Lyon, France

With more Michelin-starred restaurants than any city in the world regardless of size, Lyon's primary claim to fame is its dining scene.  That extends not only to the upscale eateries but to bouchons, the unique home-grown casual concept specializing in Lyonnaise cuisine.

This being Julie and me, none of these culinary temptations could stop us from returning to Viking Delling for lunch and dinner.  I really need to be more like our fellow Delling passenger Lake, who often bought special treats of the area where we were, including a Praluline, a unique praline bread, in Lyon. 

During our tour, the name of Michelin-starred chef Paul Bocuse, sort of the Paul Cézanne of the dining world, kept coming up.  He is known as the father of nouvelle cuisine.  Other restaurants are mentioned in relation to his 3-star Auberge au Pont du Collonges, and Lyon's indoor food market is called Les Halles Paul Bocuse.

Having passed away just before his 82nd birthday three years ago, it seems remarkable to me that he is still remembered in a world where entire social constructs change seemingly overnight in the USA.  Will he be remembered over the centuries like Vincent Van Gogh and other artists whose masterpieces are not consumed and still be prominently mentioned in shore excursions years from now?

In any case, as our guide said shortly after we boarded the tour bus, Lyon is a very livable city, not so large that you can't find your way outside the city environment should you want to go to a countryside hike, winery tour or skiing trip.  Our guide further boasted --- in a good way --- that Lyon has all of the entertainment, services. historic landmarks and of course dining that you would possibly want in a city setting.  As such, it seems likely to remain popular.

He also made a point of saying how superior Lyon is in every way to that other city, which he says with feigned disgust, Marseilles, home of Lyon's archrival football (soccer) team.

We liked this accessible, friendly son of Lyon, who provided a very informative tour spiced with humor and humanity.

The tour started by taking our tour bus up to Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, perched on a formidable hill overlooking the confluence of the Rhone and Saone Rivers.  

The Roman fort of Lugdunum was established in 43 BC at this excellent defensive position.  That was in the the time of Julius Caesar.  It became the starting point for the Roman roads system in the region, meaning as they say about Rome itself, all roads lead to Lyon, at least in Provence.

The panoramic views from Fourvière Hill are impressive.

A 3-D map of Lyon near the cliffside helps orient visitors to what may be seen.

The Cathedral on this site, which was holding Mass when we arrived, is beautiful.

I left Julie in a pew and went outside to see an earlier church adjacent to this huge Cathedral, and when I returned, Julie was nowhere to be seen.

I checked my watch, and I still had ten more minutes.

Then I remembered that my watch has been sporadic as the solar battery has gotten older.

I looked at the clock on my phone, and it said that it was exactly the time when the bus was supposed to leave to visit the old town.

I ran down the steps, past a stature of Pope John Paul II, through a courtyard and out to the bus, which was fortunately still awaiting me.  

Or at least I thought it was.

There were a half dozen nearly identical buses there.

I flashed back to what I saw when I first got off the bus, and fortunately the driver had not moved it.

As I stepped back on, I saw Julie standing, eyes darting back and forth between the doors.  She was obviously mortified that I had been holding up the show.

I have found myself separated from a tour group before, but this was the first time it ever resulted in a delayed departure.  No one seemed to hold a grudge.

We went to explore the Medieval part of the city.  Most interesting to me were the Traboules, a series of "secret passageways" that cut between streets.  Some arrive in surprisingly beautiful, peaceful walking cul-de-sacs (though with presumably another passageway out another locked door) that seem far removed from the bustling cities.  They were not always so peaceful, historically speaking.

In World War II, the French Resistance used the tunnels for clandestine meetings and to escape Nazis, who killed 4,000 Lyonnaise and sent 7,500 more away to death camps.

The passageways couldn't have been a big secret for Lyon's locals, who probably knew the history of how they were used in the silk trade for safe passage for the Canuts (Lyonaise silk weavers).  The Traboules made it easier to transport their expensive fabrics destined for palace furnishings and aristocrats' clothing.

The Croix-Rousse district was the heart of the Silk District.

In 1466, King Louis XI set up Lyon's first silk operations to supplement Tours, which couldn't keep up with demand.  In 1620, there were more than 10,000 looms in Lyon, and King Francois I gave Lyon the monopoly for French silk.

With the French Revolution, former aristocrats became more concerned with keeping their heads than seeking the trendiest fabrics in fashion.

When Napoleon came to power, conquering royal armies and capturing plunder from foreign absolute-monarchies while liberating commoners, silk demand briefly revived to furnish his palaces and to meet demand of other wealthy people.

By 1830, reportedly 15,000 workers --- a third of the population of Lyon --- were involved in some way in the silk trades.  Making silk provided good jobs for many Lyonnaise who had trained in that field and didn't want to start over.

With better loom technology, eventually resulting in the Jacuard loom that could be programmed to create intricate designs, demand for workers declined, and factory owners took advantage of that to squeeze worker pay.

The Canuts held secret gatherings in the Traboules, deciding to stage one of the first organized labor strikes.  In the violence that ensued, 169 silk weavers died.

Only a small remnant of the silk industry survives in Lyon, presumably our-sourced to lower cost countries like China, Vietnam (where France fought the war in which the USA replaced them) and India, so I guess history has spoken on which side won.  

We only sampled a tiny fraction of what Lyon has to offer, despite returning after lunch and again the next afternoon following an excursion to a Beaujolais winery.

Not nearly as large as Paris, Lyon has similar diversity of cultural offerings.  It's definitely worth a visit, and you could easily find ways to stay engaged for a much longer stay, especially if you are a foodie.

Julie's Other Photos (in chronological order)

Wes's Other Photos (in chronological order)