Food and silk tour in Lyon

It is hard to find a local guide with the right amount of knowledge both historical & practical, who tailors your experience to precisely what you want to see & do-even adjusting during your tour, and who does it all with a grand sense of humor & fun…..BUT this is Alex! Our group of 4 couples completely enjoyed our Lyon Food tour with him, and we wish we could go again now! He first took us to Les Halles where we so enjoyed fabulous local sausages & cheeses and truffle honey all with accompanying local wines and more, then to a confectionery shop in Old Lyon, and then on to a fascinating silk tour where they showed us the old process from wiggly worms to beautiful scarves. We then finished with a fancy chartreuse and local candies tasting to see if we could identify the flavors of the products…a fun education for us and our palates! We laughed so hard at what friends would taste. As both a guide and local professor for training guides, Alex has a true knowledge and love of Lyon & its food/culture/history and his tours will make you love it all too! So no worries about getting around at too fast or slow pace by a mechanical guide who shows you all the sights they love but not you, and no tasting adventurous organ meat foods, unless you want them! And no mysterious silence while planning your adventure far away—Communication is quick, helpful (esp with changing Covid restrictions) and fun. We cannot recommend him enough! It is all simply fun, tasty and wonderfully done! Relax and enjoy the times! You will come away loving the city and your guide!

When searching for a guided tour, we look for someone who is extremely knowledgeable, has great connections with the locals and someone who loves what he/she does. Jean-Alexandre (or Alex) was the perfect match for our group of 4. We asked for a gastronomic walking tour that included key sites of the city. He delivered in spades! There isn't a fact or figure that Alex doesn't know. Every question was well received and thoroughly answered. We started our tour by taking the metro to the famous Paul Bocuse food market. What an extraordinary market it is! After a cheese and wine tasting (with the most fantastic bread!), we continued through the city (even took a city bus), tasting freshly made and heavenly sausages, touring Vieux Lyon (after experiencing the Lyon funicular), learning about Lyon's famous silk production and sampling straight-out-of-the-oven praline brioche from Pralus --a must! We had so much fun with Alex that we asked him to join us for dinner and to choose the location. Alex has an excellent sense of humor and his command of the English language is miraculous. Hard to believe he has never lived in an English-speaking country because his English is flawless with superb and natural fluency. He is a master tour guide, even teaching the art of being a guide at a local university. While Alex does all types of tours (including tours for Cruise companies docking in Lyon), this talented man should be viewed as a rare find and perfect for the traveler who is looking for a unique experience. Just tell him what you are looking for and he will make it happen.