New route to the culinary capital of France
In April 2016, a new direct route from Copenhagen Airport to Lyon, the culinary capital of France, will be introduced. Food enthusiasts will be able to fly non-stop to the city, which is home to food markets and some of the world’s best chefs and which hosts the world’s largest culinary competition.
In April 2016, easyJet will launch a direct route from Copenhagen Airport to Lyon, the second-largest city of France. This means that Lyon’s vast number of culinary experiences are only two hours away from Copenhagen.
Francis Cardenau, the French master chef behind the Copenhagen gourmet restaurant Le Sommelier, was pleased to hear about the new route:
“Lyon is a fantastic city. Nothing less. The city offers small food markets and atmospheric streets, and the city is in a culinary league only matched by Copenhagen,” said Francis Cardenau, who opened a branch of Le Sommelier at Copenhagen Airport last year.
The direct route from Copenhagen Airport is a result of a successful collaboration between Wonderful Copenhagen, easyJet and Copenhagen Airports (CPH).
“We see great potential in gastro-tourism, and we have worked long to connect the two gastronomic capitals Copenhagen and Lyon. The route will be launched in April next year, and I’m confident that both the French and the Danes can look forward to many good culinary experiences,” said Chief Commercial Officer Peter Krogsgaard of Copenhagen Airports A/S.
Lyon is home ground to some of the world’s best chefs, and star chef and native to the city Paul Bocuse lends his name to the unofficial world cooking contest, Bocuse d’Or, which has been held in Lyon since 1987 and was once won by a Danish chef.
Many French tourists also expected to visit Denmark
Lyon is one of France’s wealthiest cities, and the direct route will make it easy to visit Copenhagen.
“The French are very interested in the Scandinavian countries, and Copenhagen has an extremely good reputation, so we expect that many French tourists will use the route for weekend breaks in Copenhagen,” said Aurélie Gonthier, who is in charge of the Scandinavian countries at the travel agency Voyageurs du Monde.
The French travel agency currently offers two holiday packages that include Copenhagen. The agency will now double its offering, so that Copenhagen will be included in four holiday packages.
CPH expects the direct route to bring an additional 15,000 Frenchmen to Denmark.
Facts about the route:
- The route will be launched on 16 April 2016 with three weekly flights.
- It will be a two-hour flight, about three to four hours less than the current option, which typically has a stopover in Munich.