Lyon
France may be the gastronomic capital of the world and Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France (not Paris). What his means is you need go there for the food even if you see nothing else. However, not wandering around would be a shame as well because the city is very pretty.
It too has Roman ruins up on the hillside overlooking the city, is framed by two rivers and is fairly idyllic. What you want to do here though is eat. World famous chef Paul Bocuse has 4 Bouchon (a local type of Bistro) and one Michelin Starred restaurant in addition to a cooking school. The local market is even named after him. I didn't enjoy the market quite a much as the Avignon one because it was more upmarket selling cured meats for a lot of money etc.. When I came through here 7 years ago it was an everyday people's market, now it's a chefs market. Just keep that in mind before going.
My current favorite restaurant there is Au Vilain Petit Canard. We had great service there, it was homey and not pretentious and the food was fantastic. There are restaurants in the Vieux Lyon that I'd like to check out. Last time I was here I had a great meal there.
Also our apartment in Lyon was our favorite for the whole summer and a great deal too. You can find it on airbnb.com.
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