS!
This picture makes me sad that we can't go out just yet ! Lyon is beautiful during spring.
Beautiful. France really does have some stunning cities
I've always known it as Lyons.
I hope to visit it some day.
Lyon is a very good place to live for a very big city. But it is very rarely like on this picture. It's overcrowded with cars and pollution is very high.
Colors are heavilly edited here ... the water is never so bright.
Soooo many chimneys
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Called Lugdunum in the ancient times. They minted beautiful coins.
I know I’ve been reading too many Light Novels and mangas. I immediately expected that angel to come to life and destroy the town.
I can see my apt in this pic.
The graphics on the new assassins creed game look so realistic!
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