Fly to France and meet your friendly tour manager. Transfer to your hotel. Your tour manager will tell you about the city’s main attractions, where they are, and how to get there. The afternoon is yours to spend relaxing and exploring your new surroundings, perhaps taking a stroll along the river and finding a café to watch the world go by from. Tonight, celebrate your first night in France’s gastronomic capital as you enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner, enjoy a self-guided stroll around the Festival of Lights. Dating back to the 17th Century, the festival is a unique Lyonnaise tradition. Today the festival is celebrated annually in December, when over 40 buildings, parks and squares all over the city and along the river are lit up in bright colours, often with artists’ designs, and many households place candles in their windows. Soak up the festive atmosphere as you wander Lyon’s pretty streets before retiring to your hotel. The main event is on the 8th, but there are smaller displays across the city from the 5th.

Join your friendly tour manager for a morning’s sightseeing tour of this historic city. Sitting at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, Lyon acts as a gateway to Provence and the Alps and was once the centre of France’s silk trade. The architectural styles of the city centre reflect its long and fascinating history, with Roman, medieval and Renaissance influence in abundance. Your tour begins at the hilltop district of Fourvière, the site of a Roman settlement dating back to 43 BC and home to the Notre Dame Basilica. Take in the stunning panoramic views, before you descend via funicular, one of the world’s oldest, into picturesque Vieux Lyon, ‘Old Lyon’, on the banks of the River Saône. Explore this charming area of terracotta-tiled Renaissance mansions and traboules, winding round passageways that allowed manufacturers and merchants easy access to river. Look around the Gothic Cathédrale St Jean, with its stunningly well-preserved 13th-century stained-glass windows still intact, having miraculously survived World War II. Continue to Presqui’île (literally meaning ‘almost island’), right at the confluence of the two rivers, home to the exquisite squares Place Bellecour and Place des Terreaux. Choose a spot for some well-earned lunch, perhaps indulging in a spot of a people-watching in one of Lyon’s grand squares. This afternoon you’ll visit Lyon’s Christmas market, located in the Perrache district of the city. This evening, enjoy some free time and dinner by your own arrangement, perhaps returning to Vieux Lyon or Presqui’île to find a cosy restaurant. After dinner, continue exploring Lyon’s illuminated streets and soaking up the festive atmosphere.