Lyon, France

View from Fourvière

France’s third-largest city feels like a combination of a lesser (of course!) Paris and an Eastern European city like Prague. Two rivers flow through the city, which contributes to the slightly schizophrenic feel. The easternmost river, La Rhône, is lined neatly with grand, classic buildings while the westernmost river, La Saône, is flanked by the city’s steepest hill, a working class neighborhood and the tight old town.

Along the Rhône

Along La Saône

Street scene

Lyon was founded in 43 BC as a Roman territory. In the 15th century, it became Europe’s premier publishing center, and in the 18th century, it remade itself as a silk-weaving capital.

Cathédral St-Jean

Boeuf

Bouchon window

The city is filled with traditional Lyonnaise bouchons, small checked-tableclothed bistros serving local fare. Bouchons sprung up out of necessity back in the early-20th century when the city hit tough times and the bourgeois had to let their cooks go.

Vieux Lyon

Staircase in the old town

Vieux Lyon’s narrow streets wind past medieval and Renaissance houses.

Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s contribution to Lyon

Place des Terreaux is Lyon’s central square, adorned with a 19th-century fountain by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi who is best known for the Statue of Liberty. The four horses symbolize rivers galloping seawards.

Place Bellecour

Louis XIV

17th-century Place Bellecour is one of Europe’s largest squares. A statue of Louis XIV decorates the center.

I saw a few of these dogs

Sunny street scene

Stand-out façade

La Croix-Rousse is known as “the hill that works” since it once housed the city’s silk workshops. Today, it is still partially a run-down garment district, but gentrification is working its magic and parts of the neighborhood now have an arty vibe.

Basilica

Across the river is Fourvière, known as “the hill that prays” thanks to the basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière, several convents and the palace of the Archbishop.

Building detail