Lyon: secret traboules, bouchons and France's capital of good food

On the right bank of the Saône, Vieux-Lyon is one of the largest Renaissance ensembles in Europe, with tall houses in coloured façades, inner courtyards, spiral staircases and galleries. It's part of Lyon's historic site, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The great secret is the traboules: passageways through buildings from one street to another, via hidden courtyards and corridors. Silk weavers used them to carry silk without getting it wet, and later the Resistance used them during the Second World War. Some are open to the public during the day; you just push the right door.

The Gothic Saint-Jean Cathedral has an old astronomical clock that still works. Around it, Rue Saint-Jean and Rue du Bœuf are full of bouchons, shops and strollers.

Above Vieux-Lyon rises Fourvière hill, crowned by the nineteenth-century Basilica of Notre-Dame, white outside and full of mosaics and gilding inside. The esplanade beside it has the best panoramic view of the city, with both rivers and, on clear days, the Alps in the distance.

You climb on foot through gardens or by the funicular, which locals call «la ficelle», the string. Right next to the basilica are the Roman theatres of Lugdunum, Lyon's Roman name, which still host shows in summer, and an archaeology museum.

Walking back down through the Jardins du Rosaire to Vieux-Lyon is one of the most beautiful strolls in the city.

Between the Rhône and the Saône lies the Presqu'île, the central peninsula with the big squares and avenues. Place Bellecour is one of the largest squares in Europe, with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV, and Place des Terreaux has the Bartholdi fountain, by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, and the City Hall.

The Museum of Fine Arts, in a former convent, has a collection ranging from ancient Egypt to Picasso, and a peaceful cloister to rest in. Further south, the Confluence district, where the rivers meet, has contemporary architecture and the Musée des Confluences, a futuristic building of glass and steel.

The Lumière brothers invented the cinematograph in Lyon, and the Institut Lumière, in the family house, tells that story. Film lovers will be delighted.

If Fourvière is the hill that prays, the Croix-Rousse is the hill that works. It was the district of the canuts, the silk weavers who made Lyon rich, and its tall buildings with large windows were designed to house the looms.

Today it's a lively area with a market, cafés and workshops. The Mur des Canuts is a huge trompe-l'oeil mural showing life in the district, so realistic that people try to climb its painted stairs. Lyon has dozens of these murals around the city.

Walking down the Croix-Rousse stairways and traboules to Place des Terreaux is a great way to finish the tour.

Bouchons are Lyon's traditional restaurants: small, with checked tablecloths, a family atmosphere and generous plates of Lyonnaise cooking. Order quenelles of fish in sauce, Lyon sausage, salade lyonnaise with a poached egg, andouillette for the brave and cervelle de canut, a fresh cheese with herbs.

Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, the covered market named after the famous chef, is a temple of cheeses, charcuterie, oysters and pastry. Go late in the morning, eat some oysters with white wine at the counter and buy pink praline tart for dessert.

Lyon sits between Beaujolais and the Rhône Valley vineyards, so wine is a natural part of any meal. A private tour of the Beaujolais vineyards, less than an hour away, rounds off the visit beautifully.