Lyon is the center of French cuisine. Whether it is haute cuisine or food at a small "bouchon," dining is exceptional. The city was founded by the Gauls in 43 B.C. as a sister to Rome and is today the capital of the Rhine-Alps region. Over 422,400 resi dents (1,262,000 in entire urban area) live in Lyon. The world's fastest train (132 miles per hour) makes the trip between Paris and Lyon in only two hours.

Stade Gerland was built in the 1926 and is one of the two World Cup stadiums listed as historic monuments. Inspired by Roman architecture, the stadium is punctuated by four great symbolic gateways. The stadium, with a capacity of 44,000 (all seats), is located in Lyon's 7th arrondissement near the city's center.