✨ Lyon: France’s Underrated Queen of Food, Silk, and Scandal

🧵 The City Woven in Silk

Lyon’s silk story begins in the 1500s, when King François I granted it the exclusive right to produce silk for the French court. What followed was a flourishing industry that turned the city into the silk capital of Europe.

By the 19th century, Lyon boasted over 100,000 silk weavers, known as canuts, who worked from small, high-ceilinged apartments in the Croix-Rousse district. These craftsmen helped dress royalty from Versailles to Vienna.

But it wasn’t all elegance. Lyon’s silk workers led one of the first major labor uprisings in modern Europe — the Canut Revolts of the 1830s — demanding fair wages and dignity. It’s part of Lyon’s identity: refined on the surface, rebellious underneath.

What you’ll see today:

• Traboules: Secret passageways built to transport silk rolls without exposing them to the elements (or thieves). Still walkable — and still a little mysterious.

• Maison des Canuts: A working silk workshop that tells the full story — the art, the politics, the human cost.

• Silk shops and ateliers: Many still use traditional looms and natural dyes. You can buy scarves, ties, or hand-printed fabric as a piece of history.

Why it matters:Silk isn’t just a material here — it’s a metaphor. Intricate, labor-intensive, luxurious, and stitched with memory.

🍷 Gastronomy: Lyon’s True Love Language

Lyon is often called the gastronomic capital of France — and it’s not an exaggeration.Located between Burgundy, the Alps, and the Rhône Valley, Lyon absorbs the best of everything: wine, cheese, truffles, and freshwater fish. It’s where French food became regional food — rustic and refined all at once.

The city is known for its bouchons — cozy, wood-paneled restaurants where meals are slow, buttery, and meant to be shared. These were originally run by the mothers of silk workers — known as les mères lyonnaises — who cooked hearty, soulful dishes that balanced art and survival.

Must-try dishes:

• Quenelles de brochet: Pike fish dumplings in rich Nantua sauce — like soufflé meets seafood.

• Salade Lyonnaise: Bitter greens, crisp bacon, and a runny poached egg — deceptively simple, endlessly satisfying.

• Andouillette: A bold, rustic sausage for the adventurous (or the Lyonnaise).

Where to go:

• Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse: A gourmet temple where you can taste, sip, and shop under one roof.

• La Mère Brazier: Michelin-starred elegance with deep historical roots (Paul Bocuse trained here).

• Café Comptoir Abel: An authentic bouchon tucked behind vines and time.

Wine to pair:

• Côte-Rôtie and Saint-Joseph (elegant reds from the northern Rhône)

• Beaujolais-Villages (cheerful and surprisingly food-friendly)

🕰️ A City Layered in History

Lyon doesn’t wear her history like a costume — it’s baked into the walls.

Founded by the Romans as Lugdunum in 43 BCE, Lyon once served as the capital of Gaul. You can still see the remains of their amphitheaters — one of which still hosts summer concerts under the stars.

In the Renaissance, the city became a hub of banking, printing, and trade — especially in silk. By the 1800s, it was the second-largest city in France, quietly building power while Paris made noise.

During World War II, Lyon played a critical role in the French Resistance. Its geography — with hills, rivers, and secret tunnels — made it an ideal place to hide fugitives, store weapons, and organize sabotage missions. Today, the Resistance and Deportation History Centre honors those stories with rare documents, testimonies, and quiet power.

Places to feel the layers:

• Vieux Lyon: A UNESCO World Heritage Site, with cobblestone streets and Renaissance facades

• Fourvière Hill: Roman ruins + a basilica that looks like it belongs in Byzantium

• Musée Gadagne: A museum inside a Renaissance mansion — focused on Lyon’s history and puppetry (yes, puppets! Guignol was born here)

💌 Why I Fell for Lyon (And You Might, Too)

Lyon is a city for women who don’t need the spotlight — but know how to own the room.

It’s silk and stone. Wine and resistance. Grand staircases and secret alleys.

When I wrote Patterns in Silk, I imagined women walking through these streets — tugging at hidden threads, following whispered clues, sipping wine while watching the Saône shimmer at sunset.

Lyon is full of story — and maybe, the next one is yours.

By Elizabeth Trester