By Helen Atkinson Wood
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Don't get me wrong - I'm not a political animal. But on a recent visit to Lyon in the run-up to the French election, I was filled with revolutionary fervour on behalf of this underdog - France's third-largest but culturally overshadowed city.
Paris needs no introduction but can appear showy and tarnished in comparison. Modest and dignified, Lyon has the potential to realise new President Francois Hollande's 'French dream' as the quintessentially perfect European city.
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Vote for Lyon: Helen Atkinson-Wood was filled with revolutionary fervour in France's third largest city
When it comes to getting there, the leading candidate has to be Eurostar. Why even consider being air-freighted when you could take an elegant five-hour sweep through foreign fields, with a leg-stretch and platform-change in Lille, before arriving at Lyon?
Let's start by comparing the cities' manifestos. Paris has a river running through it, the Seine. Lyon has two - the Saone with the Rhone thrown in for nothing.
Like Paris, Lyon has a spectacular hilltop monument - you just exchange cliched Sacre Coeur for the shimmering mosaics of Fourviere Basilica. What's more, Lyon even has its own Louvre.
The journey may take only a few hours but once there you can travel back in time to the city's two Roman amphitheatres. Or go forwards again to the ravishingly restored Renaissance heart of the old city, a Unesco World Heritage Site, built on the riches of the silk trade.
Here you can weave through a warren of 'traboules' (walkways) to visit the silk museum before making your way to the birthplace of cinema, The Institute Lumiere. Getting back up to date, if you've had enough of austerity, Lyon is the home of designer brand Hermes.
A river runs through it: A boat sails down the Saone past St Georges Church
The city also ticks all the boxes when it comes to a world-class hotel fit for a president. Making a discreet entrance along a tunnel from the bustling Rue de Boeuf, we reached a dazzling sunlit courtyard that was the inner sanctum of the five-star Cour des Loges.
A microcosm of Lyon itself, the hotel enshrines the principle of beautiful Renaissance restoration to perfection. Hotelier Jocelyne Sibuet has decorated with Italianate colours and swathes of luxurious Lyonnais silk. Reigning supreme over the kitchen is young blood Anthony Bonnet; at just 29, he already sports a Michelin star.
It's surely the cuisine of this city - often described as the gourmet capital of France - that will sway the voters. On a visit to the Halles de Paul Bocuse - the hallowed food halls named after Lyon's most celebrated chef - a disgusted patron told me: 'The trouble with the old President, Nicolas Sarkozy, was that he didn't even enjoy cheese and wine, so how can he run F rance?'
Bearing that in mind, my strong advice when next voting for a French city to visit is: vote for change; vote for gastronomy; vote for Lyon.
Getting there
Eurostar (08432 186 186, eurostar.com) offers return fares from London St Pancras to Lyon from £109, and connecting fares from more than 200 stations in the UK. Accommodation at Cour des Loges (courdesloges.com) starts from £200, room-only. For more information, visit lyon-france.com.Â
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