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LYON

Ten reasons why Lyon is better than Paris – according to one passionate local

Lyon is a popular destination for travellers visiting France. For blogger and adopted Lyonnaise Aga Marchewka this comes as no surprise.

Published: 19 June 2019 16:26 CEST
Updated: 26 October 2023 12:14 CEST
Ten reasons why Lyon is better than Paris - according to one passionate local
A general view shows the city of Lyon, central-eastern France (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

When I first came to Lyon, I fell in love with this beautiful city at first sight.

Before visiting Lyon, I associated France with Paris mostly. I won’t say l didn’t like Paris. Yes, it is a really beautiful, charming city and has all the monuments we have read about and all the sites we see in romantic movies.

But, after couple of days spent there, you may feel fed up with the commercial aspects, pollution, crowds and very high prices. In contrast, in Lyon it just gets better and better!

Here are my top 10 reasons why Lyon beats Paris every time:

1. Fine dining – Even if Lyon is not the capital of France, it is a real capital of the French cuisine. Did you know that the ‘Pope’ of French cuisine Paul Bocuse was living in Lyon when he established new modern food trends and set up his famous restaurant and brasseries? The food experience is incredible.

2. Affordable dining – Lyon also has its own type of traditional bistros serving homemade food for a good price and in a great quantity. They are called bouchons. This type of family businesses is carried on from generation to generation. Thanks to the rich history of Lyon, the bouchons have become very established in the city and are part of its culinary history. You won’t find a real bouchon in Paris.

3. The people – Well, maybe l am lucky, but l can tell you that I have met and continue to meet some great Lyonnais who are generous, helpful, and authentic. They also love speaking French. But don’t worry, they will make efforts to speak with you in English, though, if your French is faltering. And it is a good place to improve your French too, as you are surrounded by plenty of French people, rather than mostly English-speaking Parisians.

4. Transport – OK, I will admit there are pollution and parking issues in Lyon, but in Paris, the pollution feels worse and it’s virtually impossible to get to the centre of Paris by car. In Lyon,  walking also very doable. You can easily visit the centre of the city on foot, and if you get tired, you can always hire a bike.

READ MORE: Crit’Air: Drivers face €750 fines in France’s new low-emission zones

5. Cost – France is very expensive in general, however, Lyon is much cheaper than Paris. 

6. Historic centre  – Lyon has a beautiful historic Medieval city centre. The Vieux-Lyon district is a Unesco Site and it provides very strong competition to Paris monuments.

7. Things to do – Lyon has a modern sector called the Confluence, which is utterly original. In Lyon, the former industrial area is currently being transformed into one of the most sustainable and exemplary districts in Europe. In this area, you will find the latest, coolest museum: Musée de Confluence, the shopping centre and the most creative and modern buildings you can think of.

8. Rivers – Lyon has two rivers and Paris only one! Lyon has both the Rhône and Saone. However, the best thing about them is that, when the weather is nice, you can see where the two rivers meet at the Confluence district.

9. Regional tourism – Paris is poor in this aspect and Lyon is very rich. Lyon is the gateway to the Beaujolais viticultural region and it also has the Alps nearby. It will take you about one hour to get to the Alps to do your skiing or/and enjoy the landscapes. Closer, cheaper and easier than a trip from Paris!

10. And finally, a few things that only Lyon has: The amazing Parc Tete d’Or covers 105 hectares with the 16-hectare lake, has a free zoo and botanical garden and became the “green lungs” of the city.

Also, Lyon has more than sixty Cité Création murals, often giant scale designs that dazzle the skyline. My favourite one is Le Mur Des Canuts. Lastly, I will mention the fact that Lyon has about 230 Traboules (Medieval cobbled passageways) and Paris doesn’t have a single one! Check here and plan a walk to discover many hidden ones, especially in Vieux Lyon and Cross Roux.

This article was first published in 2019. Check out Aga’s blog about Lyon jadorelyon.com.

Member comments

  1. All good points! We chose Lyon to live for many of the same reasons – plus, the cultural scene (music, dance, theater) is excellent for both professionals and amateurs.

  2. Agree wholeheartedly, would take Lyon over Paris every time. It is a beautiful city with a multitude of things to see and do, with the added bonus of being much more relaxed than Paris.

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LYON

9 reasons to move to France’s ‘gastronomic capital’ Lyon

The French city of Lyon has come out on top of a new comparison for 'liveable' cities - here are some reasons you might consider moving there (apart from its reputation as the foodie capital of France).

Published: 20 February 2024 14:48 CET
9 reasons to move to France's 'gastronomic capital' Lyon

While the idea of the ’15-minute city’ has become the object of bizarre conspiracy theories in parts of the English-speaking world, it has been embraced by many French cities, who appreciate the simple idea that the daily necessities of life should be within a 15-minute walk or cycle for most city-dwellers.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo was an early-adopter of the concept back in 2020 – but many of France’s cities adhere to the basic principles, whether or not their leaders chose to use the phrase ville du quart d’heure (quarter-of-an hour town).

The phrase ’15-minute city’ may be relatively new, but the concept is a very old one among city planners – making sure that daily essentials such as food shops, schools, health services and parks are within easy distance for city dwellers.

Now the French newspaper Le Parisien has created its own ranking of how France’s cities accord to the 15-minute principle. And although Paris may have been the most vocal about its 15-minute city ambitions, it was a city some way to the east that topped the poll; Lyon. 

Here’s a look at some of the reasons that Lyon came out on top;

Green transport – Lyon is one of France’s top performers when it comes to kilometres of cycle paths per person and it’s also a good city for walking – 17 percent of people in Lyon walk to work, the second highest number in France (behind Nancy at 22 percent). 

As other French cities have found, a major driver to people choosing to commute by bike or on foot is the knowledge that there is a decent public transport network when they need it (for rainy days, for example) and here too Lyon scores highly.

“Lyon probably has the best public transport system in France: high service level buses, Metro, trams and cycle paths”, Benjamin Pradel, researcher in urban sociology, told Le Parisien.

Plenty of doctors – around one-third of France is classed as a ‘medical desert’, meaning that there are not enough healthcare practitioners to serve the local population. The problem is most acute in rural areas, but it does affect cities too, including several areas of Paris.

This however, is not a problem in Lyon, which has significantly more doctors per inhabitant than the French average, and the highest score for number of doctors and health centres within a 15 minute walk for Lyon inhabitants.

Schools – Lyon also scored high for the number of primary schools and nurseries within a 15-minute walk, giving parents plenty of choice. The scoring from Le Parisien also gave the town a high ranking for the choice of grocery shops and restaurants within easy walking distance for most people.

Cost – We’re not going to pretend that Lyon is a cheap place, but at an average cost of €5,000 per square metre, property is half the price of that in Paris. Nevertheless, Lyon is still a relatively expensive place compared to many of its neighbours.

It lost points on the scale for affordability, with the report noting that 33 percent of people who live within the city itself are workers at management level while only 23 percent are staff members.

“That’s one of the limits of this concept,” Marie Huyghe, a mobility consultant with a doctorate in urban planning, told Le Parisien. “If local living only concerns the highest income groups, then we can consider that it is not a success.”

Employment – the 15-minute city concept states that ideally all the things you need for daily life should be within a 15-minute walk or cycle ride, including work. But employment is the aspect that many cities struggle with and plenty of city dwellers still face long commutes to work – even if they can shop, socialise and exercise within 15 minutes of their home.

Lyon doesn’t come out markedly better on this scale than France’s other big cities, but it does have overall good prospects for employment, even if you may have to commute a bit longer. As France’s third largest city (after Paris and Marseille) Lyon has a varied employment offer from tech jobs to academic work, media jobs and retail or tourism opportunities. The city is a leader in medical research and medical tech, creating plenty of specialist jobs. 

It’s also the location of the Interpol HQ, if you have a particular set of skills. 

Green space – having space for both exercise and leisure close to home is a key concept of the 15-minute city and Lyon scores particularly well when it comes to green space. 

The average surface area of green space per inhabitant has increased by three metres squared over the past three years and the city overall can offer over 430 hectares of gardens, green squares and parks.

The city also scores well on other green indicators such as air quality and has been ranked among the ‘greenest’ cities in France thanks to some innovative policies from city hall.

Other reasons

The 15-minute city ranking tends to focus on the practicalities of daily life – but what are some other reasons you might choose to move to Lyon?

Connections – Lyon is well connected to the rest of France and the world, with the high-speed TGV service offering rapid connections to other cities around France. It’s also perfectly feasible to travel by train from Lyon to Switzerland, Italy or Germany.

If you’re looking to fly, Lyon has its own airport and is within a two-hour drive of Geneva airport, which offers a wide choice of global connections 

Gastronomy – we saved the best until (almost) last – yes food-loving France widely considers Lyon to be its ‘gastronomic capital’. This means that the city boasts an impressive restaurant selection including – but very much not limited to – the traditional bouchon restaurants.

There are too many Lyonnaise specialities to get into here (although special mention to the pink pralines, and the praline brioches) but for foodies a visit to the city’s giant food market Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is a must.

Sport – if you need to do something to work off all that food, then there are lots of exercise options within Lyon and the city is also within easy distance of the Alps for some hiking, cycling or ski-ing.

If you prefer to watch rather than play, Lyon has a top-flight rugby team (Lyon Olympique Universitaire) and a Ligue 1 men’s football team in Olympique Lyonnaise.

If you want more ground-breaking football though, Olympique Lyonnaise women’s team is the most successful ever at club level and their players form the backbone of the French national women’s team.

The success of the professionals is having a huge impact on grassroots football in the city too, which boasts an impressive network of junior teams and local clubs to introduce younger girls to the joys of the beautiful game.

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