In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

Image 36 of 76

Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

My first hours in Lyon may have been inauspicious in a gastronomic sense, but they were just as satisfying as a dish of raviolis d'escargots: a hot snack, a decent wine and the honor of meeting a high official of the Jim Morrison Fan Club. Lyon couldn't have said bienvenue and bon appetit any better.<br>
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As French cities go, Lyon seems slightly quirky, a bit less formal than, say, Paris or Nice -- except when certain high-end restaurants require it.<br>
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And, of course, the bouchons here won't let you go hungry. A bouchon is a casual cafe with menus (or slate boards) heavy on local specialties, literally heavy: fried stomach, pork sausage, veal sausage, pig-intestine sausage, sheep trotters, calf brain ...<br>
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-- Robert Cross<br>
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Read more: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-lyonfrance-sns-12apr07,1,1167210.story">A taste of Lyon</a><br>
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<i>Pictured: The Lyon Opera House</i>

Lyon, France

( Philippe Ruault / Pritzker Prize )

My first hours in Lyon may have been inauspicious in a gastronomic sense, but they were just as satisfying as a dish of raviolis d'escargots: a hot snack, a decent wine and the honor of meeting a high official of the Jim Morrison Fan Club. Lyon couldn't have said bienvenue and bon appetit any better.

As French cities go, Lyon seems slightly quirky, a bit less formal than, say, Paris or Nice -- except when certain high-end restaurants require it.

And, of course, the bouchons here won't let you go hungry. A bouchon is a casual cafe with menus (or slate boards) heavy on local specialties, literally heavy: fried stomach, pork sausage, veal sausage, pig-intestine sausage, sheep trotters, calf brain ...

-- Robert Cross

Read more: A taste of Lyon

Pictured: The Lyon Opera House