Travelling abroad for my studies had always been a dream of mine. I looked up the programs since the start of my college career, and it was always a priority in my study plans. This past year was a dream come true as I got to attend the Université de Lyon 2 in Lyon, France, for the past two semesters.
Lyon is located in southeastern France, right next to the Alps, and is the meeting point of two major French rivers, the Rhône and the Saône. Lyon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city that has grown and preserved fragments of major historical landscapes from the Roman Empire to the Second World War, all still present in the city. However, Lyon is most commonly recognized for being “the gastronomic capital of the world”, making my study abroad there very exciting for me, as someone who loves food. Getting to travel across France and getting to enjoy its food was a major highlight in my life, and these were some of the best eats from that time.
August 22, 2025: The Most Beautiful Avocado Toast
Getting to Lyon was overwhelming at first, so the best thing I could do to wind down was to find a brunch spot that could later become my go-to, which is how I found Les Papas Sucrés. Having been there a few times I tried many things on their menu but nothing beat my first meal there, their delicious avocado toast.
The toast comes served on a crispy slice of a Lyonnaise brioche loaf, with avocado rosettes and a poached egg, and comes drenched in a delicious cheddar sauce. Besides looking incredibly instagram-ready, the flavors all come together deliciously, making it a favorite of mine from early on in my study abroad journey.
September 17, 2025: A Crispy & Delicious Gallette Complete
If you know anything about the French, you know that no one will be able to mess with your lunch time. The dejeuner is a break that is treated as sacred among students and professors alike, so having to find a quick meal close to campus around 1pm became an incredibly rewarding task. On one of these occasions I discovered my absolute love for galettes. As opposed to a crepe, a galette is usually made from buckwheat flour (which is also gluten-free), and it is typically made with savory toppings. My go-to galette order is a galette complete— fried egg, ham, and melted emmental cheese,— with added mushrooms and spinach. It is the perfect light lunch to get me right back in studying mode come 2 p.m.
October 12, 2025: A Picnic with French Delicacies
Of course the most famous destination of French cuisine is the boulangerie. The baked goods are so carefully made that even a one euro baguette from the supermarket is on another level from anything that you can get in the US. To really get the most French you can get, my friends decided to have the ultimate picnic.
We got a few baguettes along with butter and some strawberry jam, and to top it all off, a few bottles of wine. If you ever go to France, you will notice how parks are a staple of the daily life of the country, for even just an evening stroll, so having an evening enjoying the most iconic staples of the country in that way really helped us feel like we really were just french teenagers living our best lives.
November 8, 2025: My Absolute Favorite Crème Brûlée
Another place that I repeatedly went back to during my time in Lyon was Le Palais de Saint Jean, a traditional Lyonnaise bouchon that serves three course meals that introduce you to all of the typical Lyonnaise flavors in its cuisine. A bouchon is an indispensable part of a visit to Lyon, and it is somewhere I never failed to take the people that came to visit me.
The best part in my opinion though were always the desserts. For me, there is no better thing to have after a meal than a perfectly made crème brulee, and the Palais de Saint Jean was one of the best I had. A good creme brulee is never warm, with fresh custard in the center and a really crispy sugar shell on top, adding texture and flavor to a plain but rich dessert.
March 15, 2026: The Classic French Entrecote
The experience at L’Entrecote is unique in many ways, and as I felt time going faster during my study abroad, I knew I had to try it at least once. The most recognizable restaurant in the chain is in Paris, but Lyon does have its very own location in Rue de la Republique at the heart of the city.
After waiting in line for almost an hour, you are guided to a small table and asked only two things: what you would like to drink and the way you would like your meat to be cooked. The meal is then served two courses, starting with a small salad to prepare you for the main meal. You are served a generous serving of steak —half on your plate and half on a warming tray that prevents it from cooling down— drenched in the signature house butter sauce, along with an extremely generous serving of crispy fries that you will want more of. Not to worry though, because they are in fact unlimited. The waiters walking around with silver platters of thin french fries to refill to your heart’s content is one of the best memories from my time in France, especially because they really are delicious fries.
April 25, 2026: A Gourmet Ramen Craving
Despite being in a french food capital, I love ramen, so finding a good ramen spot in lyon was imperative to me. Nishiki Ramen is the most delicious Asian food I had during all of my time in France. While the French are not often great when straying from their usual cooking style, their ramen is special because it works well to blend traditional French cooking techniques with Japanese flavors to get a great meal.
The way the flavors melt on the spicy Tonkotsu broth and the pork belly slices is unlike any of the dishes in the restaurants nearby, all of which made it more appealing. My friend and I got two different dishes to try, neither of which disappointed me. One of the bowls had a savoury pork crunch and its flavor combined with a squid ink umami to elevate its flavor profile. The other broth has a spicy kick to it, then mixed with the textures of the soft meat and crunchy bits to make great food.
May 9, 2026: Entrecote + Baguette = Amazing
With two of my favorite things in France having been L’entrecote and the iconic french baguettes, it was no surprise I wanted to try La Baguette du Relais when I went to Paris. It’s all of what’s good from the original entrecote dish served on a toasty baguette that is to die for.
This place is small, with only a few two person high-tops that are always busy. Similarly to the original restaurant, you are asked merely how you want your meat cooked, and then you’re set to try and find a table to eat. This place was so good I even ran into a friend from home in the line, who I didn’t even know was in Paris.
May 16, 2026: The Best Breakfast Sandwich Ever
For my last weekend in Lyon, my mom decided to visit and we travelled to an Alpine town an hour away. Annecy is a perfect getaway from Lyon, with wonderful views of the Alps and a huge, crystalline lake where you can swim or take a paddle boat ride, and pretty canals that get it the name of “the venice of the alps”. Having my mom there encouraged me to find a great spot for brunch, and browsing endlessly on Google Maps I finally found Ummi mon Amour. The spot is situated on the main canal and has a view of all the pastel-colored houses that adorn the walkways. I never expected the best meal I would have to be in a small brunch spot in a small town, but Ummi mon Amour raised all of my expectations.
The brioche bun, which is a traditional item from the region, is smothered in a chipotle sauce, then layered with soft-scrambled eggs and then the star of the dish, a potato mille-feuille with an amazing crunch that made the entire trip to Annecy worth it.