Ithink it’s amazing to visit cities with so much history as that one and know that Lyon was founded in 43 B.C by Romans, and lots of monuments of that time are still preserved. There are so many places to be visited, lots of Medieval and Renaissancist legacies spread around the heart of the city.
It was awesome for us to stay there, as it’s so close to Switzerland, where we went on a day trip by bus until Geneva, which is also wonderful, it was an awesome trip which we’ll talk about on one of the topics below.
Basilica of Notre Dame of Fouviere
In our first day around the city, we went through wonderful landscapes of the rivers Rhône and Saône, which run in the city, we went towards a radio tower that looks like a part of the Eiffel Tower. It’s on the top of a hill and can be seen from very far, we found a path to go up, but it only has huge stairways. In the downhill, we went through the main access where cars, buses, etc. pass.
When we got there, we saw a church with many details in its front: Basilica of Notre Dame of Lyon, which has a romantic and byzantine design, built in 1884. One curiosity: it has received the nickname of ‘upside down elephant’, because its structure looks like an elephant and the four towers look like legs turned up, LOL.
As the day was wonderful and the overall high view is really beautiful, you can see thousands of chimneys that caught my eye, the rivers, all the city and the mountains in the boundary with Switzerland.
Gorgeous Basilica of Notre Dame
View of the City from the Top of the Church
View of the Church of the City
Tami and the Blue Sky
Cathedral of Saint John and old Lyon
After going down the hill, we soon saw another church, the cathedral of Saint John, built in 1180, place visited by lots of tourists, as it’s in the region of Old Lyon, where you can find lots of historical buildings and the street Saint John, beside the cathedral, we saw a lot of pubs, restaurants, candy shops, confectionery stores and goodies.
Cathedral of Saint John
Goodies and Typical Food
Streets of Old Lyon
Fairs beside the river Saône
We were still walking around the old Lyon when we came across a big fair which had books, crafts, sculptures, canvas and many street artists introducing their beautiful and happy songs beside the river Saône.
After passing through the bridge Alphonse Juin, there’s another fair, but that one has a lot of other fresh products, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and roasted chicken, bread and candies. It’s impossible to leave there without buying anything, and the prices are very attractive too.
That was where we tried a typical brioche named Praline, which is kind of a sweet bread with little pink meringues. It’s worthwhile to taste.
Fairs of Lyon
Visual of the River Saône
Fairs - Fresh Products
Place Bellecour
That square itself doesn’t have so much to be seen, unless a statue of Louis XIV and many people walking or eating, but that’s close to lots of super stores which sell brilliants and high standard designer, mainly on President Eduardo Herriot street.
Fountain Going to the Square
Bellecour Square
Tête d`or Park
That place is a very complete and also very big park, where we saw when we were walking: a lake to ride by boat or paddle boat, a free access zoo, with lots of animals to be seen, and even a little amusement park for kids to have fun. Take a cloth if you want to sit down on a huge lawn, where there are lots of people concentrated who take the chance to have a snack, play with their children or dogs, and children even play soccer. We had such a nice afternoon.
Tête d'or Park
Relaxing at the Park
Flowers at the Park
Where to stay
We chose to stay by Airbnb, and found a great place, a complete apartment, 1 Km from the center of Lyon, where there are numerous sights, we still had full attention by our host.
Here is our Airbnb link, where you can have a discount too!
Means of Transportation
We arrived via flixbus bus from Munich Germany, worth 27 Euros (118 reais) each ticket. Already inside the city we went by subway to our Airbnb.
The means of transport are great and very comfortable, very easy to use, there are totems where tickets can be bought 1.60 Euros (7 Reais).
Bus of Lyon
Safety of the city
By the time we stayed we found it very safe, and we saw a bit of policing through the streets and sights. We walked a lot all over the city during the day and it was very quiet, the people are super friendly and helpful. We also avoid walking alone after 8pm. We love to walk around here.
Travel Insurance
For you to travel in peace, it’s important to have a travel insurance which keeps you safe and has a comprehensive coverage. We always ensure with April Brasil Seguro Viagem, which covers all around the world, it has an app that is easy to access, for you not to keep all that paperwork when you need to use it and, the best part, you can access it from everywhere in the world with service in our language.
So, don’t waste time and hire something safe, and we have a discount coupon, we’ll leave the link below too! Run and use it.
DISCOUNT COUPON: COUTRIPS10%
Travel Insurance
Internet for your trip
To keep your connection during all the trip, you need a great SIM card, with a worldwide coverage, internet 3G and 4G. For that, we used Easysim4u, the best internet SIM card in the world for your trip. And see that we have been through some countries and we always had the coverage of the plans of Easysim4u. Don’t waste time, run and hire your SIM card for your next trip.
Here’s the link for you to access and ensure your connection to the internet in the world.
Chip Easysim4u
Kind of currency
Lyon’s local currency is the Euro, and the dollar exchange rate for June / 2019 is $ 1.00 to 0.90 Euro. We recommend changing currency in a safe place such as an airport or an Exchange, city bank. It’s good to always have local currency.
Expenses total
Our expenses in currency (REAIS) in Lyon during 6 days for the couple were the following:
Feeding: R$100,00 (market, snacks)
Transportation: R$305,00 (bus,train)
Lodging: R$489,00 (Airbnb)
We enjoyed Lyon very much, that’s a beautiful city and it’s full of places to be visited and to have their history told. We stayed at a great airbnb, we contacted local people and we could exchange ideas and experiences. The culture in Lyon is very strong, and it’s taught since very early school.
The touristic attractions of that city are spectacular, there were lots of walking, tours around the parks, where we relaxed and rested. We tasted some goodies of the cuisine and, in general, we enjoyed our days a lot.
