Lyon’s Highlights and Secrets

This afternoon we did a walking tour of Lyon, hosted by Toni, a native of Barcelona who has lived in Lyon for 11 years. It was a lot of fun. Toni is full of passion and has excellent knowledge and experience about Lyon. We meet in the Place des Terreaux at the Bartholdi fountain of Marianne (heroine of the French Republic) drawn on a chariot by four horses, which represent the four largest rivers in France:- the Rhône, the Saône, the Seine and the Loire.

We meandered through the Place des Terreaux, Vieux Lyon and Fourvière Saint-Just areas over the afternoon, with Toni providing an interesting running commentary. We explored the Traboules (hidden passage ways linking two streets) of the old town, and saw some wonderful architecture, as well as hearing about the history and development of the different areas of Lyon, the Vieux (old) city, the Presque Île (between the two rivers) and the newer area our apartment is located in.

We visited a silk shop, where we saw silk worms chomping on mulberry leaves, visited the Place St Paul, where all the good wine bars are located, and passed the Cathedral of St Jean, where many of the angel and saint statues were beheaded by the Huguenots in the 15th & 16th Century.

We also strolled down the Rue de Boeuf to check out the numerous Michelin star restaurants and visited the Place de Change where the Italian, Swiss and French bankers gathered to exchange currencies. We also found out the origin of the word banker - a reference to the tables (or baca in Italian) used by the money changers, and of the term bankruptcy - which was a result of people loosing their money and getting so angry with the merchants that they would bang the table until it ruptured. We visited the largest house in Old Lyon which was owned by the Gadagane family. Even today in Lyon, they refer to people being “as rich as the Gadaganes”.

After exploring the lower part of the old city, we caught the funicular up to the top of the hill of Fourviere (named for the Roman Forum originally located there). We checked out the Roman Ruins from 43 BC, which included a theatre for the poor folk and an Odeon for the wealthy folk. We then popped into the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, where nearly the entire inside is covered in mosaics. This Basilica was funded by the people of Lyon, to thank the Virgin Mary from sparing them from the Prussians, and is approximately 150 years old. There was a mass underway, and so to be respectful we weren’t able to walk through the Basilica or take pictures.

We then proceeded to a terrace just beside the Basilica that afforded lovely views of the city of Lyon. After taking in the views, we descended from the hill through the Jardin du Rosaire, which was a lovely shaded walkway, and down a large staircase where we had wonderful views of the rooftops and chimneys of Lyon. This was a wonderful afternoon getting immersed in the history and culture of Lyon.Read more