Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1078347
v i k i n g c r u i s e s . c o m . a u 41 As the gastronomic capital of France – and according to many restaurant critics, Europe – Lyon is the perfect place to begin an epicurean adventure, and if white- tablecloth-and-fine-china dining is your cup of tea, you'll be in heaven on the Michelin star-studded streets of this beautiful city. At restaurants like world-renowned chef Paul Bocuse's Auberge du Pont de Collonge, you can sample the best of traditional French gastronomy – dishes like fish in white wine butter sauce and local Burgundy snails in herb butter. When you tire of silver service, there are the remarkably picturesque, cobblestoned streets of Vieux Lyon (Lyon Old Town), generously peppered with traditional Lyonnaise restaurants known as 'bouchons'. ese iconic, red-and-white-checkered tablecloth restaurants never fail to serve up a delicious plat du jour (dish of the day) or menu du jour (three-course set menu of the day), and whiling away an afternoon people-watching at one of their street-side tables is one of the best ways to spend an afternoon in Lyon. Don't feel guilty if your one-hour lunch turns into a three- hour feast, this just means you're well on your way to becoming a local. But the delicious delights don't end in Lyon. ere are countless opportunities to indulge and savour on the more than 40 shore excursions – plenty of them foodie-focused – on offer on Viking's Lyon to Avignon river cruise. Taste the tantalising notes of Burgundy's Beaujolais or pinot noir wines while sitting under the shade of a lush plane tree on the grounds of a centuries-old chateau. en, sample some local boeuf bourguignon or coq au vin – both signature dishes of the region sure to inspire your own Julia Child moment when you're back on home turf. Bite into freshly baked baguette slathered with truffle butter made with 'black gold' just dug out of the ground, and try dry Picodon goat's cheese straight from the fridge of a local goat farm – after visiting the cute-as-pie goats first, of course. In the verdant Ardèche region, where chestnut trees flourish, enjoy a comforting pork and chestnut stew and finish the meal off with a chilled glass of sweet chestnut wine – one of the region's specialties that I can attest to tasting as delicious as it sounds. As the journey nears a close and the ancient walled city of Avignon appears on the horizon, there's no better moment for a steaming bowl of bouillabaisse accompanied by a glass or two of Provence's world famous, blush-coloured rosé. I'd recommend my favourite, but I fall in love with every variety I try. As for the food? I was wooed long ago, in Lyon at the first "bon appétit".