Highlight Photos
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Place des Terreaux during the day -
Madeira coastline -
Place d’Albertas in Aix en Provence -
Roman Theater -
Funchal view -
Oingt entrance gate -
Famous Our Lady of Monte -
Jacobin Fountain -
Monte Palace Garden -
Romantic Chateau de la Roche -
Saint Tropez harbor -
Sao Tiago Fort -
Aix en Provence square -
Perouges entrance -
Machico Beach -
View from bridge -
Machico Fort from water -
São Lourenço Palace -
Annecy downtown -
Levada trail -
Perouges central square -
Quite narrow levada trail -
Inside the huge Cerdon Caves -
Beautiful Madeira coast -
Lyon cathedral -
View of Lyon from top -
Place des Terreaux at night -
Traboules et Cour des Voraces -
Chateau de Menthon Saint Bernard -
Canuts Mural -
Oingt street -
Chateau des Cornes d’Urfe -
Vichy water sources -
Vichy Opera House -
Le Crozet village square -
City Hall of Le Crozet -
Ambierle Abbey -
Cremieu from above -
Good trail, up to a point -
Beautiful view in Annecy -
Cremieu covered market -
Chapel above Leyrieu -
Vienne Roman Temple -
Vienne Roman Museum mosaics -
Vienne ruins -
Leyrieu church -
Bourgoin Jallieu silk museum -
Perouges village street -
Col de la Columbiere from above -
Annecy, the Venice of the Alps -
Quite beautiful Annecy downtown -
Four Dolphin fountain
Highlights Map
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As usual we plan an Europe trip this year to meet with family. It has to be a place where everyone can get to via plane easily and that no one has been before or is willing to see again. We align on Lyon a surprisingly beautiful city, a Unesco World Heritage Site even, that all of us can easily access and no one has visited. From there we expand the trip with a few days in Madeira just for us before meeting with the family and then a few days after to meet with some friends in Annecy and then to drive with them to Saint Tropez.
The plan went off mostly without a hitch. Madeira was a beautiful stop and we wish we could have stayed at least one more day to explore. Lyon is an underrated city, well worth visiting, and the surrounding area is very beautiful also with medieval villages and other attractions. Annecy was a let down for us given the huge number of tourists that made exploring uncomfortable. Same with Saint Tropez a bit but we enjoyed the beach time with our friends.
To learn more click on the Links below or Markers on the map above to go directly to a specific part of our trip and follow our visit to interesting Madeira and beautiful France.
- One night in CDG on the way to Funchal
Our trip starts with an overnight stay in Paris before leaving towards Madeira for our first trip segment on this beautiful island - The larger than expected Whale Museum
We start the day in the Whale Museum where we spend a couple hours exploring the interesting exhibits while waiting for our AirBnB to be ready - AirBnB and east side of Funchal
We spend part of the day exploring the area of Funchal east of our AirBnB eating dinner and walking along the waterfront on narrow streets - The fascinating Monte Gardens
We spend the afternoon in the Monte area exploring the famous church and extensive gardens and looking for birds while admiring the views - Machico, the beach town
Today is a day of birding starting in Machico but then we stay afterwards and explore the town and use the beautiful beaches - Looking for rare pelagic birds near Madeira
The first birding trip today is looking for pelagic birds and sea mammals but we are successful only with birds on the two hour trip - Wine and churches of Funchal
Late afternoon we go into downtown Funchal exploring the beautiful churches and wineries before finding a dinner place and returning to the AirBnB - Looking at night for Zino Petrels
We spend the evening into the night looking for Zino Petrels in the highest mountains of Madeira at their nesting grounds - Santana traditional houses
On the way to a levada trail we stop in Santana to find and explore the traditional houses before moving on - The exciting Levada do Rei
Our only levada hike during our short visit is Levada do Rei a beautiful but busy trail good for nice views and all Madeira endemic birds - Ruined Saint George Fort beach
We end the exploration of the north coast with a visit to the ruined Saint George Fort and the nearby beach before returning to Funchal for dinner - Beautiful views from Cristo Rei statue before leaving Madeira
Our last visit in Madeira is to the Cristo Rei statue on the way of the airport enjoying the great views for one last time before leaving towards Paris - Paris to Lyon hotel via the TGV and on foot
After a night in Paris we take for the first time a high speed train to Lyon before using a tram to go to the train station and then walking to our hotel - Exploring the beautiful Old Lyon area alone
We spend a couple days in Lyon at the outskirts of the beautiful Old Town exploring it thoroughly and walking through traboules - Deep diving into Vieux Lyon with relatives
Today we spend a lot of time in Old Lyon both exploring with our relative and just going from one attraction to another - Exploring Fourviere, the top of Lyon
From the Old Town we go up via funicular to Fourviere where we explore the beautiful basilique and enjoy the great views - The Roman Museum and ruins on Fourviere
Our major stop on Fourviere is the Roman Museum which is a must visit in our opinion and the ruins of the Roman Theater nearby - The enchanting and scary Museum of Film and Miniatures
The last major stop today is the scary but enthralling museum of film and miniatures which covers many famous blockbusters that we enjoyed - Half day exploration of Croix Rousse neighborhood
This morning we are exploring the Croix Rousse neighborhood with the famous Canut Mural, traboules and the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls - The huge Lyon Museum of Fine Arts
One of the major museums in Lyon is the Fine Arts museum and we spend an afternoon exploring its exhaustive and beautiful collections - Exploring between the Rhone and Saone in Lyon
After the museum we eat dinner and then explore the peninsula between the Rhone and Saone passing through beautiful plazas and strolling down narrow streets - Fossilea, a new, small but fun museum
Today we are driving to Vichy with the first stop being the new Fossilea museum full of prehistoric fossils including a large Ichthyosaur - Oingt, an enchanting medieval village
Our highlight today is the enchanting medieval village of Oingt one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France and a beautiful place to explore - Ternand a quaint little village
The second medieval village we visit today is Ternand a quaint small village worth visiting if in the area for a stroll through the quiet streets - The impressive Chateau des Cornes d’Urfe
Our last stop for the day is the impressive Chateau des Cornes d’Urfe now in ruins and freely visitable which is quite a bonus - A day exploring the spa town of Vichy
We spend one day in Vichy exploring the historic spa town that was also the capital of occupied France for a short period of time - A stroll through the famous Parc des Sources
One of the major attractions in Vichy is the Parc des Sources which has some of the most famous water sources and beautiful buildings - Following the edge of Lac d’Allier
We spend the afternoon exploring the shore of Lake d’Allier and birdwatching Parc Napoleon III while drinking water from the famous Source of Celestins - The charming village of Le Crozet
First stop today is in the enchanting village of character Le Crozet with a small but very picturesque old village center and an impressive church - The abbey village of Ambierle
Our second stop is the abbey village of Ambierle anchored by the large abbey complex on the top of the hill - A picnic at Pet d’Ane meander of Loire
Our third stop is Pet d’Ane the largest meander of the Loire where we enjoy the views before having a picnic from our provisions - The romantic Chateau de la Roche
Last major stop today is the enchanting and romantic Chateau de la Roche sitting in the middle of the Loire in a beautiful location - Almost a week in Leyrieu
We base ourselves with our relatives for almost a week in Leyrieu a small charming village with lots of hiking opportunities and old buildings - The castle town of Cremieu
Cremieu is the largest town near our AirBnB and is a surprisingly famous one with multiple castles, churches and good food - The huge Cerdon Caves
Before our relatives arrive we spend the afternoon exploring the huge and very popular Cerdon caves which is quite an exhausting undertaking - The historic city of Vienne (the French one)
Today our plan is to explore Vienne a historic town located on a major Roman site which also holds Pontius Pilate’s tomb if legends are to be trusted - The famous Roman museum and ruins of Vienna
The major attraction today is the impressive Roman museum of Vienna with scores of mosaics and the extensive outdoor ruins of the major Roman city - Eating at a Michelin recommended restaurant
We and our relatives visit today a Michelin recommended restaurant with exceptional food relaxing before exploring the nearby town - Exploring old Bourgoin-Jallieu and its museum
After a great lunch we visit nearby Bourgoin-Jallieu with a focus on its AC cooled museum exploring the history of the region - Perouges, one of the most beautiful villages in France
The last attraction we visit with our relatives is the impressive village of Perouges with medieval houses and tortuous streets named one of the beautiful villages in France - Into the alpine zone of Col de la Columbiere
Before our friends arrive we explore the alpine area around the busy Col de la Columbiere looking for alpine birds and enjoying the fresh air - The mysterious waterfall
On the way back to Annecy we stop at the mysterious waterfall an interesting waterfall hidden in the forest next to the road - The very busy town of Annecy
We spend almost two days in Annecy meeting with our friends and exploring the beautiful but very busy city - Famous Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard
Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard is the castle that inspired Disney’s Sleepy Beauty Castle and a major attraction we wanted to visit around the lake - To Saint Tropez via Pierrevert
Today we drive from Annecy to Saint Tropez getting separated from our friends while meeting another friend along the way - The beaches and town of Cogolin
While exploring nearby Saint Tropez via boat we spend two nights in Cogolin and enjoy the beach near our AirBnB and fireworks at night - Finally into Saint Tropez
Our friends wanted to visit Saint Tropez since forever so in the afternoon we take the boat to Saint Tropez visiting the glamorous town for a few hours - Caumont Art Center, expensive but interesting
Caumont Art Center is one of the major art museums in Aix en Provence and worth visiting if the temporary exhibit is an interesting one - Magnificent Aix en Provence cathedral
Another major stop on our walk through Aix is the large cathedral which we visit thoroughly while they prepare for a wedding - Medieval Aix en Provence and return to USA
On our return drive to Lyon we decide to explore historic and famous Aix en Provence a popular town with tourists now and artists a century ago