Lyon Excursions: City Streets & Glacial Lakes
I wrote a blog post last week about the how fantastic the accessibility of Lyon is, and how the general walkability of the city has made public transportation unnecessary for myself. Because I’ve seen so much of Lyon by foot, I can’t quite put my finger on any favorite place or landmark in this city. As cliché as it sounds, I love all physical aspects of Lyon, especially the narrow streets and hidden gems I walk by that I wouldn’t even be able to find on a map again.*
*This is actually a true story. There was this great little restaurant I ate dinner at along the river, that I swear does not exist anymore. I have walked by multiple times where I thought the restaurant was, and cannot seem to find it again. I don’t know whether or not to attribute this to my terrible navigation skills, or the fact that Lyon has so many quaint alleyways to get lost within!
In the past four years I have grown to love the city of Boston so much, but I always used to complain about how sterile some of the downtown streets felt. You can walk along a street for a while and only find office buildings, apartment foyers, or large brand-name stores. I suppose if you go to any financial or industrial downtown in a big American city, you’ll see exactly what I mean. There is hardly any character in the streets, and you don’t take time out your day to walk from Point A to B just because you might find something worthwhile along the way.
The streets in Europe have a completely different vibe and layout. Nearly every small road and offshoot of the bustling main avenues are filled with an eclectic mix of shops, cafés, boutiques, and more. I can wander around Lyon in search of a baguette, and expect to have such a variety of consistently delicious options laid out in the next couple blocks. Thankfully, smaller, speciality stores and coffee shops are becoming much more popular in Boston, like in the South End.
My favorite excursions away from Lyon have been to the lake town of Annecy, and to Geneva, Switzerland. Both cities are located in the French-Swiss Alps, which means they’re both surrounded by towering mountains and crystal-clear glacial bodies of water— Lac d’Annecy and Lac Léman to be specific. The water in these lakes is clearer than any tropical beach I’ve been to, and so clean that the tourists were actually encouraged to drink from them. The majority of the public fountains in Geneva were also running with potable water, meaning you could refill your water bottle under just about any majestic marble fountainhead you found. The only downside was the steep price of basically everything in Switzerland. But you don’t become known for your fancy chocolate and quality watches by having them affordable!
One of the reasons this dialogue was a top pick for me was the fact that our class had the opportunity to go on a guided visit inside of the United Nations palace! The featured picture above is the view of the Palais des Nations building from the street, with the iconic row of member states’ flags visible through the gates. Of course, a self-guided and independent tour would have been the best, but that will have to wait for when I work there in the future.
