Weekend in Lyon 10h City Walk

During my month-long stay in Le Mans, France, for an experiment, I planned weekend trips to nearby cities. France’s railways are super convenient—there’s a direct 3-hour train between Le Mans and Lyon, and it’s always on time (as long as there’s no strike! 🚄). I’d long heard that Lyon is the hometown of The Little Prince, so it was an easy choice for my first weekend getaway. Lyon isn’t too big—you can cover it in a day with a 24-hour transit pass (6.9€ including the card fee), which lets you ride buses, metros, trams, and even the funicular up to Fourvière Hill.😍 Pro tip: Head to Fourvière early! I went first thing in the morning, and the funicular was empty—no waiting. By afternoon, the lines get crazy long. From the hilltop, the view of Lyon is stunning—you can see the whole city spread out below 🌆. The Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica up there even has Chinese Bibles you can flip through… interesting touch! A 5-minute walk downhill from the basilica takes you to the Roman Theatre ruins. I was looking forward to it, but there was a stage set up for an upcoming show, which kinda ruined the vibe 😅. But since I’d seen more impressive ancient theaters in Athens, it wasn’t a huge letdown. By 9 AM (I’d started at 7:30!), I headed back downtown for coffee. I took the funicular down, then the metro to Place Bellecour. Next stop: Lyon’s Haribo store! 🍬 It’s a German brand, but their Lyon shop is awesome—10 small bags of assorted gummies for 8€. I couldn’t find the gummy bear keychains, but I left with a cute Haribo plush bear 🧸. At 10:30, I walked to the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum), passing a popular bookstore along the way—though it’s mostly French books, so not super engaging if you don’t read the language. The museum was surprisingly quiet for a weekend, but its collection blew me away—it’s more like a full-fledged museum! There are artifacts from ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Rome (funny how you see Egyptian relics everywhere in Europe if you can’t make it to Egypt…), plus paintings by Monet, Picasso, and other masters. Only downside: no Wi-Fi 📶. After the museum, a short stroll brought me to the iconic Fresque des Lyonnais (Lyon Murals)—a huge, almost 3D-like painting telling stories of Lyon’s history. Keep an eye out for the Little Prince peeking from a balcony—total Easter egg! 🎨 I looped back to Place Bellecour for lunch: amazing Dan Dan noodles 🍜, plus a Machi Machi drink (I hadn’t even tried it back home!). Then I wandered Vieux Lyon (Old Town), where I stumbled on a weekend flea market—perfect for people-watching. By 4:30 PM, I’d checked off pretty much everything in 10 hours. It was a perfect day! Next weekend’s city walk? Nantes—it’s less than 1 hour from Le Mans. Can’t wait!❤️ #Lyon #CityWalk #WeekendGetaway #FranceTravel #TheLittlePrince #EuropeanWeekends