AGENT2 MAGAZINE GETS THE LYON’S SHARE

FOR THE COUNTLESS PEOPLE TRAVELING GUIDED BLINDLY BY THEIR STOMACHS, ALL ROADS IN FRANCE LEAD TO LYON. THOUGH PARIS IS THOUGHT TO BE THE FOOD CENTRE OF FRANCE, PROUD PARISIANS WHO JEALOUSLY KEEP WATCH OF THEIR CULINARY POSITION SOMETIMES EVEN VISIT THIS GASTRONOMIC CAPITAL JUST FOR A MEAL. HERE, FRANCE’S BEST FOODS COME TOGETHER IN A COSMIC COLLECTION OF SUCCULENT MEATS, FRESH PRODUCE AND CRISP CLEAN WINE MAKING A WEEKEND BREAK ONE OF INDULGENCE AS WELL AS A RELAXING RETREAT. FRANCE’S BIGGEST SECRET, LYON OFFERS THE BEST IN CULTURE, HISTORY AND BY ALL STANDARDS, THE FINEST OF FOOD – SO FINE THAT NOT EVEN THE RICHNESS AND EXCLUSIVITY OF MICHELLIN PARIS CAN COMPETE.

One reason for the city’s culinary excellence is its location. In the South-East of France, Lyon is blessed with the optimum produce. Quality ingredients from the surrounding areas pour into its markets and restaurants – poultry from Bresse, beef from the Charolais, fish from nearby rivers, fruit and vegetables from the farmlands and wines from Beaujolais and Cote du Rhone. This bountiful abundance creates excellent cooks.

Of course the best way to enjoy France’s succulent cuisine is dining-out in one of Lyon’s beautiful Renaissance buildings, spilling out onto narrow streets. Visit the popular medieval part of town, Vieux Lyon (‘Old Lyon’) for sociable bars and restaurants, including ‘bouchons’, or inns. Featuring traditional Lyonnaise cooking such as hearty local dishes like pork sausages or ‘andouillettes’, potatoes baked in creamy sauce and roast pork, you can really get to grips with rustic French cuisine. The emphasis in a ‘bouchon’ is not on haute cuisine but rather, a relaxed time and homely ambiance that comes naturally in this traditional setting.

To dive into Lyon’s finest and tastiest gastronomy, without paying an extravagant price, try one of Paul Bocuse’s 3* bistro restaurants Nord, Sud, Est or Ouest with their own specific themes. Brasserie Le Nord is the most popular place in Lyon for traditional Lyonnais cuisine. At Brasserie Le Sud, flavours head south with Mediterranean inspiration coming from southern France’s Provence to Tunisia or Morocco in North Africa. Brasserie de l’Est is a large, bustling place offering Pan-French cuisine and a noisy and animated ambiance that evokes the brasseries de gare of faraway Paris. Finally, the Brasserie de l’Ouest completely turns the tables on authentic French cooking and boasts some of the tastiest Californian Wild West food in France.

A fresh way to discover Lyon is to attend the festival that has made massive waves in the electronic music world.  Les Nuits Sonores was born in 2003 with little more than 15,000 visitors. Now the four-day event bears a crowd of more than 55,000, bringing to life many of Lyon’s emblematic buildings by choosing old industrial sites, concert halls, clubs and galleries as venues. The festival’s line-up gets more and more impressive every year, with this year hosting more than 250 artists, including some big names in electronic music such as Giles Peterson and Laurent Garnier.  The gigs are a unique insight into Lyonnais social culture, away from café lined promenades and baroque buildings.

Dates for next year’s festival fall between 12^th and 16^th May 2010, so be sure to book your tickets in advance. (nuits-sonores.com)

Lyon is arguably most famous for its beautiful Basilica de Notre Dame. Offering exquisite vistas of rolling hills, flowing rivers, bustling markets and of course, its beautifully kept, medieval city,  the view from the top of the Basilica really is the best way to see the region. Set in a dominant position overlooking the city, the energetic can enjoy a steep walk to the basilica. Alternatively, embark on a ride in the funicular, a cable railway (the ficelle, near the Cathedrale de Saint-Jean) up Fourviere Hill. From the terrace of the flamboyant white church, the beautiful city unfolds before you, cradled between two hills. You’ll see the Rhone and Saone rivers meandering through folds, forming the peninsula, Presque’ile, the very heart of the city.

At your feet, old terracotta-roofed houses are sprawled throughout Vieux Lyon. This district has been nicknamed ‘La Colline qui Travaille’ because many silk workshop mills were transplanted here in the 18^th Century from the Vieux Lyon area. In the middle distance, you will see the enormous parks and the newer sections of the Greater Lyon, punctuated by modern high-rises.

The best way to explore the area is to rent a bicycle. The service is called Velo’v and provides solid, comfortable bikes, available for anyone to use, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can find them at locations all over Lyon. There are 340 Velo’v stations, so when you are done with your bike, you can drop it off at any of their spots. The service promotes greater mobility and better health at a sweet cheap rate (from €1 between 30 to 90 minutes and €2 each hour thereafter.) (velov.grandlyon.com)

One of the best places to explore on wheels is the old and famous and famous ‘Parc de la Tete d’Or’ or ‘The Golden Head Park’. A huge park, holding tens of thousands of roses on its roserarie and 1800 species of alpine plants, it is named after a story saying that a golden head of Christ buried there. The park also possesses a reservoir, botanical garden, a zoo, canals and outdoor gardens; plenty to keep you entertained on a cool autumn afternoon. (parc-tete-dor.com)

Another exhibit not to miss is the superb and ultramodern Musee d’art contemporain de Lyon (mac-lyon.com), situated in ‘La Cite Internationale’ that counts the Interpol headquarters building. (cite-internationale-lyon.fr)

If you’re thinking of a stay during frosty winter, visit Lyon at the beginning of December when over 70 sites are illuminated for public enjoyment. The ‘Fete des Lumieres’ takes place for four days every year. This ‘festival of light’, which first occurred 150 years ago, originally had religious connotations with residents placing candles in their windows to thank the Virgin Mary for saving them from the plague. Now, the popular festival is become a cultural spectacle, seeing around 4 million visitors flock the area, from all over France and Europe. (lumieres.lyon.fr)

For a real foodie holiday, indulge in a day-trip to Annecy, in the French region of Haute-Savoie (en.annecy.eu).  Here, exceptionally pretty open-air markets, a pride of the city, sell locally produced creamy soft and stenchy cheeses as well as an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Only a 30 minute bus ride from Lyon, the beautiful countryside offers a variety of activities including boat trips on Lake Annecy, the second largest lake in France, or a trip to Palase de l’sle, a castle turned into a prison. One of the most photographed monuments in France, the castle and indeed, the whole area are well worth a visit. (annecy-croisieres.com).

Only 470 km from Paris and the second largest city in France, Lyon is deservedly the gastronomical capital of France. Unscathed by tourism, it has been allowed to continue farming, producing, and cooking traditional, hearty and rustic cuisines that bear no real comparison with other fancy h’orderves, snails or frogs’ legs. Succulent meat, fresh vegetables, the tastiest of stews, sauces and roasts, this is French country food at its best and cuisine that normally gets unnoticed.

And this time-honored nature and resistance to fashionable fare is what makes Lyon so charming and so damn delicious. Not only is it acclaimed for its colourful and warming menus, but Lyon is loaded with astonishing sites. Forgotten upon the tourists’ map, it is also delightfully quiet; free from the tirade of noisy tourists, it is as pristinely old-fashioned as it has always been. Bursting with historical elegance, pride, understated grace and truly excellent food and wine, if you’re lucky enough to visit Lyon it is a place you definitely won’t want to share.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Lyon is located in the South-East of France. It is one hour ahead of the UK and the currency is the Euro (£1 = €1.14).

Easyjet flies to Lyon Saint-Exupery Airport daily from London Gatwick and Stansted Airports. Check www.easyjet.com frequently for some good deals.

You can also take the train from Paris or Marseille that arrive at Lyon-Part-Dieu, Lyon Perrache or Lyon Saint-Exupery. They take two hours from Paris, and one and a half from Marseille. Visit www.tgv.co.uk for more information and timetables.

WHERE TO STAY

There are plenty of hotels to choose from in Lyon but for an inexpensive and comfortable stay, book a room at the respectable Mercure Lyon Grand Hotel Saxe Lafayette, 29 rue de Bonnel 69003, Lyon.

Right in the heart of the city, it is in an ideal location, just a 10 minute walk from Vieux Lyon, the nearby metro and a wide range of restaurants and brasseries. Prices satart from £81 prpn based on two sharing.

Visit www.accorhotels.com for more information.

WHERE TO EAT

Paul Bocuse’s 3* bistro restaurants Nord, Sud, Est or Ouest (www.nordsudbrasseries.com)

Brasserie de Le Nord, 18 rue Neuve

Brasserie Le Sud, Place Antonin Poncet,

Brasserie de l’Est, 14 Place Jules-Ferry

Brasserie de l’Ouest, 1 Quai du Commerce

For a complete and in-depth guide to Lyon, visit en.lyon-france.com or franceguide.com

Words and images Vincent Bernier