Saône river in Lyon

After our Workaway adventure in the 18th Century Mill near Millau we headed to our next Workaway gig in an 18th Century chateau. We’d planned to stay for three weeks, but only lasted a week because it was so bloody cold. I slept with thermals and a bobble hat on. I would have worn my scarf too, but was worried I might strangle myself and it get mis-reported in the local news as a case of erotic asphyxiation!

Man, it was freezing at night, even with those extra layers. During the day was no better.

We’re definitely solar powered now, and although we can do chilly—freezing it out. So we cut our gig short and headed for a recovery trip to Lyon. It’s the third-largest city in France (after Paris and Marseille), so it seem worthy of more than an overnight stay.

Getting to Lyon

We got the train (yes they’re running now) from Massiac to Lyon, via Clarmont Ferrand on the day it started to snow. I’m glad I dressed appropriately. Having traveled by train in more than a few countries now, I have to say that the French trains are clean and new looking and they’re pretty roomy.

It took just over 4 1/2 hours to reach Lyon Part-Deux (but that included a one hour layover in Claremont Ferrand and a change of trains). There’s multiple train stations in Lyon. We travelled to Part-Deux because it was closest to our accommodation.

Before you book, check your optimal destination station.

In Paris you catch the train from Gare de Lyon station, which is a bit confusing because you’d automatically assume this is in Lyon, but it’s in Paris and is the main station that services the Paris to Lyon route. This journey takes 2 hours.

After arriving in Lyon, we took the metro to Opera/Hotel de Ville area in the 1st Arrondissement, it was pre-rush hour so wasn’t too packed. The metro network is easy to understand and you can select English on the ticket machines.

Staying in the 1st Arrondissement

The 1st, 2nd, and 4th Arrondissements are secluded on the promontory between Lyon’s two rivers. Over the Saône river (to the left) is the old town area full of cobbled streets, traboules (hidden alleyways), and steep steps leading up to La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière. Over the Rhône river to the right is the commercial area of the city.

Before we arrived, I was a bit annoyed that I hadn’t looked at accommodation in enough time to secure a reasonably priced apartment in the old town area (in the 5th Arrondissement), but as soon as we arrived in the 1st Arr.—I knew we’d made a great choice. The area is vibrant and full of life at all times during the day, every day of the week. It has a real neighbourhood feel.

Getting Around Lyon

The expansive metro, bus, tram and funicular system consists of 4 metro lines, 5 tram lines, 2 funicular railways and a 100+ bus routes. Although we took the metro to get to and from the Train Station, the rest of the time we explored Lyon on foot.

• Journey Planner: www.tcl.fr/en/journey-planner
• Metro/Tram/Bus: One Hour Ticket – 1.90€. Two Hour Ticket – 3.20€. 24 Hour Ticket 6.20€. 48 Hour Ticket 12€. 72 Hour Ticket 16€ – you can take connecting metros, or do a round trip, as long as it concludes within the time limit.
• Funicular ticket: 3€ – This ticket is valid for a return trip on the same day on the Fourvière or Saint-Just cable car

Our Accommodation in Lyon

My first and second choice of apartment got booked up before I could decide where to stay, so I had to settle for my third choice. It was perfect (well almost – the only sharp knife in the drawer was a bread knife, and we had no idea how to turn the induction hob on, and we couldn’t get hold of the host the one night we wanted to cook). But other than those minor inconveniences it was the ideal home away from home.

There was so much space, and plenty of opportunity to spread out. Plus a washing machine to get caught up on our laundry, and a really eclectic live music channel on the TV where we discovered a couple of new artists we hadn’t heard of.

The bonus was that it was located on a street with an international selection of restaurants, so we didn’t have to travel far to eat around the world. Here’s what was a stone’s throw away:

La Luz, a Spanish Tapas restaurant (Google Map Link)

Full of Spanish decor and wall art, and we nearly ate there (because I love tapas), but their beer selection wasn’t that great so we passed. First night it was nearly empty, but second and third night it was packed.

Sabai Sabai, an Asian Street Food Restaurant (Google Map link location)

We walked past here on the first night and really wanted to eat there, but it was packed out, and it was packed every night we were there. But on our second night they were able to squeeze us in, and it was even better than our expectations.

We hadn’t come across many spicy food options, so were excited to explore the Sabai Sabai menu. We had the Tofu Satay, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Shrimps Dim Sum, and Indochine style salmon.

Each dish packed a punch of flavors and offered different flavor profiles of spicy and sweet. I wished we were hungrier when we went here, so I could try more of the fish dishes.

It was such a treat to have a good selection of vegetarian and fish options, which has been a bit of a challenge in some areas in France.

Hecho en Mexico, a Mexican Cantina (Google Map link location)

We had a really entertaining evening at Hecho en Mexico. We arrived just as the manager was hosting a quiz night (in French), but it didn’t take us long to realize every round was him playing movie theme songs and people had to shout out the name of the movie. After our first drink we joined in, and won a few rounds even though we could only shout out the answers in English.

Just to add to the drama, I got accused of cheating by the next table because I was the only one who guessed the Demi Moore classic, Ghost (Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody is case you’re wondering. I mean who can forget that classic scene with Patrick Swayze?) They thought I was looking it up on my phone, but I was actually recording the background noises of music and chatter because it was so ambient and wanted a reminder of this evening.

Even though I find it hard to disconnect, I did love that this bar didn’t have WiFi, and instead had a sign that told us to talk instead. This was our most memorable night in Lyon. So much fun, joking with the compare and having laugh at the expense of our fellow competitors – and getting the same in return. You don’t need language to get understood. Especially after a couple of beers. They host a different quiz night each Tuesday, so if you’re in Lyon, head there for a fun evening.

Les Fromagivores, cheese, cheese, and more cheese (Google Map link location)

Even though this cluster of restaurants was right on our doorstep, we ventured further afield to experiment with other options.

The first night we discovered Fromagivore – and have decided that we’re not going to call ourselves pescatarians anymore—we switching to devout cheese-eaters as our new religion. This was a random find, and so perfect for cheese-lovers like us.

Every dish was centered around cheese (and not a fondue dish in sight). We were in snack-mode so we had a cheese plate, which included cheeses we hadn’t eaten before. If is a good option for dinner.

Le Perko Digital Nomad Cafe: (Google Map location)

If I was spending more time as a Digital Nomad in Lyon, I’d definitely spend time at this little neighbourhood cafe at the end of our street, Le Perko.

Some of their cafe seats were swings. What a way to inject a bit of fun an humor into your life. You can really see in this photo, but the back wall was painted like a forest scene.

Our neighbourhood was full of quirky little shops, pharmacies, boulangeries, cafes, restaurants, and a few grocery stores. No matter when we ventured through it, it was teeming with life and full of activity. Don’t you just love it when the area you picked at random as your third choice, turns out so well?

With all of these listings you may think that all we do when we travel is eat and drink – but we actually spent most of our day exploring Lyon by foot, which included:

1. Fresque des Lyonnais – a huge, trompe-l’oeil painting on the side of a building that depicts 30 well-known people from Lyon.
2. La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière – quite a climb but worth it for the view
3. Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse – Chef Paul is one of the reasons that Lyon is dubbed France’s capital of gastronomy.
4. Vieux Lyon – the old town area with hilly, medieval streets that lead to fine-dining restaurants and bars. It sits on the banks of the River Saône, crammed with Renaissance-era mansions with secluded courtyards and terra-cotta roofs.

And a few other neighborhoods that I’ll cover in a separate post.

Read about our 2020 Workaway and Travel Adventures:

1. French Train Strikes won’t stop us in our tracks
2. Toodling around Toulouse
3. Exploring the Castle at La Couvertoirade
4. Meandering around Montpellier
5. Our Workaway at an 18th Century Flour Mill
6. Chilling in Clermont Ferrand
7. Our Workaway at an 18th Century Chateau
8. Lingering in Lyon’s 1st Arrondissement
9. Our Self-Guided Walking Tour of Lyon
10. Making the most of Montparnasse Paris
11. Our Workaway at a La Rochelle BnB
12. Our Workaway at Ile D’Aix
13. Video: Our Workaway adventure through France
14. Our Memorable Food and Wine Adventures in France
15. …. the rest of our trip TBD because of the virus – but planning Bordeaux, Lille, Bruges, Antwerp, and Amsterdam