After a number of years spent working in Germany as product manager for a textile company, Domitille Durrenberger came to Lyon five years ago. Originally from Strasbourg, she fell head over heels in love with the city and set up her agency Un instant en ville , in order to share her passion with others by offering tours and visits that are a bit out of the ordinary.

Basically I offer a themed tour guiding service, off the beaten track, with tailor-made itineraries for both individuals and corporate clients, she explains. My business is being successfully marketed by word of mouth as well as via the new website which went online in September… I even manage to con the locals with my knowledge, like for example on 9 December when I took a dozen executives from Cars Philibert for a night-time tour of the Croix-Rousse, visiting the Rosa Mir garden and walking through traboules that are usually closed to the public after dark .

Domitille Durrenberger is targeting in particular the seminar market and event organisers who call on her services to accompany their own corporate clientele. Most of the groups she deals with number between ten and 25 people. Domitille was especially in demand during the Fête des Lumières.

Between 4 and 6 December, I was asked by a Belgian events agency to look after a group of 11 executives from a Belgian bank. On the first day I took them round Vieux Lyon and up on to the hill at Fourvière. The next day we went up to La Croix-Rousse, with its sloping streets, and then on the last day we went to Les Halles. I wanted to give them a taste of everyday Lyon life, with the markets and cosy bistros. My approach seems to work, as some companies even ask me to accompany them outside of Lyon and to other cities. I’m actually thinking about setting up the same sort of agency in Strasbourg!

Topping her list of most popular guided tours is a clue-based treasure hunt lasting 2 ½ to 3 hours in Vieux Lyon and La Croix-Rousse followed by a cultural tour of some of the museums, sometimes outside of normal opening hours, and of the function rooms of the Hôtel de Ville and Les Halles, because of course Lyon’s obsession with the stomach is always a popular theme!

Un instant en ville is building up its client base, slowly but surely, with five projects on the go for January. Anyone interested in their own tour of Domitille’s Lyon should note that prices start at around 450 € for half a day and between 800 and 1000 € for a group of between 10 and 20 people.