Foodie hotspot: Les Halles Paul de Bocuse, Lyon

This is and always will be a recipe blog. But once in a while, when we visit a really fab foodie place I will share it with you.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Lyon for Adam’s 40th. We wanted to go to a fairly close European city – somewhere less obvious than Paris, but somewhere that was ‘foodie’. For us, the best part of going away together is finding some amazing food market, like this one, ideally one where you can eat and drink your way around! I’m almost ashamed to say that we didn’t do that much else on this weekend away, apart from mooch about. I did want to visit the art gallery, but we didn’t make it, as we holed up here for a couple hours more than we intended to originally! I blame Adam…

This isn’t an actual guide to Lyon, or indeed even to the Les Halles market. Really it’s just a suggestion that if you fancy a foodie holiday then Lyon is great – and this market was the highlight for us. However, I will pass on these tips….

1. Take a taxi straight to your hotel from the airport. The tram is not in the historic or the main part of the city, it’s right on the outskirts. We walked for 40 mins to get to the hotel after getting the tram, which takes 30 mins and isn’t cheap (30 Euros).
2. Research the best restaurants and book in advance! We fluked a good restaurant late on the first night after a bit too much wine, on the second night we couldn’t get in anywhere – and ended up eating in a mediocre-at-best, touristy Spanish place! Disappointing.
3. You must visit Les Halles Paul de Bocuse – a highlight is Merle, a seafood counter that you can eat and drink at. Enjoy a half bottle of white wine and watch the enthusiastic and friendly staff shucking oysters whilst you choose what to have. We had a dozen oysters (actually a great hangover cure) but they have lots more on offer too. Like sea urchins. Too much when feeling delicate, even for me.

We flew with FlyBe from Manchester direct to Lyon. We stayed at Hotel Le Royal, which was very nice (amazing breakfast).

Here’s a little photo story of our time at this amazing market and food hall.