Continuing our rail tour of France, we stopped off at Lyon, the capital city of France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Lyon is situated at the junction of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and on the left bank of the Rhône straddling Lyon’s 3rd and 7th districts is La Guillotière, one of the most vibrant parts of the city.
Despite being France’s third-largest city, arguably the country’s gastronomical capital, and the home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Lyon is not on everyone’s bucket list; it should be.
No matter where you are in Lyon, if you look up you will almost certainly see the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière on the city’s tallest hill. It was built in the late 19th century and has become one of the symbols of Lyon. Another striking building is Lyon Cathedral.
Throughout the Old City you’ll see passageways called traboules that were built from the 4th century onwards so that merchants could travel throughout the city unseen. Today, most of the walkways are open to the public, offering a behind-the-scenes look at Lyon.
The Pont Bonaparte shown in the picture above is one of several attractive bridges in the city. This one crosses the River Saône.
As you say: “arguably the country’s gastronomical capital”. I used to come to Lyon a couple of times a year for several years (on business) – and you can certainly eat very well here!