Exploring Lyon: A Journey Through History, Cuisine, and Culture

Lyon is a relatively close trip from Geneva, with a scenic train ride that had amazing views, although the train itself was bummy. With the views it offers, there is very little to complain about. When I first set foot in Lyon, it wasn’t the most pleasant welcoming, since as soon as you leave the train station, you’re greeted with a bland and very dirty environment. But luckily, you're in France, not Switzerland, so Uber is really cheap.

My first destination was to a bakery in Lyon, La Boulangerie de Saint-Marc, and these pastries were flavorful and offered a rollercoaster of tastes floating in your mouth.

Boulangerie(Bakery)

After this, I sped to the Old Town that Lyon has to offer, which I later found is probably the best spot to shop for everything, as it contains every store imaginable, all conveniently in one vicinity. Luckily, I travelled there with my friends and not my parents — they definitely would’ve been exploited. Furthermore, as I delved deeper into the heart of Lyon, I by coincidence entered a convention for what seemed like political cartoonists. It was held in this beautiful building filled with huge art, especially on the ceiling, that awed me.

I then visited the Bartholdi Fountain, which was rather beautiful and definitely a unique design for a fountain — one you won't find in many places elsewhere, at least from my experience.

After this, right next to it was the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Lyon. Now, I am rather new to the art scene, but with every country I go to and with every museum I visit, my love for art grows. This museum deepened my interest and love for art, as it was nothing short of astounding — in quality of art and in size, as the museum was a long walk worth the time invested, with many paintings rich in meaning and artistic passion. A stop most definitely worth coming to when in Lyon.

My journey continued walking more in the Old Town, passing the time since I had booked a reservation at a rather interesting restaurant, which later became the best restaurant I had ever visited. The restaurant is called Carmelo, and it oozes with a vibrant uniqueness and liveliness rare to find in many restaurants, organized into many sections, each holding a different theme and vibe. You first enter and see a room filled to the brim with people, with all sorts of photos of celebrities. As I was taken to my table by the server, I discovered that the room after it was also once again filled with people and a rustic ambiance, with alcohol filling the walls — and after that, it was the iconic colorful plates hung on the walls of this section.I had booked a rather special table, so I was taken down a set of stairs all the way to a cozy and soft environment — an environment that gives this place its sense of fine dining, as it was a cave-like environment that I was seated in. Now, the aesthetic was simply my favorite from any restaurant I visited, but the food also lived up to this hype, as I ordered a glass of wine and truffle pasta. This had to be some of the best food I have ever tried, and what further transcended my expectations — and frankly was the best part of the restaurant — was the extremely cheap price for the type of meals they serve, which usually come at much higher prices. My wallet screamed with excitement, and so did my stomach.

Notre Dame

My next stop was Lyon's Notre Dame; this was an architectural masterpiece to admire, as the entire building was covered with gold and placed at the top of a mountain, giving an amazing view of all of Lyon. It was an experience to just stare in awe at everything around you — even in the crypt, which was rather large and just as beautiful. This is a building worthy to be visited and admired by anyone, so be sure to mark it on your itinerary list if you hopefully become inspired to ever visit Lyon.

My final stop during my visit to Lyon was the aquarium, which, at the thought of it, I was extremely excited about. But when I visited it, I was extremely let down, as I found the aquarium quite bland and uninteresting, and frankly, really boring. It isn’t worth the stop or the ticket you pay for. It was a rather small aquarium that held a few interesting exhibitions, at least in my opinion. You can try to visit and decide for yourself, but in my humble opinion, when visiting Lyon, this isn't worth the visit.

Lyon was an amazing trip, and I am grateful to have experienced it. I hope to visit it once more in the future — and hopefully more than just a day trip. I hope to have inspired and sparked interest within all of you to consider updating your traveling bucket lists and give Lyon a chance, just not the aquarium…