Lyon, France

Americans are pretty good at memorizing the biggest city/capital of foreign countries. Ask someone about Ecuador, and Quito will pop up right away. They aren't so good about the No. 2 cities.

In France, that city is Lyon - a place that certainly deserves a little love in such matters. It's something like Chicago to Paris' New York/Washington - an interesting place with plenty to do.

Geography obviously played a huge role in the development of this city. The Rhone is the biggest river in France, and the Saone is one of the biggest tributaries. They meet in Lyon, so you can imagine that it was a natural spot for a city to bloom. The peninsula formed by the two of them is called Presqu'ile, and it has some of the city's major shopping areas and biggest public areas. Then there's Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), with many ancient buildings located on the Saone. My guess is that tourists stay rather close to those areas if they are in for a short visit (we certainly did), although there are some attractions outside the region.

The videos usually make a city look fabulous. This one is no exception:



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