Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about how the new Michelin guide called Philadelphia the “Frenchest American city.”

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Having spent the last four days in France, I can… kind of see it.

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The article cites examples of French art and architecture in Philadelphia, such as the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which “was modeled after Champs-Élysées in Paris and designed by two French architects (one of whom, Paul Philippe Cret, also designed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and redesigned Rittenhouse Square).”

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The article also mentions City Hall, which “was built in the French Second Empire style,” and art museums like “the Barnes Foundation, home to the largest collection of Renoirs in the world,” and “the Rodin Museum, which has the second-largest collection of Rodins.”

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There are also a number of French things in Philly that I was not aware of, such as the small French Quarter section in Center City, a French-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Alliance Française de Philadelphie, which “promotes French language and francophone cultures.”

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The article goes on to explain other ways in which the two places are similar or different, but here are a few observations I have made this past week in Lyon:

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• Both Lyon and Philly have areas that could use improvement in terms of cleanliness, though Philly seems to require more attention in this aspect.
• In Lyon, a lot more people bike, but there are also dedicated bike lanes here. Nonetheless, bikers, drivers, and pedestrians seem to be annoyed with each other as much as they are in Philly. 
• People in Lyon seem to be up and at ‘em by 8am on the weekdays, which surprised me. I would have expected a much slower start to the morning.
• There is a Reading Terminal Market equivalent in Lyon called Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. While Reading Terminal has a larger variety of cuisines, they both cover a lot of the basics (fresh bread, fresh seafoods, fresh pastries/desserts, etc.).
• In terms of people, Philly is more diverse, but Lyon has a fair share of diversity as well. You can find a restaurant for pretty much any type of cuisine here, which is similar to Philly.
• The river walkway along the Rhône is very similar to the Schuylkill River walkway, but the Rhône’s water looks slightly cleaner/prettier than the Schuylkill (no surprises there).
• The architecture in Lyon’s more modern parts of the city is similar to architecture in Philly, but this is probably true of any American city. The old city of Lyon is obviously very different from any part of Philly.

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Obviously, there are a million and one differences between France and Philly, but nonetheless, I’m excited to explore a few other cities in France throughout the rest of the month to see if Michelin’s assessment of Philly rings true.