What Is French Street Food? We Went Looking in Lyon

When people think of French food, they usually picture white tablecloths, fine dining in Paris, and expensive tasting menus.

But Lyon tells a different story.

It’s often called France’s real food capital, and not just because of restaurants. There’s also a very casual, everyday side to eating here — bakeries, snack windows, late-night counters, and things you eat standing on the street.

So for this video, we set out to answer a simple question:
Does France actually have a street food scene worth the flight?

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#1 Crêpes – The Most Iconic French Street Food (With a Lyon Twist)

If France has a universally recognized street food, it’s the crêpe.

And while most people default to Nutella or sugar, being in Lyon meant we had to do it the local way.

What we ordered
A fresh crêpe filled with praline — a candied nut mixture that’s one of Lyon’s signature flavors — plus a little extra sugar on top.

What it’s like
Warm, soft, dripping, and unapologetically indulgent. The praline tastes exactly like what it is: nuts, butter, and sugar — simple, rich, and impossible to mess up.

Eaten standing on the side of the street, it instantly makes sense why this is France’s most famous grab-and-go food.

Why it counts as street food

• Made fresh
• Eaten immediately
• No table, no ceremony
• Just a quick, satisfying bite between stops

Our take
We didn’t expect to love it as much as we did — but this is street food in the most French way possible. Simple ingredients, done well, eaten casually.

Round one: success.

#2 Praline Brioche – Lyon’s Pink “Barbie Bread”

If Lyon had a street food mascot, this would be it. It’s of Lyon’s most traditional foods.

Bright pink. Oversized. Slightly ridiculous.
And somehow… perfect.

What it is
Praline brioche is a soft, buttery brioche bread stuffed with praline — nuts coated in pink sugar. It was invented in the 1950s by Maison Pralus and has since become a full-blown Lyon phenomenon.

It’s usually sold whole, wrapped in paper, and eaten on the go.
Yes — street food in a bag.

What it’s like
Rich, buttery, and intensely indulgent. The brioche itself is soft and fluffy, while the praline adds crunch and sweetness. Even when it’s not straight-from-the-oven hot, it’s still incredibly satisfying.

Warm is best — no contest — but cold or just slightly warm still works because the flavor does all the heavy lifting.

Is it really street food?
Technically, yes — even if it feels more like a bakery icon than a late-night snack.

You buy it:

• To-go
• Wrapped in paper
• Eaten while walking or sitting on a bench

That counts in France.

Our take
Warm or cold, this is one of Lyon’s most recognizable foods for a reason.
It’s bold, unapologetic, and very on brand for the city.

Also: only Lyon would turn nuts, butter, and sugar into something this pink and take it seriously.

#3 Saucisson Brioché – Elevated Street Food, Lyon-Style

This one sits right on the line between street food and something a little more… civilized.

What it is
Saucisson brioché is a sausage — often studded with pistachios — baked inside soft brioche bread. Think of it as the savory cousin to praline brioche.

It’s not always eaten hot or toasted. More often, it’s sliced and grabbed on the go from a deli or charcuterie shop — which is exactly how it earns its street food credentials in Lyon.

What it’s like
The sausage has a firm, ham-like texture — very meaty, very satisfying. The brioche is light and fluffy rather than crispy, which makes the whole thing feel rich without being heavy.

Add onions (which, frankly, makes everything better), and it turns into something deeply comforting.

Does this count as street food?
In the French sense — yes.

It’s:

• Portable
• Filling
• Found in casual shops
• Often eaten without sitting down

This is what “grab-and-go” looks like in Lyon.

Our take
Simple ingredients. No gimmicks.
Sausage + bread is a formula that doesn’t need improvement — and Lyon executes it perfectly.

Even cold, this is the kind of thing you’d happily eat while wandering through the city on a cold day.

#4 French Sandwiches – Why Subway Can’t Compete

In the U.S., grab-and-go sandwiches usually mean Subway.

In France, they mean this.

What it is
A build-your-own French sandwich — sometimes called sandwich à la demande or “bespoke” if we’re feeling fancy. You choose the fillings, but the key difference is that every ingredient is French.

Good bread isn’t optional here. It’s assumed.

What we got

• Chicken
• Honey mustard (because Lyon is close to Dijon, and mustard matters here)
• Pickled veggies
• Comté cheese — one of the most famous cheeses in France
• A proper baguette that actually deserves respect

What it’s like
This hits every box:

• Crispy crust, fluffy interior bread
• Sweet-spicy honey mustard that pops
• Tender chicken
• Salty, nutty cheese
• Acid from the pickled veggies to keep it balanced

It’s familiar — but elevated in a way that feels effortless. Like Subway, if Subway cared deeply about bread, cheese, and ingredients.

Why this counts as street food

• Built fast
  Wrapped up
• Under €10
• Eaten immediately, usually standing or walking

This is everyday food. Not a “special meal.” Just how people eat.

Our take
For under €10, this is exactly the kind of elevated, casual Lyon street food we love finding. Simple, satisfying, and miles away from tourist-trap dining.

Also: France absolutely knows how to make a sandwich.

#5 Cheese & Wine – The Fanciest “Street Food” in France

This is where French street food really starts to feel different.

Instead of fried meat on a stick or late-night carts, France leans into snacking culture — and nowhere is that clearer than with cheese and wine.

Where this happens
Inside Les Halles Paul Bocuse, Lyon’s main food hall. It’s where chefs shop, locals snack, and visitors get a front-row seat to the city’s artisan food culture.

It’s not traditional street food in the global sense — but in France, this absolutely counts.

What we ate

• Comté — a local favorite that’s salty, nutty, and deeply flavorful
• Saint-Marcellin — a soft, slightly funky cheese that’s a Lyon specialty
• A dried goat cheese
• A local white wine

All eaten standing up. Because this is France.

What it’s like
Comté is bold but approachable — more punchy than Parmesan, without going full funk. Saint-Marcellin is soft, creamy, and a little wild, but balanced beautifully with wine.

This is the kind of “street food” that’s less about speed and more about savoring — still casual, still unpretentious, just better ingredients.

Why this counts as French street food

• Grab-and-go from a market
• No formal meal structure
• Eaten standing
• Part of everyday food culture

This is how people snack here.

Our take
Wine and cheese might feel fancy, but in France it’s normal. This is street food with a pinky up — and honestly, we’re not mad about it.

#6 Picnic by the River – Street Food Like a Local

If you want to eat like a local in France, you don’t line up at a stall.

You build a picnic.

What this looks like in Lyon
A baguette from the nearest bakery.
Butter.
Ham.
Something pâté-related.
And a spot by the river.

The classic combo
Half a baguette, torn by hand.
French butter — the kind that smells good before you even taste it.
Thick slices of ham (because “eight slices” in France means a lot of ham).

The bread is soft and pillowy, the butter is rich and almost sweet, and the ham is deeply savory. Three ingredients. Zero extras. Perfect balance.

Adding a Lyon specialty
We also brought along pâté en croûte, which has quietly become one of our favorite French foods.

Cold meat wrapped in buttery pastry shouldn’t work this well — but somehow it does. It’s rich, spiced, flaky, and surprisingly elegant for something eaten outdoors with your hands.

Why this counts as street food

• Bought from everyday shops
• No seating required
• Eaten outside
• Deeply cultural

Our take
This might have been our favorite “street food” moment of the day — and it didn’t come from a stall at all.

Simple ingredients. No shortcuts. No distractions.

#7 French Empanadas – When Global Street Food Gets a French Passport

This is where the street food crawl takes a turn — and honestly, it’s kind of perfect.

Because French street food isn’t just about tradition anymore. It’s also about what happens when global formats meet French ingredients.

What this is
Empanadas — but filled with French, local, seasonal ingredients. Think classic empanada shape, but flavors pulled straight from French cooking, plus a few wild cards.

They offer more than 25 combinations, ranging from very French to very experimental.

What we tried

• Ham and cheese — because it’s a universal truth
• Montagnard — raclette cheese, white wine, onions, bacon, and somehow potatoes (which shouldn’t work, but absolutely do)
• Hot dog empanada — controversial, confusing, and deeply polarizing

What it’s like
The ham and cheese is exactly what you want it to be — melty, comforting, familiar.
The Montagnard is next level — rich, savory, smoky, and unapologetically French. Bacon (or lardons) makes everything better.

The hot dog?
Let’s just say… France tried something. America still wins this one.

Why this counts as French street food

• Portable
• Affordable
• Eaten outside
• Casual and fast

But more importantly, it reflects how French food is evolving — not stuck in the past, but remixing it.

Our take
This was some of the most fun food of the day.

Not everything needs to be traditional to be good. Sometimes, giving a familiar street food a French passport is exactly what makes it interesting.

#8 The French Taco – Genius or a Crime?

This one had us nervous.

Because a French taco looks nothing like a taco. It’s France’s answer to a burrito — meat, fries, cheese sauce, and whatever else you can cram inside, wrapped up and pressed.

It was invented here in Lyon. And yes, it’s now a full-blown French fast-food obsession.

What we ordered
After panic-ordering through too many options:

• Curry chicken
• Melted cheese
• Onion sauce
  Fries (non-negotiable)

What it’s like
We fully expected this to be a mess.

And somehow… it worked.

It’s not elevated. It’s not subtle. But the chicken was better quality than expected, the onion sauce actually was kind of magical, and the whole thing just… made sense.

Cheesy. Comforting. Ridiculous.
But genuinely good.

Is it better than Taco Bell?
Let’s put it this way — this feels like fast food that France accidentally perfected.

You don’t want to like it.
But you do.

Our take
French tacos shouldn’t exist.
But now that they do, we get why they’re everywhere.

#9 The French Kebab – Viral for a Reason (Mostly)

No street food crawl is complete without a kebab.

In France, it’s usually called a sandwich grec, and it’s one of the most eaten street foods in the country. You’ll find them everywhere — from late-night counters to casual lunch spots.

What makes this one different
This kebab was awarded best kebab in Lyon, and visually… it shows. Soft bread, fresh veggies, minty sauce, and beautifully cooked chicken.

It’s the fanciest kebab we’ve ever seen.

What it’s like
The bread is pillowy. The flavors are fresh. The sauce is balanced.

But — and this matters — it’s also very veggie-forward. Almost… polite.

And sometimes with kebabs, polite isn’t what you want.

Our take
It’s excellent quality.
But if you’re craving that greasy, fatty, late-night kebab experience — this might not be the one.

Oddly enough, we were still team French taco.

So… Does France Have Street Food Worth Flying For?

Surprisingly? Yes.

But not in the way most people expect.

French street food isn’t about carts on every corner or fried things on sticks. It’s about:

• Bakeries
• Sandwich counters
• Food halls
• Picnics
• Casual, affordable eating with great ingredients

And Lyon is one of the best places to see that culture up close.

If you only eat street food here, you’ll miss a lot — but as a window into how people actually eat, it’s absolutely worth exploring.

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👉 24 Hours in Lyon – Best Restaurants & Food Itinerary
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Want our Lyon food map and downloadable guide? Grab it here!