The French city of Lyon is one of the gastronomic capitals of the world—no exaggeration—so you’ll inevitably find many resources on-line to help you choose between some of the city’s culinary specialties, from boucherons to pike quenelles to pralines.

You can also check out the post I put up about the food-focused walking tours I took in Lyon and the culinary experiences I had on one of my gastronomy-focused visits to the city.

For this write-up, I wanted to share some of our favorite little snacks and treats when we’re in Lyon. These are cafes, coffee shops, and patisseries in the center of town that we pop into as we wander between activities when we visit. After all, we get to Lyon often enough, as it’s one of the large metropolises closest to where we live.

Le Lautrec

We chanced past this chocolatier at one point just when the sweet tooth had started to sing its song. Figuring we might as well go for convenience—it was right there!—we popped in and chose from the case’s gorgeous selection of macarons.

And that was just our first visit.

The macarons at Le Lautrec were the best we found in Lyon (and we do tend to eat a lot of macarons everywhere we go in France), which made the chocolatier a destination spot in and of itself. We returned to try the chocolates in a luxurious range of flavors and styles and returned yet again on that same long-weekend trip to reup our macaron stash.

Le Lautrec is now a go-to spot when we’re in Lyon—and, of course, we always go more than once per trip.

NewTree

Looking for a spot to meet someone for coffee while we were both in town for a literary festival and not wanting to get stuck with a Starbucks or a take-out only option, I ventured into NewTree.

NewTree focuses on ecoresponsability and offers organic, house-made, and local food and drink options in a cozy, laid-back, order-at-the-counter coffee-shop style atmosphere.

You can grab a table and eat and drink in the café or you can pick out coffee, tea, snacks, and healthy meals to go to enjoy in your place of stay or on a bench for a picnic. The meals tend to lean toward healthful bowls and salads and wraps and yogurt cups with fresh fruit, grains, and granola. Snacks include house-made breads and desserts that you can consume with a NewTree-roasted coffee option or one of the café’s selections of teas and freshly pressed juices.

The café has two locations, one in Bellecour and one in Guichard, making it an option for your wanders in at least two different parts of Lyon.

Slake

Slake was another random-chance find. On our way to an event, one of our duo desperate for coffee, we happened past Slake and decided to give it a try.

And wow: I am so glad we did.

The tea options were delicious, the coffee was top-notch, and—even better—the desserts were delicious. One of us has even gone so far as to say that the American-style cookies Slake offers are the best in the city.

Slake gets busy during the brunch hours, and with good reason: The options for decadent yet wholesome and house-made meals are mouthwatering.

If you don’t plan to get a table and eat, you can take your treats and drinks to go to consume on your wanders, in your room, or out on a bench while people-watching. (One of my favorite pastimes in a bustling urban area.)

Expect Additions!

As we tend to do only one restaurant meal a day while on travel—if that—we will continue to explore new options for treats and snacks and healthy cafes in Lyon when we visit.

Stay tuned for updates to this post as we discover new treasures!