THE GOOD LIFE IN LYON

One day, we ran out of flour while baking but found we had a back-up bag in the pantry, and I turned to my husband and said, “That feels like a sign we’re living the good life.” Since then, it’s become a happy little habit in our household to name signs of the good life when we find them. From a well-stocked pantry to a vase of flowers on the dining table, the signs of the good life we’ve identified are the things that make us the most content, and make us feel like the work we put in to achieve the life we want is well worth it. 

What constitutes “the good life” is, of course, personal. It varies from individual to individual, and it often differs widely among generations. But it’s also cultural. And with hundreds and hundreds of cultures out there, there are different versions of the good life waiting to be discovered all over the world. It’s possible to travel to other countries and eat only at chain restaurants you can find back home, or bounce between major monuments and come home with only miniature souvenir versions of those monuments to show for it; but in my book, the best travelers are the ones who travel to discover a taste of the good life according to the place they’re in. By being observant, open, and curious, a traveler can discover what real daily life looks like in another place—and if you’re lucky, and if you play your cards right, you may just get to go a step further and sample the good life in that place. Once you do, it’s addicting. I find myself wanting to spend my life traveling the world in search of as many different versions of the good life as I have the good fortune to experience. Each one is unique and special, and alluring in its own way.

I am but one individual traveler, originally from America but particularly head over heels for a few of the different European versions of the good life. Here in Lyon for a month of creative work courtesy of a grant from the Alexa Rose Foundation, I’ve been in France for three weeks now, having also studied abroad here in college and visited from time to time over the years; and from what I have seen, experienced, and tasted, the French version of the good life is one of my favorites in all the world. It prioritizes well-made food created with high-quality, fresh ingredients, ideally purchased at a market or a specialty shop. It involves lots of time spent outside and gathering with friends and family in the fresh air, be it a park picnic or on a sunny terrace. And though there are many subcategories of the French good life—a crisp-mountain-air-and-hot-cheese version in the Alps, a luxe version in Paris, and many more—there is a uniquely French quality to all of them, and personally, I adore each and every one.

When planning my month in France, I chose Lyon because it was one of the major cities in France I had yet to check out, and because it has a worldwide reputation for excellent food. I loved it right away, but it took me awhile to pinpoint the reasons why Lyon felt so special to me, and why it became one of my favorite places in France so quickly. I finally realized it’s because the French good life is all around in Lyon; it somehow feels as though the air here is filled with it. This is a city of people who truly love good food, with proud and uniquely rich gastronomic traditions and exceptionally strong culinary expertise to match. It’s a city where enormous outdoor farmer’s markets take place six days a week and feature the very best locally made goods, from cheeses to honey, jams, oils, and fresh produce brought directly from the countryside. It has not one, but two rivers—and double the riverside strolls because of it—as well as several lovely public squares made for spending time outside. It’s also the home of France’s largest urban park, where citizens of all walks of life come to picnic with their favorite people in the fresh air. I could go on and on, but these are just some of the things that make the quality of life in Lyon so outstanding—and why that “good life” feeling is all around, with a distinctly French flavor.

For me, that flavor has tasted like daily croissants so flaky, delicious, and enormous I want to take up residence inside one and never move. (I’m unsure if one needs a special visa to do this—will look into it and report back.) It’s tasted like chèvre, and Saint-Marcellin, and Comté made in summer, when the cows have been eating all manner of wildflowers and grasses. And who could forget the wine? It explodes on the palette, especially Beaujolais, which comes from an area close to Lyon; it makes me grin after every sip, just because we as a species have figured out how to make something that tastes like that. It’s looked like near-daily trips to the Croix-Rousse market, where over a hundred vendors gather every day but Monday and practice patience and kindness as non-native speakers like myself test their French vocabulary for an endless variety of different foods, along with quantity words like “a slice” and “a package” and “a bundle.” It’s looked like sitting down on a sunny bench just because it’s unoccupied and everyone else is doing the same, in search of a moment or two of peace or simply the chance to soak it all in.

In America, we often perceive life in France as being “fancy,” and fancy usually means not universally accessible. But in all these examples and a hundred more, the good life in Lyon feels particularly within reach, even for travelers and those on a budget. It’s true that you can blow a huge amount of dough here if you so choose; there is some absolutely incredible fine dining to be had, and in fact, Lyon’s Rue de Boeuf is the most Michelin-starred street in France. But travelers on a mission to discover new versions of the good life should mostly be looking for everyday life, as opposed to a life that is somehow made entirely of special occasions (although you should definitely have some special occasion meals here if you can!). This is because the everyday version of the good life is simply the best one for really getting to know another place. And to me, Lyon feels like a particularly perfect place to do that, for a couple of different reasons.

First, a very interesting component of the “special sauce” that makes Lyon such a great place to experience the good life in France: the city is a hub for ingredients of the best quality, and great food starts with great ingredients. A few days ago, I took a wonderful cooking class here in Lyon at Plum Teaching Kitchen, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about seasonal French cooking. In the class, I learned that because Lyon was a large Roman city, ancient roads have been making it possible to bring fresh ingredients into the city from the countryside from a very early date. Good food systems take a long time to build, and this early infrastructure means that Lyon has had centuries to work with. That’s where the layers of Lyon’s rich culinary history began, one on top of another over time, and it’s part of why the city has such a longstanding tradition of being a regional epicenter for locally produced goods of the highest quality. The freshest seasonal produce, countryside chickens that rightfully enjoy a set number of square meters per bird, and goat cheeses that were made literally yesterday—all these things and much more can be found at the markets in Lyon. When you start with such exceptional quality, everything from the poulet à la moutarde made with that chicken to the salad made with those in-season greens and topped with that goat cheese is all going to be superb, whether you make it yourself or order it at a restaurant from a chef went to the market that morning. And if you’re looking for a taste of the French good life on a budget, you can hit the market yourself with a ten-euro note and leave with a bevy of riches.

(On that note, it’s also true that everywhere in France, great food is not necessarily expensive; croissants are only a euro or two, and are likely to bring more joy than something that costs a hundred times more. Miniature quiches and excellent sandwiches, fresh strawberries and spring radishes with butter, individual fruit tarts and perfect, tiny rolls of brioche—all these things will make you feel like a million bucks, but only cost a few. And in Lyon, they seem to all be amazing. Every single one. I’m doing my best to work through them all, and so far, they range from pretty darn great to stop-everything-and-moan-about-it great. I’ll keep you posted, but I don’t expect to find any exceptions, and I may not be able to talk for all the moaning.)

And second on our list of reasons why the good life in Lyon is so exceptional and so accessible: this is a city that loves to be outside. This is true in many cities in France, but I think Lyon is an especially great example. It has several lovely public squares, one of which is among the largest in Europe, and the Parc de la Tête d’Or is almost 300 acres in size. This is great news for travelers, especially in spring and summer. With so much of life in Lyon happening outside, there is less happening behind closed doors; and chances to observe everyday life and have that sense of really being out “in it,” experiencing life in another place, are all around. This means that a traveler can sample the good life here just by sitting in a square, walking around, or having a coffee on a terrace. To boot, that delicious coffee you’re sipping at a streetside table won’t set you back more than a few euros, and parks are completely free. Sitting on a park bench, soaking up the French sunshine while surrounded by picnicking friends and families out for a stroll, is pure joy. It doesn’t cost a single centime, and there’s so much you can observe and learn while you’re there. I spent Easter Sunday in the Parc de la Tête d’Or, and it ended up being one of my favorite travel experiences in recent memory. There were large family groups there together with several generations present and absolutely fabulous picnics happening all around, and when I stopped and paid attention, I noticed there was a lot more soccer and kicking a ball around and fewer throwing sports (like Frisbee or playing catch) than you’d see at your average park in the US. Small details are such important pieces of any cultural puzzle, and I was grateful for the chance to click a few more of Lyon’s puzzle pieces into place while soaking up the sun and enjoying the holiday.

All these riches to enjoy—and despite stuffing myself with the very best things that butter can make every single day, I’ve actually lost a few pounds since arriving, and my resting heart rate has gone down three beats per minute in the three weeks I’ve been here. I’m walking a ton all over the city every day, and because my lovely apartment is positioned on the hill leading up to the Croix-Rousse—my favorite neighborhood by far—I’m climbing up and down hills to get to and from all this fabulous food, and I’ve never felt better. When I told all this to my husband during one of our FaceTime catch-ups, he said, “It’s amazing what happens when you’re living your best life.” It’s so true. Lyon makes me need a new category: signs of the best life. It’s going to be a long list.

Cheers,

Kate

P.S. If (when!) you come to Lyon, you likely won’t need any help at all to discover tastes of the French good life while you’re here—but just to help you get started, I would highly suggest you hit Partisan Boulanger for breakfast pastries and Le Potager des Halles for a fabulous lunch, and you absolutely must go to the Marché de La Croix-Rousse. Go on a Saturday if you can, let the vendors serve you instead of helping yourself, and bring small bills and coins. Bon voyage et bon appetit!