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Day 1

Lyon Olympic Stadium, Avenue Simone Veil, Décines-Charpieu, France

Picked up our rental car at the airport and drove 5 hours to Lyon. We stayed in an Airbnb which was nice, because it was where the locals were as opposed to the touristy area. We went to the Stadium for a World Cup match (USA v England – go USA).

Day 2

Maison Bettant, Avenue Henri Barbusse, Villeurbanne, France
Zoo de Lyon, Allée de l'Orangerie, Lyon, France
Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon, France

Ate lunch and pastries at Maison Bettant. Spent the first half of the day at the zoo. It’s free and fantastic, attached to the parc.

Went back to our apartment, then back to the stadium to watch another World Cup match, Netherlands v Sweden.

Day 3

Nouvel Hôtel du Commerce, Place Marcel Sauvaire, Castellane, France
Ô Délices, Rue nationale, Castellane, France

Checked out of our Airbnb and drove to Castellane (4.5 hours). Incredible drive, mountains all over the place. Castellane is a very small medieval town in the Alps, close to Nice.

We stayed at the Nouvelle Hotel du Commerce – great hotel. Swam in the pool and went to O Delices for dinner. The concierge recommended it because the food was local, it was fantastic.

Day 4

Verdon Gorge, France
La Voute, Rue du Mitan, Castellane, France

Drove about an hour to the gorge. Tons of kayaks, paddleboats, etc. for rent. Got a couple kayaks and went up and down the gorge for several hours. Swam at the beach the rest of the time. The gorge was incredible – the clearest, bluest water I’ve ever seen. Lots of families out there, but the adventurous, too. Lots of hiking in the area.

Back to Castellane and ate at La Voute, also recommended by the concierge. Really good, much more typical French meal. In the middle of the stores and restaurants, more touristy section. I liked O Delices better, but they both were great.

Day 5

Chapelle Notre Dame du Roc, Castellane, France
Le Phénix Hôtel, Quai de Bondy, Lyon, France

Started off the day with a hike up to to the chapel, great view overlooking the town.

We were going to go back to Lyon early but found out Castellane was having a huge market in the main town square. We spent a couple hours walking around, bought some clothes, wooden items.

Drove back to Lyon and checked in to Le Phenix Hotel, which is right on the river among the shops and restaurants. Awesome place, lots to see and do in the area. Walked along the river for a bit and grabbed dinner.

Day 6

La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, Place de Fourvière, Lyon, France

Walked around more of the area checking out the shops, stops for coffee and pastries. There were different stands all the way along the river and they’re broken up into sections. All the book stands are together, all the clothes are together, food, arts, etc.

Went up to La Basiliue Notre Dame de Fourviere – not able to take photos inside because it was Sunday, but it was beautiful.

Went back to the stadium for the last game, USA v Netherlands. Drove back to Paris, stayed at the airport hotel.

The thing that surprised me the most was that English wasn’t as widely spoken as I expected. That was mostly in the non-touristy areas we stayed in, and even when there wasn’t much English, everyone was helpful and we didn’t have any issues at all.

I would’ve liked to have spent more time around the Verdon Gorge – a beautiful area with lots to do, but because of the games, we were on a tight schedule.

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World Cup matches in France

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