Destination: Pérouges, France

While staying in Lyon during this past October vacances, I also made a couple of day trips to nearby villages as means of discovering more of the Lyonnaise region, using the city as a base for doing so. Again, this year is my first time really exploring a new part of France, and I was keen on seeing what it had in store for me– nature, architecture, and everything in between.

When deciding on where to visit, I got many ideas from other bloggers who’d lived in the Lyon area before (notably those from La Grenouille Anglaise and La Vie en C.Rose). Thanks to these wonderful human beings, I decided on two places to check out as day trips from the city: Pérouges and the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval. I would organize them into two, separate day trips since they weren’t necessarily close enough to do both in one day, let alone convenient with public transport. That said, I planned to visit the Palais Idéal first on Monday, followed by Pérouges that Tuesday. The former consisted in leaving really early in the morning (I’m talking before 6:00) in order to make the *limited* public transport over. I set my alarm for 5:15 the night before and promptly went to sleep.

However, waking up the next day, I checked my phone and apparently, it read 6:05! Shocked and confused, I soon realized that I’d set my alarm for Tuesday, not Monday– as a result, I ended up missing the early-morning train that would eventually take me to the Palais Idéal, so I didn’t visit it the day that I’d intended to. Although disappointed (and slightly mad at myself for the mix-up), it wasn’t so bad since in the end I decided just to switch plans, i.e. visit Pérouges instead and just go to the Palais Idéal the following day. Thankfully, there were more bus times that go to the former, so I didn’t have to worry as much about timing my visit compared with the latter.

After a quick breakfast at my Couchsurfer’s flat, I headed out close to 8:00 to walk over to Hôtel Dieu along the Rhône where I would catch the 8:30 bus to Pérouges. The journey took about 45-50 minutes and eventually, the bus driver dropped me off at Meximieux, a small town adjacent to Pérouges– since the bus didn’t stop directly in front of the medieval village (as it’s situated in relative isolation atop a hill), I needed to walk about a kilometer from the bus stop. It was perhaps no more than a 15-20 minute walk on a slight incline and soon enough, I arrived in front of the Lower Gate as entry into the small, but quaint fortified village.

Historically-inhabited by farmers and craftsmen, this medieval village is home to about 1200 people today. With its charming cobblestone streets and stone houses, Pérouges is considered one of the “most beautiful villages in France.” Thanks to its well-reputed status, it’s a popular tourist attraction all year-round. However, I was told that it tends to be particularly crowded in summer; when I visited, the autumn chill was just about settling in, and I found not so many people when there for the day.

Passing under the Lower Gate, I wandered along the rue des Rondes, which is literally a circuit street along the peripheries of the village. I got my first taste of the grayish cobblestone streets and stone buildings, with the latter having the occasional cherry-red flowers that added some pop to the austere-looking architecture. I winded through the street before arriving at a small plaza (next to the rue des Princes, I believe) where I discovered a lovely little well peppered with red and purple flowers, as well as a large, shady tree still bursting with green leaves, despite the cold weather.

However, it was the place du Tilleul in which everything comes together: stores, restaurants, the community. Besides the towering hostellerie (with lovely flowers on its windowsills), there’s also the 200-year-old tree as another main attraction. By then, the morning started to warm up, offering plenty of sun and lighting to take great photos of the place.

I crossed over to the other side of the place du Tilleul where I ended up on the rue des Rondes once more (although on the other side of town). I strolled by a bakery where displays of the galettes pérougiennes were on full display, making my stomach grumble (that, and I was also starting to get hungry since I’d eaten breakfast early that morning). I ended up buying a slice after visiting the church west of the village, and it was absolutely heavenly. While it might look like your usual cheese pizza, the galette is actually sweet, made of tons of butter and sugar– simple, but effectively delicious! I wished that I’d bought more of them, but at least I can say that I really enjoyed it (as well as stave off hunger until lunchtime).

After an hour of wandering the village, I decided to check out Meximieux, which was just the town over. There was a chateau perched on *another* hill, where I saw some black sheep roaming about behind fences nearby. Unfortunately, I don’t think the chateau was opened that day, but all the same, I was able to get a view of Pérouges from there, which was pretty neat.

I ended up returning to Pérouges for another quick tour of the village before heading back to Meximieux to find a boulangerie that was open (many are closed on Mondays). I found one and got a formule déjeuner as lunch before catching the midday bus back to Lyon, arriving back in the early afternoon.

Overall, it was a short but satisfying day in Pérouges. While I would say that it doesn’t need more than half a day’s visit, nevertheless it’s worth a look for its medieval charm (and amazing galettes!).

More to come soon– next up: le Palais Idéal, France!

 

— Rebecca