TOFA 2024 president secret advices
To help you make the most of your stay in Lyon, the local organizing committee has put together a few suggestions for typical Lyonnais restaurants, stores selling local produce and must-see sights.
Restaurants
Lyon is renowned as the capital of French gastronomy, it means that you can found many restaurant with different type of cuisine. You will find below several recommended places that we decided to present in two main categories: Brasseries to taste the traditional French cuisine and the Bouchon for the very specific Lyon’s cuisine (charcuterie and guts). Of course you will also be able to find other restaurants. The website Lyonresto features a large selection of restaurants classified according to different criteria (unfortunately it is only available in French but certainly google can help…).• Brasseries:
o Since its creation, Brasseries Bocuse has been perpetuating the know-how and the French art of living, introduced by Monsieur Paul, one of France's most famous chefs. We recommend you one of the brasseries, each one has its own ambiance and dedicated menu.
o Right from its opening in 1836, Brasserie Georges was a resounding success. Many of France’s greatest names have passed through its doors, including Paul Verlaine, Jules Verne, Utrillo, Jongkind, the Lumière brothers, Edouard Herriot, Mistinguett, Léon Blum, Emile Zola and Rodin. The building and art-deco hall are historic and well worth a visit. Please note that reservations are usually necessary.
o Formerly a place of negotiation for diamond merchants, silk merchants and wholesale butchers, the « Grand Café des Négociants » has remained the meeting place for politicians, artists, business travelers… Located on the Peninsula (classified at World Heritage by Unesco), between place Bellecour and the Town Hall, steps from the Palais de la Bourse, the Célestins theater and the Opera, the Grand Café des Négociants welcomes you daily throughout the year.
o The Brotteaux Brasserie: this restaurant has adapted over the years to retain its soul and remain above all a place to live, with carefully-crafted traditional cuisine and a splendid wine list. Built in 1913, the Brasserie has retained all its charm, with its ceramics, leather banquettes, huge chandeliers and large, perfectly-kept mirrors.
• Bouchon:
If ever there was a Lyonnais gastronomic tradition, it's the bouchon, that cozy estaminet in the old quarters, where you come to sample regional wines and local cuisine: pike quenelles, tablier de sapeur (double fat, breaded and fried), tête de veau ravigote... nothing light! The menu changes every century. Here's a small selection of Lyonnais restaurants that honor tradition and good food.
o La mère Léa
o Daniel et Denise
o Le Café des Fédérations
o Le Café du Soleil
Must-see attractions
The city of Lyon boasts a rich cultural heritage and many great places to visit. Below is a small, non-exhaustive list, and you can find more information on the onlylyon website.• The St Jean District
The legendary Gallo-Roman history of Lugdunum at the top of the Fourvière hill and the splendor of the French Renaissance in the heart of Old Lyon are exhibited in the 5th district of Lyon. A true open-air museum: the Basilique de Fourviere, Saint-Jean cathedral, Saint-Georges churches, Saint-Paul, old cobbled streets, traboules that weave real secret networks. In Lyon, a traboule is a traditional passageway that leads from one building to another. Traboules are common in old Lyon, but many are not very visible or are closed to the public. On the LyonTraboules website, you'll find all you need to know about traboules, and above all to discover another, older Lyon, just a stone's throw from the city center. The Gadagne and Lugdunum museums welcome you for a journey through time. From the Basilique de Fourvière, in fine weather, you can admire the Alps and Mont Blanc.
Proposition tour (1.8km, 28m D+): From Place Bellecour, cross the Saone river at the Bonaparte bridge. To go up to the Basilique de Fourviere, you can take the funicular. Go back down the funicular or walking through the Parc des Hauteurs. The visit of the old quarter of Lyon passes by the Saint Jean Cathedral, then takes the rue Saint-Jean. Many places to see on the way (Maison des avocats; Traboules; Musée Gadagne on the history of Lyon; Pralines, praluns and Praline Brioche, small shops, Saint-Paul railway station, …). The tour ends up at the Saint-Paul railway station, but you can cross the Saone river at the “Pont de la Feuillée” to continue with the Croix-Rousse district tour for example.
• The Croix-Rousse District
The history of the Croix-Rousse district is closely linked to the silk and weaving. More than a district, it is a village where artists and designers love to evolve. On the hillside and up to the plateau, squares, alleys and viewpoints are offered to the less breathless. Here too you will have the opportunity to stroll through the streets and look for the traboules. Otherwise you can follow the tour suggested below. Be careful in any case, it's uphill!
Proposition tour (3 km; 80 m D+): From the “Place de la Comédie”, pass along the ‘Fontaine d’Ipoustéguy », take the « Griffon Street » and then turn right at the “Place Croix-paquet”. Continue to walk along the “Croix Paquet wooded Park” and reach the “Place Colbert”. A nice place to take a break and have a drink! Reach the view point (rue du Bon-Pasteur) and enjoy. Then walk down the “Montée de la Grande Côte”, until crossing the Rue des Tables Claudiennes. Turn right to reach the “Amphitheatre des Trois Gaules”. The tour ends up by walking down the “Montée de l’Amphitheatre” at the Place Sathonay. A really nice place to take another break.
• Between Rhône & Saône, the “Presqu’île District” At the foot of the Croix-Rousse hill and in the heart of the Presqu’île, between the Rhône and Saône, the neighborhoods offer you beautiful walks around many emblematic monuments of the city. City Hall, Opera, Museum of Fine Arts... but also great shopping escapades.
Proposition tour (2 km, 23 m de D+): From the “Place Bellecour”, take the “Rue Emile Zola”, then turn left in “Rue des Archers”, you are in front of the “Theatre des Célestins”. Let’s continue to the very small “Rue Jean Fabre” to reach the “Place des Jacobins” and its beautiful Fontaine. At the North-west side of the Place, take the small street parallel to “rue de Brest”. Walking along, you will ends up in the most famous street of Lyon “Rue Merciere”, plenty of tourist restaurant (not the most famous actually). Go back up the whole rue Merciere and turn right in “Rue des Bouquetiers”. You are in front of “Saint-Nizier Church”. Continue along the “Rue Paul Chenavard” until the most beautiful place in Lyon “Place des Terreaux”. It might be time to take a break, have a drink, and admire the Place, the Bartholdi Fontaine, the “Musée des Beaux-Arts” and the Lyon City Hall. At the North-east side of the place, walk along the “Rue Puits Gaillot” to ends up in front of the Lyon National Opera.
• Parc Tête d'Or
With the Parc de la Tete d'Or, its 114 ha of greenery, its lake, its African savannah, its botanical garden and its expanses of lawns where to relax, the 6th arrondissement of Lyon invites you to a nature escape in the heart of the city.
• Cinema and Miniature Museum
60 rue Saint-Jean - 69005 Lyon 5ème
Situated in a magnificent Renaissance building on the main street of Vieux-Lyon (Old Lyon), the Cinema and Miniature Museum houses a unique collection of cinema exhibits that appeared in feature-length films such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Alien, Jurassic Park or Terminator 2. Visitors are amazed by the miniature creations of Dan Ohlmann and other artists, which are packed with detail and full of poetry.
• Musée Lumière
25 rue du Premier-Film Place Ambroise Courtois - 69008 Lyon 8ème
Dedicated to the Cinématographe and the history of the Lumière family, the Musée Lumière looks back at the various technical creations of Louis and Auguste Lumière. Visitors can discover unique objects such as the very first Cinématographe!