With much anticipation, in June 2018 I embarked on a journey to Lyon, the northern Rhone, and the Jura regions of France. It was another jaunt to the traditional motherland of wine, so to speak – to research, analyze and enjoy their beloved nectar. I would be visiting wineries for tasting and interviews, and explore the classic Lyonnaise and Jura cuisine. During the first week Lyon would serve as my staging ground for visits to the Northern Rhone as well as give me a chance to experience this gastronomic wonderland for the first time. The second week I would take a train to Lons-le-Saunier for exploring vin jaune, Chateau-Chalon, the intriguing and the frankly downright weird wines of the Jura.  So, lots of birds going down with one big stone!

As any wine lover will know, excellent cuisine (or even a greasy cheeseburger) goes hand in hand with the joys of wine. And Lyon has a gastronomic identity that will challenge any connoisseur, one that is both unique and classically French at the same time. While Paris still holds the throne as the most popular destination for a typical visitor, a little deeper research will enlighten travelers that Lyon is actually the vibrant and unspoiled gastronomic scene to be explored these days. France is a big country with charm and delicacies lurking around nearly every corner!

Lyon is a quick two hour train ride from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Trains also go to Strasbourg, and virtually any other destination in France straight from the airport. Your plane lands, you hustle and bustle to your comfortable caboose, and pretty soon boom, you’re where you need to be.

While you can connect to Lyon via air travel, for some reason the summer flights to Paris this year have been extremely competitive. So hopping on the train made better sense. You can easily book rail tickets at a variety of online vendors, and it’s best to get tickets from the rail service directly instead of a broker site.

To reach some of the wine villages south of Lyon, there are easy local trains that run north and south to Vienne, Tain-Hermitage, Cornas, and Valence, and beyond to the Southern Rhone. However, this strategy will only serve you to certain winemakers, as many are slightly off the beaten path in villages such as Ampuis (Cote-Rotie), which are not directly serviced by rail. Many wineries are obviously not sitting right by the rail station for your convenience. I learned this the hard way on day one, as I struggled to reach Ampuis, just beyond Vienne. Taxis are not readily available and will be costly and time consuming. So, depending on your goals, it may be better to rent a car and stay in a smaller town!

Lyon sits at an enviable crossroads for food and wine lovers. Just a short hop to the north is Beaujolais, and onwards into Burgundy. A short hop south is the Northern Rhone. It’s a hub for wine and culinary delicacies from all the surrounding regions. I had assumed Lyon to be a natural extension of the Northern Rhone in terms of wine styles and popularity. I discovered however that Lyon actually has more of a popular focus on Beaujolais. This will be noticed in wine shops and tasting tours, as Beaujolais will likely be the emphasis. But who really cares, it’s all good!

Classic Lyonnaise cuisine will challenge you for sure – in delivering a rich and inarguably authentic sensual adventure that will soon leave you begging for a light salad and an apple. And you’ll most likely gain a few pounds. As well as the classic heavier fare, there is a vibrant and dynamic culinary scene of lighter, for modern restaurants as well, and these are also popular, exceptional, and an important part of the overall food scene.

The bouchon experience is a rite of passage for any visitor of Lyon. The bouchon is the local term for a casual lyonnais bistro restaurant. There are literally thousands of high quality restaurants in Lyon, and the bouchon is a classic. They serve an excellent meal and are a very popular choice every day for local French and tourists of all stripes.

You will find all the classic dishes in a restaurant like this. Red and white checkered tablecloths, rustic wood and wicker chairs and tables, dark decor and a cozy ambience. These days in Lyon restaurant owners have caught on, and use the name “bouchon” for any restaurant. So you should be somewhat aware, and look for the unique label on the premises that will identify a true bouchon in its traditions and association. (Check out Les Bouchons Lyonnais for more on the official bouchon scene!)

When you feel overwhelmed in a new city in which you’ve just arrived, it can be frustrating to know where to start! There are literally thousands of restaurants in Lyon, and numerous other ways to indulge in the gastronomic kaleidoscope. I chose a half day food tour booked through Trip Advisor and it was well worth it! There are many options including tours focused on food, wine, cheese, history, culture, whatever you like. This tour really helped introduce me to a few of the culinary highlights of Lyon.

We had an excellent guide who showed us a variety of shops and restaurants, sampling lots of tasty bites along the way. We also got to sneak through the hidden “traboules” – a network of passageways through various buildings dating back to the 4th century that facilitated access to the waterways for residents. Here are a few of the establishments we visited along the way. Website urls are linked when available!

  • Half-Day Food Tour Old Town from Lyon
    $82 pp / highly reviewed
  • Crèmerie Lyonnaise – Classic French cheese shop with an excellent range of cheeses from around France. Thierry is a friendly and English speaking owner.
    11 Rue Mgr Lavarenne, 69005 Lyon, France
  • Soierie Saint-Georges – A fascinating silk workshop with 18th century equipment still producing a variety of beautiful silk scarves and other products. 
    11, rue Mourguet 69005 Vieux Lyon
  • La Fabrique givrée – ice cream shop with many imaginative flavors, as well as rotating special flavors.
    66 Rue Saint-Jean, 69005 Lyon, France
  • La Chope Lug – Lyon actually has a vibrant craft beer culture as well. This little shop can introduce you to the craft beer movement in France. The owner Alfredo will happily show you the way!
    9 Rue du Bœuf, 69005 Lyon, France
oeufs en meurette
Crèmerie Lyonnaise

Above, l-r: Oeufs en meurette, a sample provided at a bouchon during our guide food tour; Thierry discussing French cheese at Crèmerie Lyonnaise, and cheese on display. The most memorable for me was the Romans, a local cheese from the Dauphiné region, pictured at bottom left in this photo. Romans was had a light puff pastry quality, with a soft rind and a dense and creamy core. I’ve never had a cheese like this before.. you just can’t get this outside France as far as I know.

On my last night in Lyon, I dined at Un, Deux, Trois, a charming and quaint little bouchon tucked into a quiet side street. Un, Deux, Trois is classic bouchon in every way! The decor, the ambience, as well as the limited menu of classic local dishes. I started with “un peau lyonnais” – a small carafe of table wine. I was delighted just to be able to know to order this, because it’s a very local secret! This was followed by the salad lyonnaise, which is really a salad in name only! as it is mostly a giant pile of pork lard and croutons over a suffocating bed of greens. A salad that is also a meal, really. Following that was the Quenelle de Brochet, pike fish (brochet) cooked in a light and fluffy dumpling (quenelle) and served in a creamy and thick bechamel sauce with mushrooms. Absolutely delicious!

Over the next week in Lyon, I visited a few wine producers to learn more about the French syrah of the northern Rhone. This region is just a sliver running from Ampuis down to Valence, hugging the banks of the Rhone river. Of the northern and southern Rhone region combined, output from the north is only 5%. In fact, Cote Rôtie and Hermitage produce only 10% of the quantity as in all of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. What does all this mean? Low yields, limited quantity, wines of tremendous care and finesse. Indeed, although syrah may have originated further south, the northern appellations have become the standard by which all syrah is measured, old world and new. Style ranges from medium bodied and classic to the newer generation of winemakers and a profile of bold and richer powerhouse wines.

My goal for each visit is to take my time, talk with and listen to the winemaker, stroll around the village and have lunch, and generally soak in the atmosphere. For me it’s not a race to visit as many winemakers as possible! While that may occur in my travels from time to time, that’s not the focus of this blog. I want you to enjoy your visits, savor the experience, and cherish the memory. A highly intellectual comparative analysis is one strategy however: regarding the stylistic nuances of a large number of wines. But well, you’ll need a different set of skills and circumstances to manufacture that situation, and probably a car.

In upcoming posts I’ll go into more detail as I visit each of these producers:

Northern Rhone:

Jura:

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on these visits!