Vienne to Lyon

Tuesday November 13 Vienne and Lyon. Vienne is situated at the confluence of the Rhone and Gere rivers. Before the arrival of the Roman armies, Vienne was the capital city of the Allobroges, a Gallic people and became a Roman colony in 47 BCE under Julius Caesar, Vienne became a major urban center, ideally located along the Rhône, then a major axis of communication.

Vienne

In the morning we tour the city which has a 1st century roman temple of Augustus and Livia and the ruins of a roman theater. We also visit the medieval churches of St. Andre-Le-Bas and abbey St Pierre.  It's a pleasant walk and the streets are fun to look at. We take a mini train that travels on the streets to the top of Vienne. Tourism is a major part of the town's economy and important historical monuments draw the crowds, but the annual Jazz à Vienne festival in July is very popular. It was mentioned multiple times in the book The Day of the Jackal.

Mini Train

We board the boat for lunch and a sail to Lyon which is 22 miles upriver. In the afternoon we travel to Les Halles Paul Bocuse a covered food market that concentrates some of Lyon’s best known local delicacies. Over 50 of Lyon’s finest butchers, charcutiers, fromagers, pastry chefs, and wine specialists have set up shop inside this recently renovated building, thus making it a veritable foodie amusement park. Les Halles are named after Paul Bocuse, one of Lyon’s most revered and well-known chefs. His 3 Michelin star-restaurant is the temple of our gastronomy. We sample cheese, chocolate and charcutiers from different vendor each of which is accompanied by wine. A real treat after which we go back to the boat to prepare for a wonderful dinner of foods paired with wines from the Rued family winery.

Les Halles Paul Bocuse

Pate

Back on board we have a delicious dinner paired with wine for the Rued Family.

Oxtail cake