Last time I was in Lyon was 2003. We were chasing some lost train tickets and only discovered the best bits – the proper old town – a day before leaving. This time, forewarned and forearmed, that’s where we spent a lot of our time.

We walked and walked and walked, which is probably harder to do in Lyon than it is in Paris because it’s so much more hilly. You have the silk district – Croix Rousse – and the hill up to Fourviere and the huge church (accurately described as a dead elephant with its legs up in the air), each of which require some hefty calf work.

So anyway, we arrived on Tuesday after the kind of train journey you’d never get at home. Comfortable seats, quiet carriages, perfectly behaved kids, a service that runs according to some kind of timetable… it was almost a shame to arrive. Particularly as the areas around Lyon’s stations are so dumpy.

Anyhow, we checked into our room and went exploring. Who would have known that Lyon would be such a catch for Art Deco buildings. I remembered the old Pathe cinema, of course, but look at this friendly building.

Oh, hai!

That sits out at the end of the little skyscraper district on the Part Dieu side of the river where you can live in great looking buildings like this:

Art Deco architecture, Lyon

And in the evenings you can take the metro into town and watch a film at this great-looking cinema, complete with a golden crowing cockerel on the top of its tower:

Pathe cinema, Lyon

We didn’t do that, of course. We were too busy walking and eating. Lyon is rightly famous for its gastronomy and we had some excellent meals, but it’s pretty lame if you’re a proper vegetarian. I ate fish twice a day every day. Not that that was a problem as it was universally excellent. We ate lunches outside in the sun on the huge Place Bellecour, and dinners outside in the old town on wobbly little tables perched precariously on the street cobbles.

We did give in to our aching feet once – when we took the funicular up the hill to the basilica. You can’t help but notice this enormous white building as it dominates the skyline, looking down on the city and the river. It’s a cool refuge from the sun at the height of the day, and right by the Roman ruins, which have stood over the city for a couple of thousand years and are in surprisingly good condition. Particularly when you consider they’re free to enter and you can clamber all over them (although you do get shouted at if you climb up anything properly perpendicular).

Traboule courtyard, Lyon

Highlights of Lyon? Rather shamefully it was probably the food, which I didn’t think I’d say as we trained out to Les Halles, which is supposed to show off the city’s culinary delights but fell short of the same in Nimes.

Still, pike souffle can do a lot to win you over. Particularly when it’s followed by Terrine de Pain Perdu Brioche – effectively a very naughty, rich, sticky bread pudding made with brioche. I need to find out how you make it.