Lyons Wine & City

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Lyons Wine & City

The loire

Lyons

Lyons Wine & City

29 May - 1 June 2008, 4 - 7 June 2009

Our innovative programme of Wine & City trips is aimed at the more independent traveller who would also like to spend a couple of days in a party being taken to wine visits in the company of a wine expert (invaluable of course on a wine tour). You book your own travel arrangements and meet up at the hotel on the first evening. This gives you the freedom to decide how you wish to travel and the length of your trip.

The excellent value of these trips means that combined with taking advantage of any special travel deals you might find - that you still have the peace of mind that the actual tour part is put together by a fully bonded, professional tour operator. If you book hotel elements etc yourself direct via the web you generally have no financial or legal comeback. The advantage of having a coach for a couple of days also saves on the inevitable argument about whose turn it is to drive!

Our base for the weekend is the beautiful city of Lyons, in a central 3* hotel within walking distance of the Medieval quarter and the numerous "bouchons" (wine-bar/brasseries) for which Lyons is famed. There are many restaurants to choose from and we will give you a list of our tried and tested suggestions based on 15 years of visiting this lovely city. To our mind Lyons is one of the most under-rated cities in France, with its attractive setting on two River fronts, its magnificent Roman museum set high up on Fourviere hill and its fascinating medieval quarter, reputed to be the largest in Europe. It also has the highest concentration of Michelin starred restaurants in France, after Paris. Far too many people whizz past here on their way to the South of France and miss out!

Our two days spent wine touring are to two very different, but very interesting regions. To the South, we spend a day in the Northern Rhone, tasting wines from Condrieu and Cote Rotie and a wide selection including Hermitage over lunch.To the North we visit the un-spoilt villages of the Beaujolais Cru and have lunch at a beautiful wine Chateau in Fleurie. An event that you cannot organise if you are travelling independently. This will be a day discovering the very best of Beaujolais, a far cry from the fruity "banana" flavoured "nouveaux" which sadly has done much to damage the image of these delightful wines.