Lyon

Brief information

Lyon can be read through its relief: the city grew at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône, while the hills of Fourvière, Croix-Rousse, and Duchère rise above it. This is not just a beautiful position on the map. Ancient Lugdunum was located in the Fourvière area, where the ancient theater and Odeon have also been preserved; later, after the decline of the Roman city, the population shifted to the foot of the hill, closer to the river, to the place where Vieux Lyon is now.

For this reason, different parts of the city show different reasons for its importance: the rivers and roads made Lyon a hub between northern France, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic; the hills preserved traces of the ancient city; the quarters along the Saône are connected with medieval and Renaissance development. Another notable layer is added to this: for five centuries Lyon has been considered the capital of silk, and the history of weaving explains the special significance of the old passageways and the districts of Croix-Rousse.

What to notice right away

It makes sense to compare three urban forms. The Presqu’île is the peninsula between the Rhône and the Saône at their confluence: its very layout explains why the center of Lyon became connected with embankments, squares, and major public buildings. Vieux Lyon stretches along the Saône; its late medieval and Renaissance houses with narrow streets show a more compact city that developed at the foot of the hill.

A separate detail is the traboules, through-corridors in the old densely built quarters. They were not decoration, but short passages through blocks of houses; in troubled times, such a network helped people escape pursuit. On the slopes of Croix-Rousse, it is worth noting the very connection between the hill and the Presqu’île: the district is described as old, with narrow streets and traboules. And La Confluence shows another edge of the same river logic: it is a former industrial district rebuilt at the place where the Saône flows into the Rhône.