Local Flavor: where to eat and drink in Lyon, France

30.05.2024 - 10:39 / lonelyplanet.com / Paul Bocuse

Oddly, it wasn’t the food that drew me to Lyon.

Stringy innards served in traditional bistros called bouchons never did it for me, but when you get past this and discover Lyon’s fusion food, vegetarian fare, street food and haute cuisine, it’s difficult to find a city to match it. 

A brief history lesson: Lyon’s reputation for great food comes from clever marketing, a dose of luck, and women. In 1900, the Michelin brothers, who made tires in Clermont-Ferrand, wanted a way to up their sales. They came up with the idea to publish a motorist’s guidebook to France, including road maps, restaurants and hotels, to encourage people to drive more. More motorists = more tire sales. 

Lyon, squarely on the route between Paris and Nice, began to see more and more footfall. The (largely women-run) bouchons that had hitherto passed under the radar began to attract tourists and restaurant critics alike. In 1933, a former farm girl from l’Ain, now a single mother who’d worked her way up the ranks in service and bouchon kitchens, became the first person ever to be awarded six Michelin stars. And while it’s Paul Bocuse’s name splashed across markets and restaurants all over the city, it was six-starred Eugénie Brazier who trained him. 

Fast-forward over 90 years, and many bouchons have changed little since Brazier’s time, except to inflate their prices. Lyon’s culinary scene has had another stroke of luck, though. With the reputation for great food already in place, young chefs looking for cheaper digs than Paris flock here. It means the restaurant scene is varied and innovative, and if mealtimes are religious elsewhere in France, they’re gospel here.

Here’s what I eat in Lyon…

Croissants are a sugary sweet start to the day, but Lyon’s breakfast specialty is even more indulgent: pink praline brioche. No one quite knows how the praline first came to be pink, but the nutty, sticky praline the color of bubblegum in buttery brioche, is heaven. Pralus’s sharing-sized brioches deservedly make you the most popular guest at a party, but if you’re looking for something snack-sized, head to Antoinette Pain & Brioche. There’s a fusion twist on every dish in Lyon, and this one’s in the form of a pink praline babka from My Little Babka. I’m British, so sometimes I can’t resist a savory brunch. Hands down, the best are the breakfast croques from Le Desjeuneur in Croix-Rousse, served daily.

If you drink your coffee black, pretty much anywhere will serve you a decent espresso for little more than a euro. Un Brin de Folie has good coffee, but I love it for the atmosphere. Inside a florist’s shop, you feel positively oxygenated going there, and it runs wreath-making workshops on-site too. Flat whites are hard to come by, and the best I’ve