Lyon

Lyon is an inland city about three hours from the Mediterranean, and nobody comes here for the beach. Locals cool off at the Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage, a large green park on the north-eastern edge with a supervised bathing lake. People also sit along the quays of the Rhône, but that is for sunbathing, not swimming.

For proper lake swimming, the clear Alpine water of Lake Annecy and the Lac du Bourget is roughly one and a half to two hours away. It reaches about 22°C to 24°C in high summer. That makes a lovely day out, not part of a city stay.

Lyon is often called the gastronomic capital of France, and it earns the title. The bouchon is its own institution: a small, cluttered dining room serving the city's hearty food, such as quenelles in crayfish sauce, andouillette, salade lyonnaise, praline tart and cervelle de canut, a herbed fresh cheese. A pot of local red comes with it. The Mères lyonnaises, women cooks of the early twentieth century, and later the city's famous chefs left a deep fine-dining tradition, and generous set lunches make it easy to eat well.

Les Halles Paul Bocuse is the indoor market for oysters, Bresse poultry, Saint-Marcellin and charcuterie. The Sunday open-air markets along the Saône and at Croix-Rousse are just as good for browsing. The wine is close at hand, with Beaujolais to the north and the northern Rhône to the south. Street food and international cooking are thinner, and the rue Mercière strip in the old centre is the one place where tourist menus dominate.

A large part of Lyon is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and the sights trace two thousand years of history. On Fourvière hill sit the Roman theatres of Lugdunum and a Gallo-Roman museum built into the slope. Above them stands the ornate nineteenth-century basilica, with views over the whole city. Below it, Vieux Lyon is one of Europe's largest Renaissance quarters, with Saint-Jean cathedral and traboules, covered passageways that cut through courtyards from street to street.

On the Presqu'île, the Musée des Beaux-Arts holds one of the finest collections in France outside Paris, set in a former abbey. Croix-Rousse, the old silk-weavers' hill, keeps its tall workshop buildings and painted murals. At the confluence of the two rivers, the Musée des Confluences covers science and anthropology. The Institut Lumière stands where cinema was born. It takes a few full days to see well, and there is no single world-famous landmark.

Lyon has a large student population, and that keeps going out lively and fairly informal. The Presqu'île between Hôtel de Ville and the Terreaux has the densest spread of wine bars and cocktail bars. Vieux Lyon fills its old streets with pubs. The slopes of Croix-Rousse have a more local, neighbourhood feel.

The city's distinctive touch is the péniches, barges moored along the Rhône quays that turn into bars and clubs. On warm nights crowds spill onto the riverbanks. Lyon has a serious electronic music scene, with warehouse-style clubs towards Gerland and the Confluence and the long-running Nuits Sonores festival in spring. Outside weekends and term time, though, evenings tend to end earlier than visitors expect from a city this size.

Lyon sits where the Rhône meets the Saône, and the two rivers set the outdoor life inside the city. Long, car-free quays along the Rhône suit running and cycling, and the Parc de la Tête d'Or is one of the largest urban parks in France, with a lake for boating. Steep stairways climb the Fourvière and Croix-Rousse hills.

Just north, the Monts d'Or offer gentle walking with views, and the rolling Beaujolais hills are good for cycling. The Pilat regional park lies to the south. The limestone massifs of Chartreuse and Vercors, with serious hiking and climbing, are about an hour or more by car. The high Alps, with ski resorts, are around two hours away. The countryside is pleasant rather than wild, and a car helps for most of it.

Lyon is a good base for day trips, with towns and wine country on every side. Vienne, about twenty minutes south by train, has a Roman temple and theatre in its centre. Pérouges, a small medieval hill village with cobbled lanes and fortified walls, is under an hour away. North of the city, the Beaujolais spreads out in golden-stone villages and wine cellars. A little further, Mâcon, the abbey of Cluny and the Burgundy wine towns around Beaune open up.

Towards the Alps, Annecy is about two hours away, with its canals and lake. Chambéry, Grenoble and the spa town of Aix-les-Bains are closer. Saint-Étienne is under an hour. Geneva sits at the outer edge of a day out. Wine and old towns are the strongest themes.

Lyon is an easy city to visit with children. The Parc de la Tête d'Or is the highlight, with a free zoo, pony rides, a lake with pedalos, playgrounds and a small train. The Musée des Confluences holds dinosaur skeletons and natural history displays that suit school-age children. The Musée Miniature et Cinéma, in Vieux Lyon, is a hit with older ones. The city also has an aquarium on its southern edge.

Guignol, the puppet character born in Lyon, still plays in small puppet theatres, and the funiculars up Fourvière feel like a ride in themselves. A medium-sized theme park lies about an hour east. The centre is safe and walkable, but the stepped lanes of the hills are hard going with a pushchair.

Most of what a visitor wants is on or next to the Presqu'île, the narrow strip of land between the two rivers, and it is flat and pleasant to walk. Four metro lines, a tram network and buses share one ticket system. Two funiculars climb from Vieux Lyon to Fourvière and to Saint-Just, and a rack-style metro line runs up the Croix-Rousse hill.

The city's bike-share scheme and the riverside cycle paths make cycling an easy option. The Rhônexpress tram links the airport with Part-Dieu station. The hills are steep and the metro network is small, so some journeys mean a climb or a change, but a car is never needed in the city.

Shopping in Lyon is solid and comfortable rather than a reason to come. The rue de la République and rue Victor Hugo carry the main chains through the Presqu'île. Luxury labels gather on the rue Édouard Herriot and around Place des Jacobins, and Part-Dieu has one of the largest city-centre shopping malls in France.

The more interesting finds are the silk scarves and fabrics from the city's weaving heritage, and the designer workshops and small boutiques on the slopes of Croix-Rousse. Antique dealers line the rue Auguste Comte. Food is the best thing to take home: chocolate, pralines, sausage and cheese from the Halles and the specialist shops around it.

Lyon costs noticeably less than the French capital but is not a budget city. Hotel rooms are reasonable for a large Western European city for most of the year. They become scarce and expensive during big trade fairs and the Fête des Lumières in December.

Eating out is where Lyon is good value. Set lunch menus in bouchons and neighbourhood bistros are generous, while dinner and fine dining follow normal French prices. Public transport is moderately priced, and the zoo in the Parc de la Tête d'Or is free.

Lyon has a fuller stage life than its size suggests. The Opéra de Lyon, a nineteenth-century theatre topped with a glass vault, is home to a well-regarded opera company and ballet. The Orchestre National de Lyon plays at the Auditorium near Part-Dieu. The Théâtre des Célestins is one of France's grand old playhouses, and the Théâtre National Populaire in neighbouring Villeurbanne is a major company.

Dance is the city's specialism. The Maison de la Danse is one of Europe's leading dance venues, and the Biennale de la Danse fills the city with performances. In summer, the Nuits de Fourvière festival stages concerts, theatre and dance in the Roman theatres on Fourvière hill, with the city spread out below. A small but committed jazz scene plays in cellar clubs around the Presqu'île.

Lyon has no bathing tradition of its own. Wellness in the city means a handful of hammams, day spas and hotel spas, plus the open-air Centre Nautique Tony Bertrand, a large swimming pool on the Rhône quays. What makes the city restful is its rhythm: long lunches, quiet Sunday mornings by the Saône and green spaces like the Parc de la Tête d'Or.

For real thermal bathing, Aix-les-Bains, a classic spa town on the Lac du Bourget, is about an hour and a half away and makes a relaxing day out.