Lyon: a place we will never forget

What was it like living in Lyon? Would you recommend it?

Without doubt, Lyon is truly an enchanting city, there is no other way to describe it. I fell in love with it and I miss it very much, like everyone who did their Erasmus there in 2015/2016. I don't know why, but luckily, or regrettably, it's a shared feeling. Lyon left a permanent mark on our hearts, this damn city has something that just captures you, and everyone who's been there wants to go back. It's a city that captivates you. I'll let you discover why for yourself.

For me, being used to medium-sized cities, Lyon was a typical city of the perfect size. Not too small so you get bored easily, nor too large that is gets too overwhelming. I don't think I could live in a big city like Paris, New York, or even Madrid. It's simply too much for me. In Lyon you find that everything is very accessible, with it not being a huge city. Furthermore, the public transport network is the best that I've known in my life. On the other hand, it's the second or third largest city in France, so this has many advantages in terms of leisure. There's no room for boredom.

With regards to the size it seems similar to that of Seville, where I'm from. Although here, it doesn't have one but two rivers: the Rhône and the Saône.

Lyon is a city I would definitely recommend. It has many quaint little spots waiting to be discovered. It also offers much entertainment and encourages young people and students to engage with its culture (there are events with free or discounted entry to museums), which is something us Sevillians are not used to.

When I had to choose my Erasmus destination I had serious issues trying to decide where to go, but in the end I opted for Lyon because it's actually in a very good location. It's only a few hours away from neighbouring countries such as Switzerland, Italy, and with the TGV (Train Grand Vitesse), the French equivalent of our AVE trains, you can get to Paris or Lille in 2 hours, to the far north of France on the Belgian border or to its capital Brussels in 4 hours. In addition, the TGV trains have a cheaper alternative called OUIGO and it works well, at least it did when we were in France. It's definitely worth trying, we went to Paris and the return ticket costed €20, and the train stops at the same Disneyland Paris station, at the same entrance. It could be a nuisance if you wanted to go to the city centre, but advantageous if you just go with the flow and if you want to visit one of the world's most famous theme parks.

Lyon is also close to other cities such as Annecy:

Grenoble and its incredible views of the Alps:

Aix-Les-Bains and its thermal baths. This area is considered a spa city, there's not much to do here but for that it's worth visiting. We went there on an ESN trip and it was great to have the experience of bathing in an outdoor pool of hot water, Without a doubt it's something I never thought that I would do and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

These are interesting alternatives and not too far for a day trip.

How's student life in Lyon?

It's generally quite good. Lyon is a very international city, with people from any city you can imagine, Erasmus or not. There are many Spanish and Hispanic people in general (from Mexico, Colombia, etc. )

The Lyon II Lumière University organised a welcome cocktail party during the first few weeks so that students had better chances of meeting new people with whom they would share future adventures, new friends that would accompany them on this tremendous experience that is Erasmus.

What’s the cost of living in Lyon?

It’s not cheap, but remember that Lyon is a big city, one that is in France, but when it comes to money it all depends on your budget and how you organise your priorities.

I lived on about €450 a month (which was a mix of the grant money provided by the Andalusian Council, for those in the south, and the EU). The total amount was divided in monthly instalments, but ultimately my parents ended up contributing something and helping me financially given that the grant money limits you a bit, and also you have to pay the enrolment fee in Spain. In the end most parents have to help.

In this budget I include groceries, accommodation and transport (in spite of the strikes it was one of the things that I liked most about the city), and various other expenses (leisure, eating out, little university costs etc. )

To serve as a point of reference, some of my friends were spending the equivalent of my entire budget on accommodation, or even €600 for a studio that was more central, to which one has to add a hundred more things...

Our Erasmus philosophy was to get to know many new places and this required depriving oneself of some little things or not wasting money as some people do, so we avoided silly expenditures, saved money where we could and used it to travel around France and Europe. We still managed to live well and wanted for nothing. As I said before, if you're thrifty you can have everything you need, within reason and relatively speaking.

At the end of the day, it all depends on your priorities and the savings you take. I did the crazy thing of leaving with almost nothing because I didn't save much money before and it depends on the grant amount, for which I was anxiously awaiting. I began by trying to live day-by-day, the first month I felt totally hopeless and I didn't think I couldn't reach the second but you know what? I survived, but I have to say it was crazy and the first few months I spent quite a bit of money on initial expenses and it all seems to cost a lot whilst you are waiting for the first payments of the grant money.

Was it difficult finding accommodation in Lyon? Do you have any advice?

Yes and no. My friend and I were not accepted by any public residence of CROUS (which are usually much cheaper) as there were no rooms left, so many people missed out. At the beginning we were outraged but thank God we didn't have the "luck" of living in a residence.

After much searching and becoming very overwhelmed with it all, at the end of July/beginning of August we found a huge house with a garden (which was a great PRO especially when the weather was good and we wanted to eat outside without going out to a restaurant). But not everything is perfect and the house was shared with 3 other French people, furthermore, my friend and I shared a big room to save money. This became one of the cons when one of us wanted privacy. But we put up with it, and after it was all over I missed sharing a room with her.

Another con was that our neighbourhood Villeurbanne a bit far from the city centre, nearer to the DOUA university campus. Hence it was a little isolated but there were all kinds of people, it was quite peaceful, there were lovely houses and it was well-connected.

To summarise, we were quite happy to not have received a room in CROUS as we had wanted from the beginning, as many people opt for student housing and afterwards they realise that they don't like it or that simply they don't feel comfortable in this particular residence. Living in a 9m2 room for a whole year, sharing a toilet and shower with strangers can be quite awkward for some people... Yet even if you have your own studio with all the amenities, if there isn't a good vibe in the residence one can feel a bit lonely over time, which is a bit emotionally-damaging when you're so far from everything familiar.

Advice:

1. Make a pros and cons list before going to see a place, to avoid unwanted surprises.
2. Be aware of where you're going and always find the positive side.
3. Don't lose hope during the search, persistence helps a lot
4. Trust your gut. Foreign students are more vulnerable and easier to scam. If possible it's better to not pay any fees in advance before seeing the flat. I risked it (having requested all the necessary information, doing a video call to see the house etc. ) and it all turned out ok. However, when we arrived in our neighbourhood for the first time and we couldn't find the house, we thought for a second that they had scammed us and we had no place to live, given that some false "owners" send fake passports when the student in questions asks them for ID.

"Cohabitation" is very popular in France, it entails sharing a flat with other students. It can be good or bad. Or both (living with others is hard sometimes), but in general it's a very enriching experience, especially if you want to learn or improve your language skills. I think it's something that makes you become more mature but one has to be aware and open-minded as you will encounter obstacles when nothing is going smoothly or when you realise your expectations were too high.

What do you think of French cuisine? What are your favourite dishes?

Lyon is supposedly the food capital of France, but there were many things I tried that I didn't like very much, e. g. the choucroute, or the boudains which are a type of blood sausage). I normally love trying new things but sometimes the food was too oily and creamy for my taste, which was not to my liking.

As for going out to eat in bars it was costly, we often ended up eating kebabs or hamburgers or at places like Domino's Pizza on the offer days, basically we ate a lot of fast food. The most affordable meals you'll find in Lyon were around €6-€7.

• The cheeses and charcuterie were quite good, especially if you bought them fresh from the supermarket in the morning. The artisan cheeses could not be compared to the ones from the supermarket. I really love the goat's cheese and the Saint Marcelin which is typical of Lyon.
• The quality of the bread depended on where it was from... some were pure plastic like those in Spain or would go hard too fast.
• The cakes were amazing! In Lidl you can buy them by weight and they were so delicious, being more affordable than those from cake shops. There were also offers in Carrefour which was quite interesting if you were low on funds.

Here is a photo of a typical French croissant and a "chausson aux pommes", or a puff pastry filled with applesauce.

What places do you recommend visiting in Lyon?

Everywhere you possibly can! The Tête d'Or Park (free entry to its zoo), the "Vieux Lyon", the Fourvière basilica and the Roman Amphitheatres, the Bellecour Square, and the area of Hôtel de Ville - Terreaux - Ópera is also very pretty and lively.

There are many professional photographers with Instagram accounts who upload photos of the city, from which you can find inspiration, for example the Island of Barbe (a more obscure place to visit but interesting at least).

There's also Rue Prunelle and its multicolour staircase;

or place Rouville in the outskirts of Croix Rousse, one of my favourite neighbourhoods!

I also recommend the Quais, which is what they call the river banks. It's a lovely place to go for a stroll, sometimes they have book markets, and there are a few things to see such as la fresque des lyonnais. From one of the banks you can take a small boat for €2 which takes you to the Confluence shopping centre in another area of the city, and the boat journey on the river is well worth the price of the ticket.

And eating in Lyon? What are your favourite places?

Truthfully we didn't eat out much because it's expensive.

I'd recommend going to a Bouchon Lyonnais at least once because it's typical of Lyon. The "Laurencin" is not bad or expensive either.

I also liked Flam's, a restaurant that serves typical food from Alsace, which also has student/youth discounts.

In the Part Dieu shopping centre I liked Bagelstein and one of their burgers called "231 east", and for a snack "Le paradis du fruit", although the last one isn't very cheap.

Any bar on Rue Mercière and a Greek pita bread café near "place de Terreaux.

Island of Barbe, in the outskirts of Lyon.

The highlights of Lyon's nightlife?

It depends on what music you're looking for... "Café Sevilla" is ideal for reggaeton, the atmosphere is quite Spanish but people from all over go there, same goes for Casa Latina.

Boston is also lively. Everything in the Hôtel de ville area.

Any advice for students going to Lyon in the future?

Enjoy the experience and adapt yourself to the city, because it has so much to offer. Spain will always be there, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and time really flies when you're having fun.