We caught a Flixbus from Turin to Lyon in France, arriving after about 4.5 hours. We checked in to our hotel, the ibis Lyon Centre Perrache (AU$191.69/night), and went out to explore the city. Our hotel was located near the central transit station which was a bit of a maze, however we found the public transport in Lyon to be very good. The city was also very walkable.
We went to a few bars in the old town area of Vieux Lyon, and the very lively area of La Croix-Rousse, a little bit north of where we were staying. We found the more youthful and local vibe of Lyon to be a pleasant change after the hordes of old tourists in Tuscany. The food was amazing and we had one of the best pizzas ever at a small restaurant MARIA.
We found a nice bakery near our hotel where we had breakfast most mornings. One day we got some ham and cheese baguettes from the bakery and walked to the Jardin des Curiosités, a nice park with a great view over the city, where we ate our lunch.
After five days in Lyon we caught the train to Montpellier where we checked in to the ibis Styles Montpellier Centre Comédie (AU$246.57/night). We were about to head out to see the city when the hotel staff recommended that we wait for a bit as there were student protesters happening nearby and they might get violent. We had our welcome drinks at the hotel to kill some time before heading out. Aside from a bit of graffiti, there wasn’t much to indicate a violent protest.
We found some really good bars in Montpellier and ate some great Vietnamese food. On Bernii’s birthday, we tried to catch a bus to a nearby beach, however the bus stop that was labelled on Google Maps was incorrect and we couldn’t locate the correct stop in time. So instead we went to a bar. Later that evening, we went to a nice restaurant L’Entrecôte, where we had steak frites and wine for dinner.
We spent four nights in Montpellier before catching a train to Toulouse. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into our accommodation, Cujas (AU$141.10/night). There were a few nearby bars that were very good, including Le Petit Voisin and Café des Artistes. I spent some time at both venues, and Bernii spent a day nerding-out over planes at Musée aeroscopia (with the Beluga, Concorde, Super Guppy and A380 being among the highlights).
From Toulouse we caught another train to Bordeaux, however you will have to wait for our next post to hear about our wild adventures in Bordeaux and beyond.
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