Bourg-en-Bresse is the capital of the Bresse chicken AOC, 55 minutes from Lyon, where the blue-legged birds with their blue-white-red colouring have held protected status since 1957. Lunch at a Bressan farmhouse restaurant with cream, morels and a vin jaune from the Jura is the reason to come.
Tip: Book lunch at a Bressan ferme-auberge a week ahead; the Dombes ponds nearby are worth a 20-min drive.
Macon is the southern gateway to Burgundy, 65 km north of Lyon, where the Macon-Villages and Pouilly-Fuisse appellations produce crisp Chardonnay with limestone character. The medieval abbey at Tournus and the winemakers of Chaintre make a full day.
Tip: Hire a car at Macon station; the best Pouilly-Fuisse estates cluster around Fuisse and Solutre-Pouilly.
The Beaujolais Cru villages lie 30 to 55 minutes north of Lyon, where ten AOC Crus produce Gamay wines of genuine depth. Morgon and Fleurie offer domaine tastings, village restaurants serving andouillette and charcuterie, and the Le Hameau Duboeuf wine museum at Romanèche-Thorins.
Tip: Hire a car for the Route des Crus; public transport reaches Romanèche-Thorins but not the smaller villages.
Vienne is 20 minutes south of Lyon by TER and combines France's finest Roman theatre with Cote Rotie, the steep Rhone Valley appellation where syrah grown on granite terraces produces some of France's most aromatic reds. Lunchtime brasseries near the Temple of Augustus and afternoon domaine visits on the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune.
Tip: Take the TER from Part-Dieu; domaine visits need booking a week ahead for the Cote Rotie estates.
Perouges is a walled medieval hilltop village 40 minutes east of Lyon where the Galette de Perouges, a flat caramelised brioche sold from a window counter at Place du Tilleul, is the food reason to come. The village also supplies Bleu de Bresse cheese to Lyon's finest kitchens.
Tip: Arrive before 10:00 or after 15:00 to beat the tour groups; the galette window opens from 09:00.