Lyon

Free, open daily 7am-8pm and to 9pm on Sundays; the crypt 8am-6.30pm and the museum Wednesday to Sunday. Take the F2 funicular or climb 25 minutes through the Rosaire gardens.

Museum Tuesday to Friday 11am-6pm and weekends from 10am, €4-7. The theatres themselves are open 7am-9pm from May to September and 7am-7pm the rest of the year.

Around 500 covered passages cut through the buildings, about 80 of them open to the public and roughly 50 accessible 7am-7pm under a 1990 agreement with residents. Free, and people live behind those doors.

Natural history and anthropology in a steel wedge where the rivers meet. €12, €7 at 18-25, free under 18. Tuesday to Sunday 10.30am-6.30pm, and to 10pm on the first Thursday of the month.

The Bouchons Lyonnais label, run by the chamber of commerce with the tourist office, marks the places actually cooking quenelles and andouillette rather than trading on the word.

Thirty-one trains a day from Gare de Lyon, the fastest in 1 hour 43 minutes, arriving at Part-Dieu, Perrache or the airport. Fares start around €10 if you book early.

Direct European flights east of the city, and some TGVs stop at the airport's own Saint-Exupéry TGV station rather than the centre.

The F2 runs from Vieux Lyon metro station up to Fourvière and the F1 to Saint-Just; bus 55 covers the same hill. Both are part of the city network.

May-June and September: warm, dry, and either side of the August closures.

January-March is cheapest and coldest, though the museums stay open throughout.

Early December for the Fête des Lumières, when the whole city sells out.

Funicular up to Fourvière for the basilica and the view along the Saône before the coaches arrive.

Walk down through the Roman theatres into Vieux Lyon and work along the traboules off Rue Saint-Jean.

A labelled bouchon. Portions are large and the menu runs heavily to offal, so vegetarians should plan elsewhere.

Cross to the Presqu'île for Les Halles Paul Bocuse, or take the tram south to the Musée des Confluences.

Apéritif on the Rhône quays, then up the Croix-Rousse slopes for dinner and bars.

A walled medieval village on a hill about 40 minutes east, known for its sugared galette and for being almost entirely intact.

Vineyards start within an hour in both directions: Beaujolais north of the city, the steep Rhône slopes around Vienne to the south.