Lyon, France – We came to Lyon because Daddio was attending a conference, but then I noticed that travel writers (ahem) have been touting Lyon as an offbeat, affordable alternative to Paris–and also the culinary capital of France! I asked the twins what they thought about the Paris vs Lyon debate. V said he liked Lyon better than Paris because “it’s less crowded and there’s not as many art museums.” So there you have it.
Here is one of the greats – Anthony Bourdain (RIP) – with his list of 8 ways that Lyon is better than Paris. The lack of art museums is not on Anthony Bourdain’s list. But here are some things that are on his list:
Cinematic History
Lyon is considered the birthplace of the French movie industry because brothers August and Louis Lumière brothers invented the first film camera here, way back in 1892. We did not visit the Institut Lumière to learn all about the history, but we did witness a movie being shot! We happened upon several scenes in progress from Antonin Baudry’s film De Gaulle (second part of a diptych).
Nos Dames
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere is not as old or as famous as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, but it sure is fancy. And it perches high atop the eponymous hill, offering glorious views over the city and out to the Alps. Bonus: ride the funicular to get up there!
Roman History
On the site of present-day Lyon, the Roman city of Lugdunum was the capital of Roman Gaul. There are impressive ruins all around town, including amphitheatres, baths and the fantastic Lugdunum Museum. Even better, the ancient amphitheatre and odeon are still used for summer concerts, in a festival known as Les Nuits de Fourviere. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get tickets for the festival but the Indian rapper Dino was doing a sound check while we were there. I love that the amphitheatre is a historic site that is also an actual functional site (although not the most comfortable place to see a concert – but who cares?)
Food
We are still skeptical of the culinary capital thing, though. Bourdain mentions Lyon’s several Michelin-starred restaurants, which we did not visit. But we did sample the city’s bouchons, or traditional Lyonnais restaurants. We had a fish quenelle (like a dumpling), blood sausage and veal kidneys. So yeah… not our favorite.
Paris vs Lyon
In the end, we were charmed by Lyon and we loved exploring an offbeat, lesser known destination. Is it better than Paris? That, I cannot answer (at least not as definitively as V). I guess we’ll have to come back!