Lyon

Lyon is France's gastronomic capital, a UNESCO-listed city stacked between two rivers and one steep hill, where Roman ruins, silk-weavers' passages and a self-confident food culture all fit inside an easy walk. Base yourself on the Presqu'ile, the elegant peninsula between the Rhone and the Saone, and treat the city as three layers: Renaissance Vieux Lyon at river level, threaded with hidden covered passages called traboules; the Roman hill of Fourviere above it, crowned by a basilica and two ancient theatres; and the old silk district of Croix-Rousse climbing the northern slope. Eat like a Lyonnais in a bouchon, the small wood-panelled bistros that serve quenelle de brochet, salade lyonnaise, andouillette and tablier de sapeur, and always book ahead because the good ones are tiny. Ride the funicular up the hill, wander down through the traboules, and graze the stalls of Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Many bouchons close at weekends and most museums shut on Mondays, so plan around that. Lyon rewards a slow, hungry traveller who lets one long lunch bleed happily into the afternoon.