What to do in Lyon for 2 days
My visit to Lyon was after Tomorrowland Winter 2024. We drove from Alps D’Huez back to Lyon and stayed for 3 nights at Fourvière Hotel before flying back home.
A car is not necessary if you’re exploring the city as you can get by with train, uber and your goody two shoes. It is expensive to park and most accommodations offer only paid parking. Driving doesn’t make visiting Lyon anymore convenient either as parking lots were limited in the city. Whilst I was here for 3 nights, I only had 2 full days as I arrived late and had to depart early on the travelling days. It is definitely possible to pack your day to visit all the places stated below in summer when the opening hours are longer.
Day 1 - Dinner at La Cuisinerie
I arrived about 6pm so all I did on the first night was to have dinner at La Cuisinerie. It’s a popular restaurant even for the locals and its not hard to know why. It’s French tapas restaurant with small portions of food and we could order about 4-5 dishes amongst us both.
Day 2 - St Antoine Market, Museum of Fine Arts, La Croix-Rousse, Funiculaires De Fourviere
Along the banks of the Saône River, the St. Antoine Market in Lyon is a delightful destination for food discoveries! We started the Sunday a lil too late, arriving at the market only at 11am missing half the market since we decided to sit and have our seafood (prawn, mussels, freshly shucked oysters) and champagne brunch all for about €50 which wasn’t a bad idea either. Of the lively market we strolled, there's no shortage of eye-catching displays; think beautiful heirloom tomatoes, golden peaches, local cheeses like the creamy Saint-Marcellin or tangy Rhônalpin Brie and striking bunches of vibrant herbs that can awaken even the sleepiest of mornings. There are plenty of stalls that sold ready to eat or cooked food and not to mention gourmet coffee so this is a market you certainly don’t want to miss.
We walked through Rue de la République, Rue du Président Édouard Herriot and Opéra National de Lyon which were quiet since it was a Sunday and ended up at the heart of the city centre, Place des Terreaux, where the Museum of Fine Arts was. It occupied a 17th century Benedictine Abbey and we whiled away 2 hours of time, indulging in its exhibitions including my favourite Monet’s paintings. Further north was La Croix-Rousse is a vibrant district in Lyon, France, known for its artistic culture and colorful murals that adorn various buildings, reflecting Lyon's artistic spirit.
Across the other side of the Soane River where La Croix-Rouisse is, would be the Viuex Lyon which was crowded with all shops opened on a Sunday. We whisked through to get to the Viuex Lyon station for a ride on the funicular that takes us to the Basillique Notre-Dame de Fourvière station which was right outside our hotel, Fourvière Hotel.
Day 3 - Vieux Lyon (Old Town), Ancient Theatre of Fourvière, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
The Vieux Lyon, which is known for its traboules, hidden passageways, stairwells and corridors that connect different streets and buildings. We had previously booked ourselves for a 2hr walking tour on a Monday (as they don’t conduct this on a Sunday) to discover these treasures as we’d like to know the history and whereabouts of them. The end of the the tour takes us to the bottom of the staircase Montee Des Chazeaux where we took a slow leisure climb up to the Théâtre Gallo Romain and walked over to Basillique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which can otherwise be reachable with the funicular.
Day 4 - Early Departure