32 Best Restaurants in Lyon and the Alps, France

For anyone who's never dined in one of France's grand old restaurants, this two-star stunner would be a fine start, set in a century-old chalet-inn in the tiny storybook village of Talloires on the incomparably beautiful Lac d'Annecy. From start to finish you'll be pampered in the old style. Although chef Jean Sulpice has updated the cuisine, dishes like veal carpaccio with white caviar and horseradish cream; poulet de Bresse stuffed with truffles and foie gras; and steamed lake fish with scallops, fennel, and ginger beurre blanc feature all the luxe ingredients that distinguish French gastronomy. On a warm day, a table on the gracious terrace overlooking the lake is a must. Prices are not for the fainthearted, but good memories are priceless.

About 400 years old, this charming house is one of Lyon's most frequently filmed and photographed taverns. Simple wooden tables in wood-panel dining rooms, quirky art on every wall, heavy-bottom pot lyonnais wine bottles—every detail is obviously pampered and lovingly produced. The salade lyonnaise (green salad with homemade croutons and sautéed bacon, topped with a poached egg) or the rognons madère (kidneys in a Madeira sauce) are standouts.

If you think the Pic empire has a lock on Valence gastronomy, think again: the extraordinary precision and refinement of Baptiste Poinot's cooking makes a foodie stopover in Valence an absolute must. Though the dining room itself is a bit on the quirky side, there is nothing to quibble over when it comes to the gorgeous presentation and scintillating tastes in dishes like melt-in-your-mouth trout fillet with salsify puree and crunchy grains of roasted buckwheat all in a cloud of curried foam. Desserts are equally tantalizing and the bountiful cheese cart is a sight to behold. The €38 lunch menu is a good introduction to this marvelous Michelin-starred cuisine.

Emmanuel Renaut's Flocons de Sel ("flakes of salt"), located in Leutaz, brings new meaning to the world of haute cuisine—and even with the drive out of town it's more than an excellent Megève dining option, it's a pilgrimage point. Though the extravagant 10-course tasting menu is pricey, it offers a rare experience from one of France's great three-star chefs, based on simple but carefully selected ingredients—freshwater crayfish, scallops en croute with sea salt, and roast wood pigeon are just a few of the creatively prepared specialties. The dining room is rustic-simple, allowing the food to take center stage. Surrounded by a series of chalets and much natural splendor, the establishment also offers nine exquisite guest rooms and two private chalets for crawl-away convenience.

In the village of Vonnas, a simple 19th-century inn with 30 rooms full of antique country furniture doubles as one of the greatest gastronomic addresses in all of Gaul. Poulet de Bresse, truffles, and lobster are just some of the divine dishes featured on the legendary menu created by three-Michelin-star chef Monsieur Blanc, whose culinary DNA extends back to innkeepers from the French Revolution. He serves his traditional-yet-nouvelle delights in a vast dining room, renovated—overly so, some might say—in a stately manner, replete with Louis XIII–style chairs, fireplace, and floral tapestries. Wine connoisseurs will go weak at the knees at the cellar here, overflowing with 130,000 bottles. The guest rooms range from (relatively) simple to luxurious. A block south you can repair to Blanc's cheaper, more casual restaurant, L'Ancienne Auberge, most delightfully set in a 1900s fabrique de limonade (soda-water plant) and now festooned with antique bicycles and daguerreotypes.

The late great Paul Bocuse—who kick-started nouvelle cuisine back in the 1970s and became a superstar in the process—may no longer be with us, but dishes like the legendary black-truffle soup in pastry crust he created in 1975 to honor President Giscard d'Estaing always will be. So will the frogs' leg soup with watercress; the green bean and artichoke salad with foie gras; and the "tripled" wood pigeon, consisting of a drumstick in puff pastry, a breast roasted and glazed in cognac, and a dark aromatic pâté of the innards. For a mere €330 per person, the Paul Bocuse Menu includes two of the master's most famous dishes: soup aux truffes and the volaille de Bresse truffée en vessie "Mère Fillioux" (Bresse hen cooked in a pig bladder with truffles), which comes to the table looking something like a basketball. Like the desserts, the grand dining room is done in traditional style.

Hidden over Place des Terreaux, this semisecret upstairs dining room in a former silk-weaving loft prepares some of Lyon's finest and most daring cuisine. A place at the window (admittedly hard to come by), overlooking the facade of the Beaux Arts academy across the square, is a moment to remember—especially during December's Festival of Lights. The six-course €59 tasting menu at dinner is a steal for this quality of dining.

Set on the edge of Valence's Old Town, a few minutes from the Parc Jouvet, this hidden gem is one more reason to get thee to Valence. Chef Masashi Ijichi's Japanese roots and pedigreed French training (at the House of Pic) merge in a stunning cuisine that is virtuosic without being bombastic. Ijichi's delicate flavor pairings and poetic presentation rely on the intrinsic virtues of the freshest ingredients: an inky black sea urchin filled with golden pumpkin whipped cream and jellied lobster or white chocolate mousse and bright mango puree. The pared down dining room is an excellent backdrop to highlight the food, but be sure to leave some time, as this is a moment to savor.

The exceptional Domaine du Mont d'Arbois Four Seasons hotel has doubly distinguished itself by the enviable accomplishment of having scored a partnership with chef Anne-Sophie Pic, hands down France's most famous female chef and one the most starred cooks in the country, whose three-star restaurant in Valence is one of the most famous in France. Unlike most celebrity chefs, Pic stands by her reputation, insisting on actually cooking in the kitchen that bears her name. Meaning you're assured a stellar meal that makes the steep price of both dining room and hotel well worth the splurge.

This is a legendary location in Lyon—even more so now that Mathieu Viannay, one of the top names in the city's contemporary cuisine scene, has honored gastronomy pioneer Eugénie Brazier—the founder of nouvelle cuisine and the first woman to gain three Michelin stars in 1933—by opening a restaurant in her former space. A winner of the coveted Meilleur Ouvrier de France prize, Viannay continues to experiment with taste, textures, and ingredients in this carefully restored and recently remodeled traditional house. He describes the menu as "mixed" between completely modern cuisine and "Mère Brazier recipes revisited" such as the poularde de Bresse demi-deuil (Bresse poultry in "half mourning," that is, with black truffles under the breast skin).

Back when your grandmother's grandmother was making the grand tour, La Pyramide's Fernand Point had already perfected haute cuisine for a generation and become the first superstar chef, teaching a regiment of students who glamorized French dining the world over. Many decades later, La Pyramide has dropped its museum status and now offers contemporary classics by acclaimed two-Michelin-star chef Patrick Henriroux, accompanied by a peerless selection of wines featuring local stars from the nearby Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu vineyards. Both classical and avant-garde dishes triumph here, from crème soufflée de crabe au croquant d'artichaut (creamy crab soufflé with crunchy artichoke) to the veau de lait aux légumes de la vallée (suckling veal with vegetables from the Drôme Valley). For those who wish to sleep off the feast, there are contemporary guest rooms at hand.

Set back near the river in Annecy's picturesque old town, this casual, laid-back restaurant is a place the locals would rather keep to themselves. From the first amuse-bouche to dessert, diners can't wait to taste what's next from a cuisine anchored in French technique and enhanced with plenty of far-flung influences. Prices are gentle for this quality of food and its a favorite in town, so be sure to reserve.

From quenelles to the house favorite, andouillettes, this is the perfect primer in bouchon fare. Salade lyonnaise (frisée lettuce, pork lardons, croutons, and a poached egg, with a Dijon vinaigrette) is an institution at this famous dining room near the Hôtel de Ville. The roast veal chop and ratatouille provide a welcome break from the standard porcine bouchon lineup. The cozy and joyful atmosphere is, perhaps even more than the food itself, what makes Lyon's version of the French bistro so irresistible.

Though delicious coffee, croissants, and pastries are on the all-day menu, Swedish chef Connie Zagora and her pastry chef husband, Laurent Ozan, dish up one of the more exciting gastronomic lunches in town in this luminous little café. A new concept that's catching hold in Paris and Lyon alike, the restaurant is open from 8 am to 6:30 pm, serving an all-day menu of sweet or savory breakfast foods (think broiled eggs with soy sauce, trout gravlax with dill cream, homemade granola, and fromage frais) and a range of homemade pastries. But the real star is the three-course (€29) lunch menu, offering such gourmet delights as velvety green parsley and leek vichyssoise, followed by marinated cod or steak with parsnip cream black sesame and shiitake mushrooms. All ingredients are locally sourced and the chef is vegetarian friendly.

Chefs Tabata and Ludovic Mey made instant waves when they opened this stylish but casual dining room serving a "liberated and sincere" menu that plays with textures, temperatures, and flavor pairings. Options include crisp white beans paired with velvety smoked eel and cubes of bone marrow with sparks of lemon thyme; you can also enjoy the crunch of roasted chamomile flowers over tender squid, with tart-sweet Meyer lemon and chamomile oil. The eight-course dinner menu (€98) is the best way to explore this virtuosic cuisine.

If Maison Pic, superstar chef Anne-Sophie Pic's gastronomic mothership, is too much of a splurge (and a splurge it is), her gourmet bistro just two steps away will set you right up. Named for her grandfather, founder of the Pic empire, the menu riffs on all the French classics that built the Pic name. The handsome wood-and-leather decor and swanky lighting feel both classic and contemporary, much like the menu of such timeless stalwarts as snails and parsleyed roasted potatoes, pâté en croute, filet de dorade royale, grilled entrecôte, and leeks vinaigrette, all at a fraction of what you'd pay next door.

This inexpensive brasserie at the south end of Rue de la Charité is one of the city's largest and oldest, founded in 1836 and housed in a palatial building dating from 1925. Meals range from hearty veal stew or sauerkraut and sausage to more refined fare. Cooking is less than creative—stick with the great standards, such as saucisson brioché (sausage in brioche stuffed with truffled foie gras)—and, like the vast room setting, service is a bit impersonal and can be very slow. Nevertheless, the Art Deco style is as delicious as it comes.

For 80 years this sawdust-strewn café with homey red-check tablecloths has reigned as one of the city's leading bouchons, and although its glory days are long past, it's still a good bet for an authentic experience. For a taste of classic Lyon gastronomy in a historic setting, the deftly prepared local classics like boudin noir, boudin blanc (white-meat sausage), or andouillettes (veal and pork tripe sausage) are hard to beat.

The gâteau de foies de volaille aux raviolis (chicken-liver ravioli) is a masterpiece at this eatery founded in 1864. Game and steak dishes are robust, as is the cassolette d'escargots (stew of beans, mutton, and snails). For dessert, stick with the terrific cheese selection. The rows of tables, the mosaic-tile floor, and the absence of anything too decorative gives this place the feel of a men's club.

One of the city's best-known insider spots, this typical bouchon with the de rigueur red-check tablecloths sits behind the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Practically a club, it's crowded with regulars who trade quips with the owner while the kitchen prepares the best tablier de sapeur (tripe marinated in wine and fried in bread crumbs) in town. Whether you order the hunks of homemade pâté, the stewed chicken in wine vinegar sauce, or the plate of ris de veau (sweetbreads), your dinner will add up to good, inexpensive food and plenty of it.

Overlooking the town's wonderful church, this modern, polished dining room is a good match for chef Jean-Pierre Vullin's cuisine. Frogs' legs and Bresse chicken with a wild-morel cream sauce are the specialties, but also consider the quenelles de brochet (poached-fish dumplings). Jean-Pierre wanders through the dining room ready for a chat while his staff provides excellent service. Don't miss the house aperitif, a Champagne cocktail with fresh raspberry puree. The wine list has 300 vintages.

This is hardly a jacket-and-tie kind of place, as the clientele often come straight from the slopes. The laid-back atmosphere, congenial staff, and simple wood tables are among the joys of L'Azimut, where chef François Moureaux's cooking has earned the place a Michelin star. The dishes are updates of the classics, with some truly amazing flourishes, so look for panfried foie gras with passion-fruit foam, roasted breast of chicken with truffle cream, or turbot with a Champagne sauce. Don't pass up the cheese course; sample as many of the local favorites as you like, and they're all sliced for you tableside.

An amazing view of Mont Blanc is yours at the Cave des Creux, opened by a couple of ski instructors on top of what was once a shelter for shepherds and their flocks (you can still see some of the old cheese cellar and its equipment on the lower level). It's hard to resist the stone-trimmed dining room, where huge iron beams, industrial lighting, and a sleek fireplace give the place a modern feel. The menu is also forward-thinking—consider the pumpkin soup with foie gras shavings as a starter, then move on to lamb chops with wild garlic. Organic wines from the region make it hard to say no to a glass or two before heading back to the slopes. On sunny days, the wraparound deck is packed elbow-to-elbow, even when temperatures drop below freezing.

As the name would suggest, family photographs adorn the walls of this low-key bistro high on the Croix Rousse hillside. The simple cuisine tends toward traditional recipes and authentic Lyon fare made with organic and local ingredients. From the poulet fermier (free-range chicken) to the grilled trout, the daily chalkboard announces the market specialties that chef Gilles Mozziconacci has managed to cobble together on his early-morning market tour through Les Halles de Lyon. In summer, opt for a table on the terrace.

Between Lyon and Avignon there's no better place to dine and spend a night than at this old-style hotel, a symphony of muted 18th-century pastels, Provençal furnishings, and a decidedly rustic-luxe air. Though the decor feels slightly dated, the restaurant gets kudos from all the critics, and has a beautiful outdoor terrace, with views of the distant mountains, for warm-weather dining. You can't go wrong with the Sisteron lamb, rock lobster raviolis, or honey-lacquered duck breast, and the extensive wine list hits all the right local notes.

This place feels warm and welcoming even before you head through the front door, thanks to the rustic lanterns outside pointing the way. The wood-panel dining room is hushed, as most patrons seem like couples out for a romantic evening; good choice, as this is food you'll want to share: mushroom soup for a starter, perhaps, then crispy duck breast with roasted potatoes and a mushroom cream sauce. If you detect a theme to the dishes, the restaurant's name refers to porcini mushrooms. Desserts include blueberry tarts and waffles with salted butter and caramel ice cream.

Decorated with photographs of local celebrities, this popular bistro is particularly animated. Simple food—chicken simmered for hours in wine, meaty stews, and grilled fish—is served on bare wood tables. A blackboard announces plats du jour, which are usually less expensive than items on the printed menu. Try the caille aux petits legumes (quail with baby vegetables) for a change from heavier bouchon fare like the bugnes (beignets of fried pork fat).