Find answers to common questions about Battlefield Tours in Lyon and the Vercors.
The Vercors is one of the best regions for motorcycle touring in France, with beautiful roads, mountain passes and hairpin bends.
Michiel Janzen organises motorcycle tours through the Vercors. He lives in Lyon and knows the region well. The Vercors is a paradise for motorcyclists and has a powerful story to tell. At the end of the Second World War, the French Resistance fought the German occupier there.
After France capitulated on 22 June 1940, the country fell into chaos. German forces remained in the north and along the western coast, while the rest of the country came under the Vichy regime led by Marshal Pétain. Small Resistance groups emerged across the country and gradually merged into larger movements such as Franc-Tireur, Combat and Libération-Sud. General de Gaulle, who had fled to London, encouraged the French people through BBC broadcasts. In November 1942, Germany occupied all of France. De Gaulle sent Jean Moulin back to France to organise the Resistance under the occupier’s nose. Although Moulin did not survive the war, his work helped unite the French Resistance during the final months of the conflict.
Lyon is one of the most beautiful cities in France and is absolutely worth visiting. Vieux Lyon has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The city is known for its silk industry, beautiful façades and outstanding gastronomy. The famous chef Paul Bocuse came from Lyon. The city also has an impressive wartime history: Resistance hero Jean Moulin brought Resistance groups together here and was later arrested. Second World War author and battlefield tour guide Michiel Janzen organises tours along these historic locations.
Jean Moulin was a French prefect and one of the key figures of the French Resistance. After fleeing from northern to southern France in late 1940, he came into contact with several Resistance members and gathered information about the different groups. He later escaped to London via Lisbon and presented his findings to General de Gaulle, who asked him to return to France with authority to reorganise the Resistance. Moulin was betrayed, arrested and tortured on 21 June 1943. He died shortly afterwards and is still regarded as one of the greatest heroes of the French Resistance.
The story of the French Resistance is complex, with many groups, names and conflicting interests. Michiel Janzen is a Second World War author and battlefield tour guide based in Lyon. Lyon is often called the capital of the French Resistance. Michiel has mapped out a route through the city that takes you past key locations connected to the French Resistance during the Second World War.
By car, the journey from Utrecht to Lyon takes about 9 hours. By train, you can travel via Brussels Midi and then take the TGV to Lyon; the journey usually takes between 6 and 8 hours. By plane, the flight from Amsterdam Schiphol to Aéroport de Lyon Saint Exupéry takes around 1.5 hours, followed by a train journey of about 45 minutes to Gare Perrache in central Lyon.
The eastern gateway to the Vercors is near Grenoble. From Utrecht, Grenoble is about a 10-hour motorcycle ride away.