Lyon v. Tours for three weeks?

Question

I am travelling in France for the semester next fall and doing language schools a couple places...I'm planning 3 weeks in Nice, 4 in Paris, 2 in Montreux Switzerland and 3 somewhere else.

I want to experience different areas of France and I was thinking about Lyon...however would that be really similar to Montreux seeing as they're both in the Alps region of Europe?

I'll have time/weekends etc to visit the Loire valley, but when I'm in Montreux I probably won't be able to visit the French Alps (as the whole point of going to Switzerland apart from seeing it is to stay longer w/o a visa).

Do you think I should go to Lyon or Tours?

Answer 1

I'm from Lyon and i can say you that it's totally different from Montreux, Lyon is the second town of France and montreux is much smaller...

Lyon is also a good place to spend time, you have a lot of things to see and the food is really good!! I don't know a lot of things about tours but sincerely i think it's better staying in Lyon ;-)

Answer 2

Lyon of course, tours is very small and there is nothing to do after a couple days!

Answer 3

Go to Lyon. The food is the best in France.

Answer 4

Definitely Lyon... It is in the Rhône Alpes region, although it is not in the Alps itself, but rather in the Rhône river valley...

Lyon is a beautiful city, filled with places worth visiting and centuries of history. It is also known for being the gastronomical "heart" of France... Some of the best food in the country is found in the area!

While in Lyon you can take side trips to cities in the alpine area, Chambèry, Grenoble, Aix les Bains and especially Annecy (a beautiful little city and  the lake is absolutely magnificent...the clearest water I have ever seen!) All worth spending a day in. (And easy to get to by train from La Part Dieu train station in Lyon).

Tours is also a lovely town, but not worth spending more than a couple of days there... Whereas in Lyon you could spend weeks and not have time to visit everything worth seeing. (Museums, monuments, architectural beauties, etc.)