Lyon, France: Mysterious and Beautiful

Proprietor Maurice Débrosse used to be Paul Bocuse's maître d'hôtel and specializes in classic dishes like lentils with a spoonful of cervelle de canut ("silk weaver's brain"), an herbed cream cheese that was once a favorite dish of the silk weavers who helped make Lyon rich. Though Lyon is most often associated with Paul Bocuse's temple of gastronomy L'Auberge du Pont du Collonges (40, quai de la Plage, Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, +33 (0)4 72 42 90 90), no visit to Lyon is complete without a meal (or two or three) at one of the city's bouchons. Their decor tends to be modest to the point of austerity, and they specialize in the classic cuisine mère (mother's cooking) of Lyon of days gone by. La Meunière Lyon – with its Gallo-Roman ruins, its 300 Renaissance merchant houses and its gastronomic reputation – is awash in a nearly Mediterranean light, under which its ochre, gold and rose buildings fairly glow. cafes, restaurants, pedestrian malls, town squares, courtyards, a film center, even a church, all inspired by Lyon. The Basilica of Fourvière (Basilique de Notre Dame de Fourvière) dominates Lyon as Sacré Coeur does Paris. The Lyon City Card (valid for one, two or three days) allows free and unlimited use of city transport (bus, metro, funicular and tramway lines), free access to the main museums, temporary exhibitions and the Biennial of Contemporary Art. It also includes guided tours, an unusual visit to the rooftops of the Fourvière Basilica and river cruises (from April to October), as well as short noon concerts at the Lyon National Opera or at the Auditorium de Lyon In Vieux Lyon, the largest Renaissance quarter in France. And France's third-largest city (after Paris and Marseilles) is intent on keeping its privileged position: over the last decade, Lyon has restored and replanted some 100 public spaces. One of the most popular, at the corner of quai St-Vincent and rue de la Martinière, memorializes dozens of native Lyonnais who have left their mark both on the city and on world culture, history and science. La Halle de la Part-Dieu Getting Around Lyon is the birthplace of Guignol, the marionette that has been entertaining audiences for centuries.