Lyon, city of the palate

Thursday, 16 December 2010 - 02:46 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time:  6 minutes

Lyon Panorama © Elwood J. Blues

Lyon Panorama © Elwood J. Blues

Lyon is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region. With 480,000 inhabitants Lyon is the third biggest city after Paris and Marseille. Economically, Lyon is a major centre for banking and the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries. The city contains a significant software industry with a particular focus on video games, and has focussed in recent years on a growing local start-up sector. The city hosts the international headquarters of Interpol, Euronews and International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Town Hall of Lyon © Brücke-Osteuropa

Town Hall of Lyon © Brücke-Osteuropa

Two thousand years of history have left their mark on the cityscape. Lyon’s rich heritage resources reflect the different eras and tell the story of the city. Lyon’s listing by UNESCO as a World Heritage site gives recognition to two exceptional features: “continuity of urban development” -the listed site covers a territory of 500 hectares (1235 acres) where the entire history of the city can be seen, from the founding of the Roman city of Lugdunum. And as “an outstanding illustration of city planning over the centuries” in this continually populated and active territory.

The Visitors Bureau offers a variety of package deals and services to help you discover Lyon: the Lyon City Card, a weekend pass, guided tours or self-guided audio tours… For individuals or groups, for business or private tourism – the Visitors Bureau has just the right solution for you.

Paul Bocuse © Arnaud 25

Paul Bocuse © Arnaud 25

Since the 16th century, Lyon’s cuisine has delighted many a customer in its “bouchon” bistros and in its first restaurants. These palate-pleasers will never disappoint and the traditional tastes remain intact. Lyon’s cuisine owes its virtuosity first of all to the quality of local products. The farms of the Bresse and Charolais regions, the wild game of the Dombes, the fish from the Savoy lakes, the fruits and vegetables of the Rhone valley and the Forez region are all within easy reach and supply the essential ingredients for Lyon’s famed cuisine. The local culinary specialties are plentiful and varied: pork products and “Cervelle de Canuts” soft cheese with herbs, “bugnes” beignets, fried pork fat, Lyonnais salad, “tablier de sapeur” tripes, “gras double” tripes, “petit salé” ham with lentils, “quenelles” dumplings (a mixture of butter, semolina and fish), black pudding, “andouillette” chitterling sausage, “paillasson” fried hashed potatoes, and more, if you’re still hungry!

ONLY LYON - Place Bellecour © Stefan Schäfer

ONLY LYON – Place Bellecour © Stefan Schäfer

But cooking is promoted to the rank of gastronomy when man adds imagination and a master’s touch. Rather, we should say, woman, for in Lyon it is the “mothers”, those famous robust cooks, who gave Lyonnais cuisine its very special character. When many large bourgeois families in the first half of the 20th century had to let go their in-house cooks, some of the women set up their own restaurant business. The first of these “mothers”, as they were known, was Mère Guy, followed by Mère Filloux and Mère Brazier, Mère Bourgeois and Mère Léa, who practiced their art at the beginning of this century, pleasing the palates of the most important personages of their time. Some famous recipes include the poularde demi-deuil (pullet hen with black truffles), cardoons with bone marrow and chicken liver soufflé.

Lyon © Calips

Lyon © Calips

Today, people uphold the tradition and many local 3-star restaurants (awarded by the Michelin Guide) carry the banner of Lyon cuisine throughout France and the world. You’ll have a meal to remember, be it with the great chefs or in the humble “bouchons”, these small traditional restaurants with picturesque interiors, serving local pork dish specialties, copiously washed down with bottles of Beaujolais or Côtes du Rhône wine.

Over 1000 restaurants contribute to the inviting and festive atmosphere of the city, along with the great chefs who are its ambassadors, but also thanks to such initiatives as the Food Trade Exhibition and the School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management.

To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facepage pages/Twitter accounts. Read more on City of Lyon, Lyon-France.com and Wikipedia Lyon. Learn more about the use of photos.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland

Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland

[caption id="attachment_226743" align="aligncenter" width="393"] Imagine Peace Tower © flickr.com - McKay Savage/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Imagine Peace Tower is a memorial to John Lennon from his widow, Yoko Ono, locat...

[ read more ]

Berlin Wall, Bernauer Strasse and East Side Gallery

Berlin Wall, Bernauer Strasse and East Side Gallery

Berlin Wall [caption id="attachment_161283" align="aligncenter" width="571"] Berlin Wall map © ChrisO[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting...

[ read more ]

Portrait: John S. Collins, the founder of Miami Beach

Portrait: John S. Collins, the founder of Miami Beach

[caption id="attachment_203500" align="aligncenter" width="444"] John S. Collins © floridamemory.com[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]John Stiles Collins was an American Quaker farmer from Moorestown Township, New Jersey who moved to South ...

[ read more ]

The United States: Bon voyage!

The United States: Bon voyage!

[caption id="attachment_169489" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Lipton sale/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Tourism in the United States is a large industry that serves millions of international and domestic tourists yearly...

[ read more ]

The National Library of France

The National Library of France

[caption id="attachment_24395" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Paris - Bibliothèque nationale de France - site Richelieu-Louvois - Reading Room© flickr.com - Vincent Desjardins/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Bibliothèque ...

[ read more ]

Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest

Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest

[caption id="attachment_200832" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Thaler/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Dohány Street Synagogue, also known as the Great Synagogue or Tabakgasse Synagogue, is a historical building in Erz...

[ read more ]

Brainport Eindhoven

Brainport Eindhoven

[caption id="attachment_160420" align="aligncenter" width="590"] PiazzaBlob Eindhoven © Curt Woyte[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Eindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherla...

[ read more ]

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia

[caption id="attachment_160639" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Sardinia Montage © GaiusCrastinus[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus). It is an au...

[ read more ]

Bad Pyrmont in Lower Saxony

Bad Pyrmont in Lower Saxony

[caption id="attachment_161206" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bad Pyrmont Castle © picasaweb.google.com / Hein[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bad Pyrmont is a city in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont with a population of 22,000. It is l...

[ read more ]

Portrait: Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany

Portrait: Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of West Germany

[caption id="attachment_193201" align="aligncenter" width="394"] Dr. Konrad Adenauer, 1952 © Bundesarchiv - Katherine Young/cc-by-sa-3.0-de[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman who served as...

[ read more ]

Adria in Veneto

Adria in Veneto

[caption id="attachment_153587" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Canal Bianco © Pava[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths o...

[ read more ]

Saint-Tropez

Saint-Tropez

[caption id="attachment_159873" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Saint_Tropez church © MartinPutz[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top