Quick mini-Trip Report here. Just back from a great trip to France that took us from Paris for a couple of days, to Strasbourg for a week, Lyon for another week and back to Paris for a weekend. We were lucky enough to travel in rather smooth conditions, with very short delays at airports. We arrived in Paris during a heat wave that was quite intense (200 heat records were beaten in France that weekend!). I love heat, so it didn’t bother me. Because we've been to Paris 4-5 times, it’s now familiar and easy (and French is my mother tongue); we no longer feel we have to do the museum tours, although with a few more days, we certainly would have visited one or two. We discovered a couple amazing restaurants, stayed at a cute and funky little hotel in the 5th arrondissement (Les Bulles de Paris) not far from the Pantheon. We made a point of visiting some old favorites, such as Pierre Hermé, Éric Kayser’s bakery, La Grande Épicerie de Paris, etc., but also went to the recently reopen and gorgeously refurbished iconic department store “La Samaritaine”.
On Monday, we took the train for Strasbourg. First time in Alsace. Great city! We loved visiting the main sites, especially the “Petite Venice” area and trying different typical regional dished. Lots of sauerkraut... We managed to go to a few other places; Obernai and even a quick cross over to Offenburg in Germany, which is only 30 minutes from Strasbourg by train. We also did a fantastic day trip with Viator which took us to the Château du Haut-Koenigsburg, the incredible village of Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Colmar. A long and tiring day, but totally amazing.
Then it was off to Lyon, France’s Capital of Gastronomy. The food there really is amazing! And a visit to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is a must, bien sûr. We stayed at an Airbnb on the Presqu’ile, located on Place Bellecour and which required us to remember FIVE entry codes (even one to go up the elevator!). The Presqu’ile has a lot to offer and is just minutes from Old Lyon, which is really beautiful and charming and is a first step towards the beautiful church of Notre-Dame de Fourvière just above. It is one of the most beautiful church we’ve seen anywhere. Thank God, there is a funicular that leads to it! Wherever we go, we tend to stay away from this long streets full of restaurants where someone often stands outside with a menu. The exception is here (or so it seems), on rue des Marroniers. We went there three time and had outstanding meals every time!
Towards the end of the week, we took a two-hour train that took us to the incredible city of Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region of France. We arrived during market day, which is always a plus for us! We love markets and bought several jars of local jams! Annecy may just have been the highlight of our trip. It’s just absolutely breathtaking! Going through photos earlier, I still cannot believe how beautiful it is! It is well worth the detour.
Then it was back to Paris for a couple of days before coming home. We have been all over France, except the Loire Valley and the Côte d’Azur, I guess. Alsace was just as great as we expected. Great trip!
On Monday, we took the train for Strasbourg. First time in Alsace. Great city! We loved visiting the main sites, especially the “Petite Venice” area and trying different typical regional dished. Lots of sauerkraut... We managed to go to a few other places; Obernai and even a quick cross over to Offenburg in Germany, which is only 30 minutes from Strasbourg by train. We also did a fantastic day trip with Viator which took us to the Château du Haut-Koenigsburg, the incredible village of Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Colmar. A long and tiring day, but totally amazing.
Then it was off to Lyon, France’s Capital of Gastronomy. The food there really is amazing! And a visit to Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is a must, bien sûr. We stayed at an Airbnb on the Presqu’ile, located on Place Bellecour and which required us to remember FIVE entry codes (even one to go up the elevator!). The Presqu’ile has a lot to offer and is just minutes from Old Lyon, which is really beautiful and charming and is a first step towards the beautiful church of Notre-Dame de Fourvière just above. It is one of the most beautiful church we’ve seen anywhere. Thank God, there is a funicular that leads to it! Wherever we go, we tend to stay away from this long streets full of restaurants where someone often stands outside with a menu. The exception is here (or so it seems), on rue des Marroniers. We went there three time and had outstanding meals every time!
Towards the end of the week, we took a two-hour train that took us to the incredible city of Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region of France. We arrived during market day, which is always a plus for us! We love markets and bought several jars of local jams! Annecy may just have been the highlight of our trip. It’s just absolutely breathtaking! Going through photos earlier, I still cannot believe how beautiful it is! It is well worth the detour.
Then it was back to Paris for a couple of days before coming home. We have been all over France, except the Loire Valley and the Côte d’Azur, I guess. Alsace was just as great as we expected. Great trip!
