Program Unexpected Lyon:
10-15 July 2008
Day 1: Thursday July 10
Bienvenue à Lyon! After you’ve arrived and settled in to this ideally situated hotel in the center of town, come join us for our welcome champagne cocktail at 17h00 in your new surroundings. As the evenings are long and warm at this time of year, we’ll take a pleasant stroll along the river on the way to experience our first meal in a restaurant bien Lyonnais.
Day 2: Friday July 11
Registered a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the vieux Lyon—restored in the 1970s with magnificent lighting and specialty boutiques--affords incredible views of the city and boasts architectural gems which have survived from the time of ancient Gaul. To continue our discovery of Lyon, we’ll visit the old town in detail this morning with our guide who’ll show us the secrets of les traboules* through its ancient buildings.
You’ll be free to have lunch in a restaurant of your choice before we board our coach bus to witness first-hand Lyon’s renowned murs peints, its trompe-l’oeil paintings on building façades which are famous throughout France. Originally conceived as a pioneering program to rehabilitate run-down areas, the paintings soon became an elaborate end in themselves, inviting contestants to submit proposals and garnering prizes for the winners. Other cities have tried to emulate the grandeur of these paintings but without the same success. A few of the paintings are the largest in Europe. You simply won’t believe your eyes. Optional evening I at Les Nuits de Fourvière, the renowned outdoor music and dance festival held in the Roman amphitheatre.
*les traboules = passages through buildings from one street to another, first used by the silk workers
to circumvent the long route down the hill, used again by the Resistance fighters during WWII.
Day 3: Saturday July 12
Lyon, like Paris, has many exquisite museums. We’ll visit one of the more unusual ones this morning where the curator will give us a visit to the private collections and this afternoon you’ll be free to discover some of the others. If you’d rather discover the secrets of la cuisine lyonnaise, you’re invited to don a chef’s hat and join one of the many talented area chefs for an optional morning of cooking savoir-faire, followed by the pleasures of ingesting what you’ve cooked, accompanied by appropriate wines and good company. Supplement $200
This evening, a few select Lyonnais residents open their homes to offer dinner to those travelers who would like to be a guest in their homes and experience le vrai Lyonnais; you’ll be paired two by two if you decide to go. This is an unparalleled occasion to see the inside of a French home and break bread with the natives, an intercultural experience for the adventurous and the open-minded. Optional evening II at Les Nuits de Fourvière, the renowned outdoor music and dance festival held in the Roman amphitheatre.
Day 4: Sunday July 13
Spend your leisure time today roaming the city, enjoy the Sunday flea markets on the bords de la Saône, explore the area of the Croix Rousse where the silk workers once dominated, stroll through the antique markets at la Cité des Antiquaires, take a boat ride down the Rhône, spend time at one of Lyon’s many fascinating museums, pedal a bike around the city on a quiet Sunday morning…
==OR==
join us for an optional all-day guided excursion to the Beaujolais region*, Lyon’s “third river”. The rolling hills covered with vines, the seasonal workers harvesting the grapes and the picturesque villages are part of the charm of the countryside so near the city. With our private guide we’ll visit the pierres dorées of le village d’Oingt in the morning, followed by lunch in one of the area’s luscious restaurants, then on to travel the majestic route des vins through the vineyards and end the afternoon with a dégustation de vin of the Beaujolais’ fine wines in a private wine cellar. *$150 supplement
Day 5: Monday July 14
Backstage at the Opera….an unforgettable private visit behind the scenes of Jean Nouvel’s prize-winning 1993 restructuring of the Lyon Opera House. By keeping the integrity of the outside of the original building and completely transforming the interior, his innovation and brilliant design is appreciated by both the artists who perform there and the theatre-goers who all enjoy privileged seating.
This afternoon, we’ll explore Lyon’s magnificent 260-acre Parc de la Tête d’Or, attend a unique Guignol puppet show so typically lyonnais alongside the children who scream with laughter and delight, and have a private meeting with the puppeteers afterwards about the origins and history of the Guignol. For dinner, we’ll enjoy our front-row seats in a classic Lyonnais restaurant while we watch the scintillating fireworks over the Saône to celebrate Bastille Day. And for those who like to dance, you’ll have a ball at the bal des pompiers on the banks along the river.
Day 6: Tuesday July 15
After breakfast, you’re free to travel elsewhere or return home. For those of you lucky enough to spend a bit more time here, we’ll be happy to give you ideas and tips of other places to go and visit around this area or elsewhere in France. To one and all, we say Merci pour tout et Bon retour!