Lyon Private Food & Wine Tour

Arrive at Lyon’s airport or train station; your friendly driver and elegant Mercedes will be waiting. Transfer to your beautiful 5-star hotel, Cour des Loges, to drop off your luggage and freshen up. You will meet your friendly local guide for the first gourmet activity of this unforgettable tour—a private food tour in the UNESCO-listed historic district of Vieux Lyon. The pedestrian-only area of Saint-Jean features a stunning cathedral, as well as winding, narrow streets lined with cafés and restaurants. The architecture here is from the Renaissance epoch, with an Italianate feel. You can admire stunning façades and palaces, a testament to Lyon’s wealthy past as a silk production center.

You will encounter numerous “Traboules”—curious passageways that run beneath or even through private buildings, often leading through a courtyard. These create a secret maze through the old town. The name “Traboules” comes from the Latin term “Transambulare,” which means “to walk through,” and these alleyways date back to the 16th century. These passageways were later used by Lyon’s silk workers to move between the hillside workshops and the merchants below. During the French Resistance, they were heavily used as escape routes. Your guide will regale you with stories and anecdotes about these historic lanes as you walk through them.

You will meet a passionate cheesemonger, wine bar owner, restaurant owner, chef, and even a beer master on this culinary walking tour as you taste your way through town! You will learn all about the local history and food culture, too. In the afternoon, check in and enjoy some jetlag relief at your hotel’s exclusive spa.

For a pre-dinner apéritif, you’ll be welcomed into a luxurious private apartment overlooking the chic Rue de la République for an exclusive Champagne tasting. The premium Champagne producer (Côte des Bars ), Champagne Lombardi, has renovated this beautiful space into a unique tasting venue with a cellar, reception area, and tasting room.

Next, proceed to enjoy dinner at one of Lyon’s renowned “bouchons.” Tucked away on a side street lies a charming restaurant, Café des Fédérations, that has defiantly withstood the passage of time—making it a true stalwart in the community’s gastronomic landscape. The vintage wood paneling and graceful white draperies have remained untouched for years, and with good reason; they embody the place’s timeless allure. Here, you will dine sumptuously, with the restaurant’s crowning glory being its extensive wine list.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and a later start today to catch up on sleep. Today, you’ll learn to chop, mince, cut, dress, roast, and bake like a French chef! Meet your private, professional chef, and start with a tour of the buzzing farmers’ market on the River Saône bank. The atmosphere is simply fantastic! After food shopping together, you will walk to his cute cooking school in the heart of the historic Renaissance district and enjoy a 3-hour hands-on class, followed by a wine lunch. You will learn helpful tips and entertaining anecdotes about French cooking. Your handsome chef, Thierry, has been trained at Ferrandi in Paris and Paul Bocuse’s institute, and the experience, while educational, is completely relaxed and friendly.

The afternoon is then free, giving you time to explore Fourvière Hill with its impressive basilica, delve into ancient Roman ruins, or visit the Fine Arts Museum, which features a serene cloister and garden adorned with sculptures—a restful haven in the city. Then take a Funicular ride back to the city center.

This evening, you will have ample time to prepare and dress up for tonight’s fantastic Michelin experience, a food and wine pairing dinner in the mecca of ‘gastronomie française’- Paul Bocuse Auberge Pont de Collonges. This is the most famous Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. Tonight, instead of your chauffeur, a private captain will sail you to your dining destination! You will sail to Paul Bocuse’s restaurant on a small yacht with a glass of champagne, admiring Lyon in a different light as you glide past colorful buildings and a mysterious island. Upon disembarking, a valet will welcome you and accompany you to this legendary restaurant, just a few minutes’ walk from the riverbank pier. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for food lovers; you will create wonderful memories at this self-described culinary circus. Indeed, dinner is a beautiful show!

Today, you will explore some of Lyon’s most exciting areas on a relaxing, private bike tour, an excellent way to balance out all the delicious, sumptuous cuisine you will enjoy on this trip! Meet your guide, put your helmets on, and jump on your electric bicycles for a glorious ride along the Rhône River. You’ll cycle past the beautifully renovated quays, riverboats, and Lyon’s surprising outdoor Olympic swimming pool with its daring sixties design. Follow the river further south (don’t worry, the ride is gentle) until you reach the peninsula’s tip, the Confluence district. Here, the rivers Saône and Rhône converge, and the impressive Musée des Confluences is situated.

If you are interested in ethnography and natural science, this is a must-visit; even if you’re not, take some time to admire the building itself, a statement of modern architecture. Follow the riverbank and arrive at the renovated docks “Confluence.” Depending on your preferences, you can enjoy a salad in a riverside restaurant, a wood-oven pizza in a trendy eatery, or a gourmet sandwich in front of the river. During the ride, your guide will share how the area has transformed over the past decade, evolving from warehouses to environmentally friendly condos.

In the afternoon, your guide will take you to the former silk-weaving district La Croix-Rousse Hill, a bohemian-chic area with many cafés, boutiques, and beautiful views over the city below. Your bike guide will drop you off at a lovely venue and take the bikes off your hands, freeing you up for the next activity. You will now meet your bubbly, American wine expert in her gorgeous home with traditional high ceilings (made extra high for the weaving looms the artisans used while working here in the 1800s).

Your super-friendly and knowledgeable host will guide you through a fun wine workshop with a particular focus on the wines of the Rhône and Beaujolais (which you will be visiting on this trip). The wines will be paired with local cheese and charcuterie, of course. And after an afternoon full of wine and laughter, your private chauffeur will whisk you back to your hotel for a rest.

The night is yours; check out your personalized keepsake itinerary with all our dining tips. Apart from the many Michelin restaurants and traditional bouchons, Lyon is also the home of many young chefs with strong classic training and cooking experiences across the globe. All of them are deeply involved in sustainable sourcing and farm-to-table dining. We recommend fantastic dining with a twist, such as an acclaimed gourmet vegetarian restaurant or a trendy French-Vietnamese bistro.

The verdant hills, medieval hamlets, and historic châteaux of the beautiful Beaujolais await you. This gorgeous wine region north of Lyon (and just south of Burgundy) specializes in fruity red wines made with the Gamay grape. Although the region is one of the oldest wine regions in France (vines were planted here by the Ancient Romans), until very recently, the Beaujolais wines were considered easy-going, light, everyday wines (not collector’s wines). However, many passionate winemakers are making increasingly excellent wines, and you will taste some of the best examples of Beaujolais being made today. Ten villages, going from north to south, have attained ‘cru’ status, including Juliénas, St-Amour, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly.

This morning, your first visit is with a very friendly local winemaker, Jean-Luc, at Domaine Longère; you have an “insider’s experience” in store! Your driver will bring you to the village of Vaux-en-Beaujolais, nicknamed Clochemerle after a book written there in the 1930s, a social satire depicting countryside life in a small wine village at the time. You will spend the morning at a scenic vineyard with your host, exploring the vines on a ‘vigneron walk,’ visiting the winery, and tasting his selection of white, red, and rosé Beaujolais and his sparkling Crémant.

Next, indulge in a picnic amid the vines, complete with a bottle of Beaujolais Cru; these are the moments memories are made of. There is no better way to understand a region and its wines than to share the simple things in life with a local. This is a charming, unstuffy glimpse of the true “art de vivre à la Française.”

Carry on next to the cru village of Villié-Morgon, where you have another fun visit planned. We love Domaine Gérard Brisson for two reasons other than their great, rare, vintage Morgon cuvée wines. They are even more passionate about cheese than we are and offer a fantastic cheese-and-wine pairing. Secondly, they have top-class vintage Bentleys available on-site for a spin around the vineyards, both of which you will enjoy today!

Before your driver takes you back to Lyon, you’ll have time to visit one or two of the loveliest hamlets in Beaujolais, such as Salles Arbuissonas, Oingt, or Saint-Amour.

For dinner tonight, look forward to the complete ‘Brasserie experience’ at Brasserie Georges, an institution renowned for its delicious choucroutes and home-brewed beer.

If you’re an early riser and interested in antiques, vintage furniture, and design, we highly recommend Lyon’s Puces du Canal (France’s second-biggest flea market, after Paris’s Puces de Saint-Ouen). There are few places as wonky, eccentric, and unbelievable as this famous market, with over 400 merchants, and you will most certainly find some gems. Your local food expert guide will take you gourmet shopping in the late morning, with some tastings included. You will visit the exceptional Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, among other select locations. This covered market is named after Bocuse and is a gourmet Mecca. Here, Lyon’s chefs buy their top produce, and locals come for food splurges; the quality is top-notch, and this is one of the highest-end markets in France.

Your guide will escort you to the mythical Sève Chocolate studio in the early afternoon. A private, VIP chocolate-making class with the one and only Maître Chocolatier Pâtissier Richard Sève himself will be organized for you! This is fun, and you will learn some cool chocolate secrets, not to mention taste some goodies.

Late afternoon is at your leisure; go sightseeing or relax with some spa treatments. If you are interested in film, we highly recommend the Lumière Brothers museum, which is dedicated to the invention of the “Cinématographe.” You could also enjoy a pleasant stroll in Parc de la Tête d’Or, Lyon’s oldest and most famous park with centennial trees, a lake and rowboats, and tropical greenhouses. Freshen up at your hotel, and then you might like to have a pre-dinner drink at Les Muses wine bar on the opera house’s rooftop, where the well-heeled locals go.

Tonight is your last dinner in Lyon and the best place to end your exploration of Lyonnaise cuisine. You will be wined and dined at La Mère Brazier, a two-Michelin-starred institution. Supertalented executive chef Mathieu Vianney continues the tradition of legendary chef Eugénie Brazier (one of the female chefs who invented and perfected Lyonnaise cuisine) in a modern, very talented way.

Your chauffeur will take you south into the Northern Rhône, beginning in Tain-l’Hermitage beneath the celebrated Hermitage vineyards. First up is the wine town of Tain-l’Hermitage, on the bank of the River Rhône. A fabulous (gentle) hike in the most famous Syrah vines is on the agenda! You’ll visit the famous Hermitage vineyards with an amiable wine expert from the super-premium wine Maison Delas Frères. Delas-Frères is a top-shelf producer in the Rhône, with single vineyards and holdings in all the top sub-appellations in the Northern Rhône, such as Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Péray, and Condrieu. They also make renowned wines in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhône.

An extraordinary wine tasting will be organized outside in a picturesque setting in the middle of the vineyards, with the majestic Rhône Valley below. You will also see the tiny Hermitage Chapel where the knight Gaspard de Stérimberg planted the first vines; at least, that’s how the legend goes! Back at the beautiful Delas house after the walk, you will taste more of their portfolio in a dedicated tasting room.

Lunch will follow at Le Fief de Gambert, overlooking the Hermitage vineyards. The restaurant showcases seasonal cooking alongside wines from the Cave de Tain.

After lunch, you will have free time in Tain l’Hermitage for wine or chocolate shopping. This is, after all, the home of Valrhona, the Rolls-Royce of Chocolate!

In the afternoon, your chauffeur will bring you to your last port of call on this fantastic food- and wine-themed week: a private 17th-century Château La Gallée in Mont du Lyonnais in the Coteaux du Lyonnais wine country (midway between Lyon and Côte-Rôtie). After settling in for a rest and free time for a siesta or a walk on the grounds, you will meet the owner, who will take you to the stunning historic kitchen.

Tonight, you will enjoy a cooking class with a private chef. This is a gratifying, convivial, and relaxed way to conclude your vacation. After the class, your dinner creations and the chef’s extras will be served with fine estate wines in a private salon. You will sleep on-site in a gorgeous room with ceiling frescoes and period furniture. Magnifique!

After a sumptuous French Château breakfast, your driver will collect you to take you to Lyon’s airport or train station or your next port of call. All of these work logistically if you want to extend this trip with a few more days in Burgundy, Paris, or Champagne. We hope you had a truly spectacular time in Gourmet Lyon and its nearby wine country this week!