In this post, I'll show you some of the Old City (Vieux Lyon). This area is across the Saone River from Croix-Rousse, where we live, but it actually isn't very far from us. We've been there twice and we walked the whole way on our first trip. Since getting there meant walking down Croix-Rousse hill, we chose to ride the metro back uphill.
On the way down, we pass the impressive Hotel de Ville in the 1st Arrondissment of the city.
Place Terraux, in front of the Hotel de Ville, is under renovation, so I'll come back and photograph when that is finished.
We crossed the Saone River to get to Vieux Lyon.
We had a wonderful dejeuneur (lunch) at La Grange de Saint-Jean. It is a Bouchon Lyonnais, which means they serve typical Lyonnais food. We were serenaded during lunch by two superb guitarists.
We then walked through one of the main streets of Vieux Lyon, which is the part of the city that attracts the most tourists. There are vendors and restaurants of all types and from all nations lining the narrow streets.
At the end of the street we reached Place St. Jean with its beautiful cathedral, one of the three main churches in Vieux Lyon.
From the Vieux Lyon metro stop you can take one of two Funiculars to the top of Fourviere hill. The one we took goes to the Roman era amphitheaters and on to the village of St. Just. We rode to the top and walked down to the Roman ruins, which date back to around 15 BC. They were built in the center of the Roman city Lugdunum, which became Lyon. They were found in the 1500s and are in amazingly good shape, as you can see.
There are a large and a smaller theaters in the complex and apparently they could hold as many as 10,000 people. It is awesome to walk among the old stones and consider what transpired there centuries ago. We will go back and take in the adjacent museum.
From the Roman amphitheaters, we walked to the Fourviere Basilica. I erroneously thought that the walk would be downhill. I was sadly mistaken! The Basilica was much higher on the hill than the Roman ruins. On the way, we could see glimpses of the white Basilica and the 15 meter gold-plated bronze statue of Mary on top of the smaller chapel, which kept us climbing. We weren't disappointed.
The interior of the Basilica is the most ornate church interior I have ever seen, period. Of course it is hard to photograph, but I'll show you a few pictures.
Since Fourviere Basilica is on the highest point in the city, the views from there are fantastic.
This ls the Cathedral St.-Jean from the Basilica Fourviere.
I'll stop here. Please don't forget to check out Lorraine's blog: Lorraineinlyon.blogspot.com. She is talking a lot about food in Lyon and how you get it. It is worth your attention.
A bientot.
On the way down, we pass the impressive Hotel de Ville in the 1st Arrondissment of the city.
Place Terraux, in front of the Hotel de Ville, is under renovation, so I'll come back and photograph when that is finished.
We crossed the Saone River to get to Vieux Lyon.
We had a wonderful dejeuneur (lunch) at La Grange de Saint-Jean. It is a Bouchon Lyonnais, which means they serve typical Lyonnais food. We were serenaded during lunch by two superb guitarists.
We then walked through one of the main streets of Vieux Lyon, which is the part of the city that attracts the most tourists. There are vendors and restaurants of all types and from all nations lining the narrow streets.
At the end of the street we reached Place St. Jean with its beautiful cathedral, one of the three main churches in Vieux Lyon.
From the Vieux Lyon metro stop you can take one of two Funiculars to the top of Fourviere hill. The one we took goes to the Roman era amphitheaters and on to the village of St. Just. We rode to the top and walked down to the Roman ruins, which date back to around 15 BC. They were built in the center of the Roman city Lugdunum, which became Lyon. They were found in the 1500s and are in amazingly good shape, as you can see.
There are a large and a smaller theaters in the complex and apparently they could hold as many as 10,000 people. It is awesome to walk among the old stones and consider what transpired there centuries ago. We will go back and take in the adjacent museum.
From the Roman amphitheaters, we walked to the Fourviere Basilica. I erroneously thought that the walk would be downhill. I was sadly mistaken! The Basilica was much higher on the hill than the Roman ruins. On the way, we could see glimpses of the white Basilica and the 15 meter gold-plated bronze statue of Mary on top of the smaller chapel, which kept us climbing. We weren't disappointed.
The interior of the Basilica is the most ornate church interior I have ever seen, period. Of course it is hard to photograph, but I'll show you a few pictures.
Since Fourviere Basilica is on the highest point in the city, the views from there are fantastic.
The half-cylinder above is the Opera House. To the left of it is the Hotel de Ville I showed you earlier.
The open area above is Place Bellecour, the largest open Place in Europe. (I'm not sure of the definition of "Place", but it is very large.)
This ls the Cathedral St.-Jean from the Basilica Fourviere.
I'll stop here. Please don't forget to check out Lorraine's blog: Lorraineinlyon.blogspot.com. She is talking a lot about food in Lyon and how you get it. It is worth your attention.
A bientot.
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