If there is a city definitely not lacking in markets, it is greater Lyon, which boasts not less than 300. A record for French cities! Each district has its own market, a place that recalls the village places where one can find fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, flowers, wine or clothing. And then there are thematic markets, such as the booksellers' market on the banks of the Saône, market for plants at la Création. Places for meetings and conviviality, the markets are also a slice of life where one as easily finds Lyons' middle class as one finds students and families from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

A small selection of markets that absolutely must be experienced:

Gabriel Chevallier wrote Clochemerle in the 1930s, while spending his vacation in the Eaux de Vaux hotel in the Beaujolais region. Clochemerle is a novel about morals and a social critique that is as colourful as satirical. It introduces a wine-growing mayor, who decides to install a urinal near the church, in hopes of securing his political career. This piece of infrastructure becomes the center of resentment in the village and the main theme for this world-famous novel. Taking after Clochemerle, Vaux (or the other way around!) has developed, since the summer of 2006, into an oenological-tourist hub that invites guests to (re)discover the novel through village streets leading to the famous urinal. «Clochemerle»  offers a free sampling club, as well as «acoustic window boxes»  that border the rue Gabriel Chevallier and broadcast extracts from the book strategically throughout the village.

Information and contact: Clochemerle, Espace communication, 69460 Vaux en Beaujolais (locate).Tel. + 33 (0) 474 032 882 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Leave Beaujeu on foot or mountain bike for an interesting trail with splendid country views,that leads you from where the tanners worked along the Ardières river, past a paper mill, the building where mined stone was crushed which later became a hydroelectric station and finally to the old 'tacot' (small gauge train) line.

Contact and informations: