A view of the Cathedral Saint Jean, Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere and the Saone river in Lyon, France.
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Lyon has a way of surprising travelers. Most people come for the food, and with good reason. This is the capital of French gastronomy, the city that produced the legendary chef Paul Bocuse.
But spend a little time here and you’ll realize that Lyon’s superpower is its approach to craft: how seriously it takes ingredients, textiles and tradition, and how seamlessly those centuries-old skills still shape the city. Silk once powered Lyon’s economy and influenced its architecture. Cuisine made it famous.
Renaissance stone arches frame the entrance to Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel, tucked along a cobblestone street in Vieux Lyon.
Courtesy of Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel
To truly understand Lyon, it helps to start in Vieux Lyon, the Renaissance-era heart of the city, where cobblestone streets wind past silk workshops, historic restaurants and hidden traboules (the district’s secret interior passageways). At the center of it all is Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel, which recently reopened after a meticulous renovation. The hotel has long been part of the neighborhood’s history.
To get an insider’s view of Lyon, I spoke to three locals who each represent different facets of the city: Joseph Doverman (chef de cuisine adjoint at Cour des Loges), Gabriel Hahn (who works with Brochier Soieries, one of Lyon’s historic silk houses) and fashion designer Morgan Kirch. They share what makes Lyon worth the trip, as well as the places they return to when they’re off the clock.
The Renaissance courtyard at Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel, where arched galleries and a soaring glass canopy frame the property’s gastronomic restaurant.
ERWAN FIQUET/courtesy of Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection HotelA Taste Of Lyon
Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel has been an integral part of Vieux Lyon since the Renaissance, originally built by Italian merchants and later home to religious institutions before becoming a hotel in the late 20th century. It recently reopened after a major renovation as a luxury Radisson Collection property, marking the brand’s debut in France.
The 61-room property spans four historic buildings organized around a dramatic central courtyard, with stone staircases, arched galleries and carved details that reflect the city’s trading past. Rooms range from loft-style spaces with exposed wooden beams to spacious suites with soaking tubs and fireplaces.
A junior suite at Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel.
ERWAN FIQUET/courtesy of Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel
Cour des Loges is also a serious culinary destination helmed by executive chef Anthony Bonnet, a Lyonnais native who earned a Michelin star at the property in 2012. The gastronomic restaurant, Les Loges, sits beneath a soaring glass canopy in the enclosed courtyard. Steps away on Rue du Bœuf, Le Comptoir is a more relaxed, bistro-style restaurant. Just off the lobby, the petite Le Bar 1341 draws both hotel guests and locals wih its craft cocktails and cozy vibes.
“Cour des Loges feels like you’re entering a different era,” Joseph Doverman, the hotel’s chef de cuisine adjoint, told me in an interview.
Doverman arrived in Lyon six years ago from Ireland. “My wife is actually from Lyon,” he says. “She couldn’t take the rain anymore and the lack of croissants.”
Joseph Doverman (left), chef de cuisine adjoint, and executive chef Anthony Bonnet (right).
NICOLAS VILLION/courtesy of Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel
He quickly understood why the city guards its culinary reputation so fiercely. “There’s a heritage around products,” he says. “It’s the access and the quality that’s always been at the forefront of cooking in Lyon.”
At Cour des Loges, that philosophy guides both restaurants. Everything comes from one central kitchen. “It creates a lot of harmony for the clients,” Doverman explains. Guests at Le Comptoir receive “a light version of the fine dining.” Menus shift constantly, depending on what’s available and in season. One of the signature dishes is close to chef Bonnet’s heart: pigeon, which he raised as a boy. “We always keep it on the menu,” Doverman says.
A seasonal dish at Les Loges highlighting local ingredients, a hallmark of Lyon’s culinary tradition.
NICOLAS VILLION/courtesy of Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel
Beyond the hotel, Doverman loves the feel of Vieux Lyon itself. “People often talk about the charm walking through the cobbled streets and the little independent shops,” he says. “It hasn’t been overtaken by chains. It still has a homely feel about it.”
Here are Doverman’s favorite ways to eat and wander in Lyon.
Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse: Lyon’s iconic covered market, named after the city’s most famous chef, is a temple to regional specialties, including charcuterie, cheeses, oysters and pastries. “It’s a national pride,” says Doverman, who recommends going on a weekend morning when the market “smells of garlic and parsley.”
Brasserie Georges: Founded in 1836, the Belle Époque Brasserie Georges is one of the city’s grand dining institutions. “People go for the atmosphere and the traditional dishes, like boudin noir,” says Doverman.
Bouchon Tupin: A bouchon is Lyon’s traditional neighborhood restaurant, serving hearty dishes like slow-cooked meats in an intimate setting. Tupin is the bouchon that Doverman recommends. Don’t miss the quenelles (“really good”) and the pâté en croûte (“a finalist in the World Pâté en Croûte Championship”).
Facade of the famous Lyon pastry shop, Pralus.
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Pâtisserie Chocolaterie Pralus: No trip to Lyon is complete without visiting an outpost of Pralus to try the city’s most famous brioche, praluline, which is studded with bright pink pralines and coated in rose-colored sugar. “It’s an institution,” says Doverman. “Everyone stops there. Even at the airport, you can get them in tins. Everyone goes home with one.”
Duclef: Part pastry shop, part specialty coffee bar and tea room, Duclef sits just steps from Saint-Jean Cathedral in Old Lyon. It was founded in 2022 by pastry chefs Auriane and Maxime. Doverman praises its “modern takes on classics.”
The façade of Brochier Soieries, one of the few Lyon workshops still practicing traditional silk printing.
Brochier SoieriesSilk, Still By Hand
Long before it became synonymous with gastronomy, Lyon built its fortune on silk. In the 16th century, the city became Europe’s silk capital. That legacy lives on at Brochier Soieries, a silk house with an atelier in Vieux Lyon and a museum inside the restored Grand Hôtel-Dieu, a former 18th-century hospital in the city center.
“Lyon is known for the work of weaving,” Gabriel Hahn, a master printer and colorist at Brochier, told me in an interview. “Here we do print, which is something a bit different.”
The silk-screen technique Brochier uses is ancient in origin but was refined in Lyon in the 1920s and 1930s through photo-engraving, an innovation that modernized the process while preserving its precision. Brochier Soieries is one of the few workshops in France still practicing this highly specialized craft.
Gabriel Hahn, master printer and colorist at Brochier Soieries, reviewing color samples in the Lyon atelier.
Brochier Soieries,
Everything in the atelier is done by hand, and the work demands both technical expertise and instinct. Hahn came to the craft unexpectedly. Eleven years ago, he left a job in banking to learn the trade from scratch. “Life sometimes is made of luck,” he says.
What keeps the workshop relevant is its ability to produce small, highly specialized runs that few others can execute. “We allow people to have small productions using this very specific process,” he says. “Basically nobody else does.”
Silk panels stretch across the print tables at Brochier Soieries, where designs are produced in small, highly specialized runs.
Brochier Soieries
Beyond producing scarves for museums and collectors, the workshop also offers paint-on-silk sessions allowing visitors to create their own piece using professional dyes—a tactile way to experience Lyon’s textile heritage.
Here, Hahn shares a few of his favorite spots in Lyon.
Rosary Garden (Jardin du Rosaire): Just below the Basilica of Fourvière, this quiet garden of roses has one of the city’s most beautiful views without the crowds. “You have a view of Lyon which is amazing,” says Hahn. “It’s very calm and very pleasant.”
Colorful rose garden on the hills of Fourviere in Lyon.
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Gadagne Museum Garden: The museum’s rooftop garden is a hidden oasis in the Vieux Lyon. “You have this big garden in the middle of the city with Roman architecture around you,” Hahn says. “I find it very pleasant.”
Le Garet: For a classic bouchon experience, Hahn recommends the historic Le Garet. The menu often includes special dishes not listed, including seasonal game. “That’s the true experience,” he says.
Bridal creations by Lyon designer Morgan Kirch in his Vieux Lyon showroom.
Maison Morgan KirchStyle And Tradition
For fashion designer Morgan Kirch, Lyon isn’t just a backdrop. It’s the foundation of his work. A Lyon native, Kirch launched Maison Morgan Kirch more than a decade ago with his mother. The brand is known for refined, feminine pieces that balance classic tailoring with modern lines. “It’s a balance between tradition and modernity,” he told me in an interview. “Timeless, but creative.”
That balance mirrors the city itself. “The heritage of silk is very present,” he says. “But there is also an Italian influence in lifestyle and elegance.” Lyon’s proximity to Italy has long shaped its aesthetic in architecture, in craftsmanship and in the understated polish of its residents.
Lyon designer Morgan Kirch, founder of Maison Morgan Kirch.
Morgan Kirch
Kirch operates a ready-to-wear boutique in the 6th arrondissement and recently opened a bridal showroom in Vieux Lyon. He also designed the uniforms for Cour des Loges, drawing inspiration from the property’s architectural details. Scarves echo interior motifs, and even the buttons subtly reference the hotel’s identity.
His attachment to the city runs deep. “I am from Lyon. This city is part of who I am,” he says. He describes Lyon as human in scale. “Life here is good. One can breathe. One can create.”
For Kirch, Lyon is a constant source of inspiration, from the “quiet mystery and hidden beauty” of the traboules to the banks of the Rhône, which he calls “always vibrant and elegant.” He also loves its location: two hours from the sea, two hours from the mountains and two hours from Paris. “It is a crossroads of influences,” he says, “a balance between tradition and modernity—precisely the spirit of the Maison.”
Inside Morgan Kirch’s ready-to-wear boutique in Lyon’s 6th arrondissement.
Maison Morgan Kirch
Here are some of Kirch’s favorite spots in Lyon.
La Meunière: “For a perfect day in Lyon, you have to start early with a traditional Lyonnais mâchon at La Meunière,” says Kirch. A mâchon is a hearty and savory breakfast, built around charcuterie and local specialties.
Les Puces du Canal: On Sundays, you’ll find Kirch at Lyon’s sprawling flea market. “When it comes to décor, I have a real soft spot for pieces with character, and I love hunting for unique furniture at the Puces du Canal,” he says.
Le Guilloux: For tailored suits, Kirch recommends designer Sébastien Le Guilloux’s Lyon boutique, where garments are custom made. “You can choose the color, the material, everything,” he says.
The garden of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.
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Musée des Beaux-Arts: Housed in a former abbey near Place des Terreaux, this museum offers Impressionist masterpieces without the crowds you’ll find in Paris institutions like Le Louvre. Kirch appreciates being able to “take your time” with the art.
Parc de la Tête d’Or: In spring, the greenhouses and lake at this park offer an elegant place to walk, reset and enjoy what Kirch calls a “beautiful moment” in the city.
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Dining and Cooking