Lyon : Soccer, sausage and fresh air (in The New York Times)

Even if you can’t get tickets — or détestez le football — the city of half a million people and 4,000 restaurants is well worth a visit. This year Lyon plays host to one of four countrywide International City of Gastronomy  projects, an indoor, one-acre exhibition that includes interactive workshops and conferences designed to showcase France’s cuisine and its contributions to health and pleasure. The exhibition fits inside the  Grand Hôtel Dieu , a sprawling complex first founded in the 1300s that reopens after four years of renovations with shops, restaurants, public spaces and a five-star hotel. When it comes time to work off all those plates of pork sausage, hike in nearby  Écrins National Park , where traditional working dogs protect herds of sheep. Book a stay at the  Temple-Écrins  hut, where workers recently wrapped up three years of renovations. TIM NEVILLE