Lyon in 5 Shops: wine, cheese and bookshop cafes

14.06.2024 - 14:41 / lonelyplanet.com

Jun 14, 2024 • 4 min read

Once upon a time, Lyon was the city that kitted out the royal wardrobe, thanks to the silk trade.

Now, its offerings are much more varied. This is a city of creators, where the sewing machines still clack on the slopes leading up to Croix-Rousse, the former silk-weaving district, and where artists set up easels by the side of the river to capture the Vieux Lyon’s hotchpotch of tightly-packed buildings. It’s a city renowned for gourmet produce: wine from Beaujolais and the Rhône Valley, cheese from Auvergne and Savoie, poultry from Bresse.

Lyon can be frustrating regarding its shopping hours. Many of the independent boutiques are closed Sunday to Tuesday, and staff often take extremely long lunch breaks the other days. Here, writer Anna Richards shares her favourite shops — but check the opening hours before you go.

It would be a sacrilege not to buy wine in Lyon. Started by a group of five friends who wanted to combine their two big loves – wine and music – Satriale is a wine and vinyl shop with a pint-sized bar. Keen to promote lesser-known wine regions, there’s plenty from Auvergne, the Ardèche, and even Austria, and fewer wines from Bordeaux and Bourgogne (although the Lyon region is well represented).

The music comes from a record player, meaning you can play real-life Shazam and buy the vinyl you’re listening to as you select your wine. All of the wines are natural, and the selection is ever changing, but I recommend buying the house wine, Satriale. Supplied in large kegs from a vineyard in Savoie, you can fill your own bottle from the tap and "cork" it (using a beer capsule) on-site. A bottle costs just €14, or €13 if you return your last bottle.

Looking for things to do in Lyon? Here are the city's top experiences

A collective of 13 artists, none of whom come from further away than Vienne (35km/22 miles), Les Artpenteuses is a heady mix of ceramics, cyanotypes, clothing, prints, and recycled glassware. Each month, it showcases a local designer outside of the collective in its window display. It’s my go-to for gifts, so I buy from a different designer most times I visit, but I’ve got my eye on one of the handmade bumbags (€64) for myself. They’re almost as spacious as a handbag, and I love the corduroy fabric. 

Here’s an idea: you could come to Lyon without luggage. Ideal if you’re arriving on a low-cost airline. That’s because Les débraillé.e.s has a commitment-free month-long €49.99 deal where you can rent three pieces at a time, and change them as many times as you like. Maybe buy a suitcase for the return journey though, because everything is available to buy if you fall in love. Womenswear only, it’s about as far from the French couture monochrome stereotype as it’s