July 2, 2006
Going to
Lyon
By ANN M. MORRISON

WHY GO NOW France's second-largest metropolitan area, Lyon has many of the same charms as Paris: great opera, chic shops, river cruises, world-class museums and even a tall, 1893 metal structure that looks like the Eiffel Tower. But Lyon is older than Paris, has more Roman ruins and, as local residents will tell you, better food.

Over the last 15 years, Lyon has restored and replanted some 100 public spaces. The warehouses along the River Saône have been transformed into galleries for the Biennial of Contemporary Art. A flying-saucer-shaped amphitheater, designed by Renzo Piano, just opened at his Lyon Convention Center. And culturally, the city is bursting with festivals and concerts.

The Nuits de Fourvière, one of Europe's oldest summer festivals, is presenting music, drama and film in two of the city's 2,000-year-old Roman theaters through Aug. 4. In September, the focus turns to dance, as performers from around the world, including the Egyptian Modern Dance Company, celebrate Lyon's Biennale de la Danse. In other words, while the French capital thinks it achieved perfection sometime in the 19th century, Lyon is still trying to get there.

WHERE TO STAY Travelers who want to live like Lyon's 16th-century silk merchants should head to the cobblestone streets of the old city, Vieux Lyon, a Unesco World Heritage site, where almost 300 Renaissance mansions still stand. Four of these grand residences now make up the Cour des Loges (2-8, rue du Boeuf; 33-4-72-77-44-44; www.courdesloges.com). This lavish hotel, dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries, features an elegant courtyard and 62 rooms, some with fireplaces and timbered ceilings. Rooms start at 230 euros ($297 at $1.29 to the euro), though special rates can be found through the hotel's Web site.

Another ancient gem, the Villa Florentine, situated halfway up the Fourvière hill, was once a nunnery (25, montée St.-Barthélémy; 33-4-72-56-56-56; www.villaflorentine.com). But asceticism has given way to luxury, with amazing views of the city, particularly from the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, Les Terrasses de Lyon. Official rates for the 28 rooms start at 195 euros.

If not a stay in a former convent, how about reliving your school days? The 39-room Collège hotel (5, Place St.-Paul, 33-4-72-10-05-05, www.college-hotel.com) has classroomlike tables in the breakfast "study hall" and rates listed by academic levels: 105 euros for the all-white "undergraduate" room to 140 for a larger "postgraduate" unit with an A-plus view of the city.

Many hotels are clustered on Presqu'île, the peninsula formed by the Saône and Rhône Rivers. Among the best are the 53-room Grand Hôtel des Terreaux (16, rue Lanterne; 33-4-78-27-04-10; www.hotel-lyon.fr), which has an indoor pool and spacious doubles from 115 euros, and the modern 161-room Sofitel Bellecour (20, quai Gailleton; 33-4-72-41-20-20; www.sofitel.com), which has a one-star restaurant, Les Trois Dômes, overlooking the Rhône, and doubles from 275 euros (though specials can be less).

WHERE TO EAT The best reason to visit Lyon is the food. If you can't trek a few miles north of downtown to the Michelin three-star Paul Bocuse (40, quai de la Plage, Pont de Collonges, 33-4-72-42-90-90; www.bocuse.fr), where four-course dinners start at 115 euros, you can sample Mr. Bocuse's simpler fare at one of five Brasseries Bocuse in Lyon. Try L'Est at the Brotteaux railroad station (33-4-37-24-25-26) for its spit-roasted Bresse chicken (19 euros) and choo-choo train décor.

Lyon has a fair share of creative younger chefs, too. Among them is Alain Alexanian, who spices up quenelles (pike dumplings) with paprika and embeurrée de pommes de terre (buttery potatoes) with chicory, at L'Alexandrin (83, rue Moncey; 33-4-72-61-15-69; www.lalexandrin.com). A six-course Mode de Lyon menu is 60 euros.

Nicolas Le Bec, 34, the youngest of this new breed, pairs fresh ingredients in novel ways at his eponymous restaurant (14, rue Grolée; 33-4-78-42-15-00; nicolaslebec.com). The 48-euro prix fixe lunch might include stuffed zucchini flower and turbot with artichokes in eucalyptus broth.

For something cheaper but no less delicious, the charming Les Adrets (30, rue du Boeuf, 33-4-78-38-24-30) offers a three-course lunch including a lentil-and-foie-gras terrine for 14 euros, wine included.

For heartier fare, go to a bouchon — a Lyon institution that serves traditional fare like andouillete and boudin noir in a boisterous, informal setting. Be warned: lots of places call themselves bouchons but are really tourist traps. Some of the best can be found on the rue du Garet, including Garet (No. 7; 33-4-78-28-16-94), Le Petit Bouchon Chez Georges, (No. 8; 33-4-78-28-30-46) and Petit Flore (No. 19; 33-4-78-27-27-51).

Another classic is La Meunière (11, rue Neuve, 33-4-78-28-62-91), where the potato salad is served from earthenware bowls, the sausages are cut to order and the four-course dinner is 24 euros.

WHAT TO DO DURING THE DAY The semisecret passageways called traboules, which date back to Roman times, will take you through gorgeous courtyards in the old city, with Italianate towers and spiral stairways. If you drop by the Romanesque-Gothic Cathédral St.-Jean at noon, you can see the 14th-century astronomical clock do its coo-coo-like re-enactment of the Annunciation.

It's a steep walk up Fourvière hill to the dazzlingly white Notre Dame Basilica, which reigns over Lyon as Sacré Coeur does over Paris (but there's also a funicular). Nearby is the Museum of Gallo-Roman Civilization (17, rue Cléberg; 33-4-72-38-49-30; www.musees-gallo-romains.com) for a quick archaeology lesson; admission is 3.8 euros; it is closed on Mondays.

On Presqu'île, the Museum of Textiles (34, rue de la Charité; 33-4-78-38-42-00; www.musee-des-tissus.com) pays tribute to Lyon silk-making. Check out the green and rose tapestries that Marie Antoinette left behind in Versailles in 1789 (5 euros; closed Mondays).

While Lyon's Beaux-Arts Museum (20, place des Terreaux, 33-4-72-10-17-40; 6 euros) is justifiably proud of its "Ascension of Christ" by Perugino, don't miss the stairway murals by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, a Lyon-born painter whose work foreshadowed symbolism. Closed Tuesdays.

Two other favorite sons are Auguste and Louis Lumière, brothers who invented the cinématographe, a 19th-century precursor to the camcorder. Their groundbreaking movie "Leaving the Factory" is among many of their pioneering films shown at the Institut Lumière (25, rue du Premier Film; 33-4-78-78-18-95; www.institut-lumiere.org; 6 euros). Closed Monday.

A less laudable character was Klaus Barbie, a k a the Butcher of Lyon. He was the SS commander responsible for the torture and death of thousands of French citizens, including the Resistance hero Jean Moulin. The somber Center for the History of the Resistance and Deportation now occupies Barbie's Gestapo headquarters (14, avenue Berthelot, 33-4-78-72-23-11); 3.80 euros; closed Monday and Tuesday.

WHERE TO SHOP Lyon is the birthplace of Guignol, the marionette that has been entertaining audiences for centuries. You can find him and a wide selection of his descendants, including a jolly French waiter that costs 290 euros, at Chez Disagn' Cardelli (6, rue St-Jean, 33-4-78-37-01-67). There are puppet shows, too. For older marionettes, dolls and wind-up toys, try Antic Dolls-Toys in one the antiques quarters (40, rue Auguste-Compte, 33-4-78-42-91-51).

From Lyon's candy department: pink pralines (almonds encased in uncaramelized sugar) and coussins (bite-size rectangles of almond paste filled with chocolate ganache). Voisin, a chocolatemaker with boutiques around town, created the coussins in 1960 to look like silk pillows. Another sweet stop is Chocolaterie Ginet (9, rue de la Charité, 33-4-78-42-09-82), run by the master chocolatier Thierry Dubruc.

WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT The smoky bars around the Hôtel de Ville, including Ayers Rock (2-4, rue Désirée, 33-8-20-32-02-03) and Albion Public House (12, rue Ste.-Catherine, 33-4-78-28-33-00), are popular with the T-shirt and jeans crowd. If your music tastes include hip-hop bands from Slovenia, head for La Fée Verte (4, rue Pizay, 33-4-78-28-32-35).

For an easy-going gay scene, try Cap Opéra around the corner from the Opéra (2, place Louis Pradel, 33-4-72-07-61-55). Across the Saône, dance clubs like Alibi (13, quai Romain Rolland, 33-4-78-42-04-66) attract a dressier crowd in their 20's and 30's. And in the summer, old riverboats become clubs along the banks of the Rhône.

YES, FREE For entertainment, the Romans headed for the hill, Fourvière. Make your own fun there today by clambering over the impressive ruins at Archeological Park. There's a large amphitheater (perhaps the oldest in France), a smaller Odéon (where the elite listened to speeches and music), and a spectacular view over the red-tiled roofs that seems to go on forever .

YOUR FIRST TIME OR YOUR 10TH Butchers, bakers, sausage makers and the occasional oyster bar line the aisles at La Halle de la Part-Dieu (102, cours Lafayette), the 1971 covered market where the city's best chefs are said to shop. At Maréchal, you can tell the goat cheeses from the cow-derived ones by the little animal pictured on the price tags. The super-luxury traiteur Rolle sells foie gras in amazing variations, including a tarte Tatin.

WHERE TO STAY WIRED All but the cheapest hotels have Internet access. But if you want to check your e-mail over a cup of exotic tea, head for Le Mundo Café in the travel bookstore Raconte-Moi la Terre (38, rue Thomassin; 33-4-78-92-60-20; www.raconte-moi.com ). Thirty minutes cost 2.50 euros.

GETTING THERE A number of airlines fly from Kennedy International to Lyon through various European hubs. A recent Web seach found round-trip fares from about $920 The high-speed TGV train can also zip you from Paris to Lyon in about two hours (from 110 euros round trip).

GETTING AROUND Lyon's Métro system is so modern that you rarely see a conductor. A single ride costs 1.50 euros; a Lyon City Card, which gives you unlimited rides and entry to many museums, is 18 euros a day. But consider renting a red bicycle from one of the 173 Vélo'v racks all over town (www.velov.grandlyon.com). The first 30 minutes are free (after putting a 150-euro deposit on a credit card); the next hour is .50 euro.

url: http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/travel/02goingto.html?pagewanted=print