Lyon

We traversed the Auvergne as we drove towards the Rhone Valley and Lyon THe landscape was composed of very fertile, verdant pastures, pockets of rich arable land interlaced with forestry. As we drove the national route N 7, we passed through village after village - all well formed as if sculpted into the landscape. As is their wont every village had a patisserie and boulangerie. 

We stopped at a picnic area to lunch on petit quiches purchased at the B&P in the prior village and continued to drive the steep and torturous decent into the Rhone Valley. The road had been surprisingly quiet until we joined the motorway near Lyon, the second city after Paris or third after Marseilles, depending on the tourist information literature one reads. My friend Lady Sat Nav steered us directly to Hotel Victoria, chosen for its proximity to the city sights and its parking facilities rather than its comfort. It has the smallest ensuite I have ever encountered - one has to stand on the shower tray to enter it! 

Parking was another matter. The hotel had parking facilities at the railway station but it necessitated a number of attempts to find the correct spot!!! 

It was1600 hrs, when we left the hotel. It was a glorious evening with a temperature of 19• and we had to walk under the railway bridge, along the tram lines to enter Place Carnot.

 

In my opinion the city has been destroyed by roadways and tunnels, which traverse the city. The traffic was manic with young people hanging out of cars, shouting and  from whence  loud music played - not very French!! 

We entered La Presqquile, the 'modern'area of Lyon, sited on a long alluvial penninsula, washed down by the mighty Rhone. It was developed by Henry IV  and Louis XIi in the 18 and 19th centuries. We walked down Rue Victor Hugo crowded with Saturday shoppers. The street sported the usual international shops. We arrived at Pl Bellecour, 

reputed to be the largest pedestrian square in Europe, though cars did traverse its perimeter! Iits size was breathtaking, the square thronging with people all enjoying the evening sunshine and the street entertainers.  It reminded me of the main square in Marrakesh , Morocco, but for the absence of restaurants and snakes!! 

We turned onto the Rhone Quays 

to admire the Hotel Dieu (1740), facing the Rhone, which according to my guide book, marks a significant stage in the evolution of French architecture. Alas it was partially covered for restoration. 

We adjourned to nearby street Rue Marronniers suggested to us by the Vichy gentleman, a street of restaurants sporting typically French. 

We booked a table for 1930hrs at La...... 

We continued to Rue Monnaie , sat for a drink outside on its cobble-stoned road and further along we espied a funky brassiere 

(tomorrow night's dinner venue) and on to Rue Merciere, pedestrianised, but once one of the main arteries of Lyon -  its name suggests 'merchants' and it and the surroundings arches sported numerous small shops now selling to a niche market. 

We continued up Rue de la Republique 

until we arrived at Pl. Terreaux, an area designated  as a world heritage site and the Square itself a Monument Historique. In the late evening sunshine, it was resplendent in its grandeur., teeming with the citizens of Lyon, enjoying a Saturday night out. 

On one side of the Pl was the Musee des Beaux Artes, 

on another the Opera House, 

which has kept only its facade and has been totally modernised inside.  Opposite the Opera House on the other side of the  Pl is the spectacular Hotel de Ville. 

By the Musee is Palais St Pierre, a 17 and 18th century building, one of the oldest Benedictine Abbeys in Lyon, whose nuns were recruited from among the highest ranks of French aristocracy. 

The total sightseeing area is c 3 km as the crow flies between Place Carnot and Pl Terreaux, but you will be enticed  down little streets, under archways and into alleyways to see the vestiges of the older parts of the 'modern city' situated between the mighty Rhone and Saone, which confluence is here at Lyon. 

We quitted Pl Terreaux and set out once again for Rue Marronierre, where we were to dine. The street was now busy and many people were sitting outside in the warm evening, though I suspect that it may ace been to facilitate smoking. Smoking here in France is more prevalent than in Ireland. 

The cost of eating out here is amazingly inexpensive. Lunchtime and evening offer two, three and four course set menues for €18  - €30. CC commenced with a set menu for €20 which included a salad large enough to be a main course containing prawns and smoked  salmon, followed a very tender entrecôte and an apple crumble completed an excellent meal. My monstrous pot of Mussels with Roquefort  cheese was sufficient.  The French must be shocked by Irish meal prices! 

We decided to follow the Rhone back to the hotel but for reasons that still can't be explained, (and lest you, ungrateful reader,jump to erroneous conclusions, it wasn't ...,....,)  we found ourselves on the other side of the river and only for CC observing the lights of the famous  Brassiere George, adjacent to the hotel, on the other bank , we might have been wandering the streets of Lyon all night.