City guide: Lyon, France

Published on Sunday 27 June 2010 11:22

Wednesday, 5pm Arrive at Lyon St Exupery airport.

Transfer to your hotel, Hotel Carlton Lyon, 4 rue Jussieu, Lyon, www.accorhotels.com

Rooms cost from 119 Euros a night.

6pm Orientate yourself with a stroll around Vieux Lyon. The city is built on two rivers, the Rhne and the Sane. Check out the semi-secret passageways called traboules which date back to Roman times.

8:30pm Never mind Paris, Lyon is France's gastronomic capital. And you don't have to book a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant – although there are currently 13 such establishments in and around the city – to eat amazingly well. Lyon is famous for its bouchons, tiny rustic places with shorter menus than bistros. Eat humble food like boudin noir or pork cheeks at Le Caf des Fdrations, 10-12 Rue du Major Martin.

Thursday, 10am After breakfast take a trip out of town to neighbouring St Etienne to visit The Firminy Le Corbusier Site, the biggest urban Le Corbusier site in Europe. The highlight is the Saint-Pierre Church, completed posthumously in 2006 by one of the architect's colleagues. E-mail [e-mail]

3pm Head back to Lyon to do some more exploring. Take the cable car to the top of Fourvire hill to see the dazzlingly white Notre Dame Basilica, which reigns over Lyon as Sacr Coeur does over Paris. www.fourviere.org

5pm Lyon is famous for its silk production. The tradition dates way back to the 16th century. Visit Soierie Saint-Georges, 11 Rue Mourguet, for some souvenir silk shopping.

The Facts

Take advantage of the direct route from Edinburgh to Lyon, launched last year. Easyjet flies twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Return flights start at around 150. www.easyjet.com

&#149 This article was first published in The Scotsman on Saturday, June 26, 2010