Advice: A Day Trip to Perouges

Perouges... if you don't know of it you should.  It's a little town just North East of Lyon... and one of the oldest little surviving towns.  It dates back to the middle ages, think like 1226 AD... that's about 780 years old for those not good in math.

It's just like in Beauty and the Beast, a very small middle age town, and a must see if you live in Lyon.

Bri informed me recently that it's so close to Lyon one could hop a train, spend a day, hop a train back.  Thus I got the clever idea to inform YOU of...






A Day Trip to Perouges

Step 1:  Purchase tickets..

One can buy the tickets the day of, or before.  The prices for this little town don't change.  Go to the SNCF Website to book the tickets ( DESTINATION is actually 'Meximieux' which is next door), or buy directly from the train station.  My recommendation is to leave around 11am, after breakfast.  Trains are about 30 minutes in length.

Step 2:  Read on the History..

This town is about 780 years old, so, one can imagine that it's full of history.  Their website offers the information in French.. but here's a brief list of things to see...

• Porte d'en Haut: Old gateway made of stone.  It's the entrance to the city, where often merchants would come through with supplies.

• Porte d'en Bas:  Another entrance way with a saying scribbled into the stone.. very interesting to see.

•  Place du Tilleul:  Best preserved part of the city, the website informs that one can see a tree from the 14th century and a house from the 13th century.

• Rue des Rondes:  A street that used to be the place for the rich and nobles.

• State of St Georges:  Super old wooden statue depicting the town's father saint, saint georges.

• Church in Perouges:  Church dating to the 15th century.. can see destruction from vandalism from the revolution.

• Rue des Princes:  During the middle-ages, this was the street with the boucheries, boulangeries... etc.  Remember in Beauty and the Beast?  Well, it's kind of like when she's prancing around through the city singing 'bonjour'.

•  L'Ostellerie:  A hotel originating from the 13th Century.. super old and coooool!

Step 3:  A Plan to Visit

My recommendation for the visit is as follows...

1. Start by touring the city, visit the main sights.  Read the history, visit the churches.  This will only take about 2 hours, as the town is very small.
2. Eat lunch at a local restaurant, I recommend 'les terrasses de perouges' because they offer a 'midi menu' at only 14 Euro... pas cher!
3. Stop by and send some postcards to home, remember small towns like this often charge a lot for a postcard, so be selective who you are sending them to.
4. At the end, before heading home, stop by a boulangerie or patisserie and buy a specialty of the town called 'la galette au sucre' or sugar cake.  It's delicious, and something to bring home to remember the trip to perouges.

 Other Information on Perouges..

• They have a yearly medieval festival, around the beginning of June.  It costs 25 Euro, offers a banquet as well as drinks... but only has limited spaces, so as soon as they start accepting reservations you gotta jump on it.
• Perouges Christmas Market is only 11th and 12th of December.  Saturday December 11th, of this year, at 6pm will be the lighting of the city.

Happy visit..!

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