Lyon – with its Gallo-Roman ruins, its 300 Renaissance merchant houses and its gastronomic reputation – is awash in a nearly Mediterranean light, under which its ochre, gold and rose buildings fairly glow.
In 1998, Lyon became one of only a few urban centres on the UNESCO World Heritage List. And France’s third-largest city (after Paris and Marseilles) is intent on keeping its privileged position: over the last decade, Lyon has restored and replanted some 100 public spaces. The warehouses along the River Saône, for example, have been transformed into galleries for the Biennial of Contemporary Art.
Sightseeing
The Basilica of Fourvière (Basilique de Notre Dame de Fourvière) dominates Lyon as Sacré Coeur does Paris. It’s a steep walk up the Fourvière Hill to the dazzlingly white church, but there’s also a funicular. The adjoining esplanade gives a panoramic view of Lyon’s different quarters. Nearby is the Museum of Gallo-Roman Civilization (17, rue Cléberg; www.musees-gallo-romains.com) for a quick archaeology lesson. One of the museum’s most prized possessions is the Claudius Tablet, which contains fragments of a speech made by Emperor Claudius in front of the Roman Senate.
If you drop by the Romanesque-Gothic St.-Jean cathedral, situated at the foot of the Fourvière Hill, at noon, you can see the 14th-century astronomical clock do its cuckoo-like re-enactment of the Annunciation.
In Vieux Lyon, the largest Renaissance quarter in France. duck into the many traboules, covered passageways originally used by Renaissance silk weavers, or canuts, anxious to avoid exposing their delicate handiwork to rain showers, and which later became escape routes for the French Resistance during World War II.
Lyon’s Musée des Beaux-Arts (20, place des Terreaux) is known affectionately as the “little Louvre.� The museum offers a complete retrospective of Ancient Greek and Egyptian arts and civilisations, as well as sculptures and paintings from the Middle Ages to the present day.
The massive red-sand-covered Place Bellecour, to the east of the Rhone and Saone rivers, is an impressive 18th-century architectural ensemble in its own right, but the Lyonnais know it best as the city’s ultimate rendez-vous point; friends will arrange to meet “under the horse’s tail,� a reference to the equestrian statue of Louis XIV that dominates one end of the square.
Getting Around
The Lyon City Card (valid for one, two or three days) allows free and unlimited use of city transport (bus, metro, funicular and tramway lines), free access to the main museums, temporary exhibitions and the Biennial of Contemporary Art. It also includes guided tours, an unusual visit to the rooftops of the Fourvière Basilica and river cruises (from April to October), as well as short noon concerts at the Lyon National Opera or at the Auditorium de Lyon
Fooling the Eye
In Lyon, the walls tell stories. This is the kingdom of trompe l’oeil paintings, with more than 150 large-scale murs peints (murals) scattered around the city. One of the most popular, at the corner of quai St-Vincent and rue de la Martinière, memorializes dozens of native Lyonnais who have left their mark both on the city and on world culture, history and science. You may recognize Emperor Claude, Laurent Mourguet, (creator of the beloved Guignol puppets), the Lumière brothers (inventor of the movie camera), filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, Antoine de St-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince), and Michelin-starred chef Paul Bocuse.
Bocuse or Bouchons?
Though Lyon is most often associated with Paul Bocuse’s temple of gastronomy L’Auberge du Pont du Collonges (40, quai de la Plage, Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or, +33 (0)4 72 42 90 90), no visit to Lyon is complete without a meal (or two or three) at one of the city’s bouchons. Bouchons are bistros of a sort, but with even more limited menus. Their decor tends to be modest to the point of austerity, and they specialize in the classic cuisine mère (mother’s cooking) of Lyon of days gone by. Here are two to try:
Chez Georges
8, rue du Garet
+33 (0)4 78 28 30 46
A jolly, cluttered little place where about twenty-five customers can sit elbow-to-elbow to devour classic Lyonnais cold hors d’oeuvres on the order of museau de boeuf, a salad of pressed calf’s muzzle; cold chicken liver salad; or pink, unsmoked cervelas sausages served with lentils dressed with a tart vinaigrette—followed by gratinéed tripe or by andouillettes (sausages here made from both tripe and veal intestines).
La Meunière
11, rue Neuve
+33 (0)4 78 28 62 91
Proprietor Maurice Débrosse used to be Paul Bocuse’s maître d’hôtel and specializes in classic dishes like lentils with a spoonful of cervelle de canut (“silk weaver’s brain�), an herbed cream cheese that was once a favorite dish of the silk weavers who helped make Lyon rich.
Where to Shop
Chez Disagn’ Cardelli
6, rue St-Jean
Lyon is the birthplace of Guignol, the marionette that has been entertaining audiences for centuries. You can find him and a wide selection of his descendants, including a jolly French waiter here. There are puppet shows, too.
Bernachon
42, cours Franklin Roosevelt
The shop’s master chocolatiers are renowned for their palets d’or – small disks of bittersweet chocolate flecked with real gold leaf.
Soierie Vivante
21, rue Richan
The area of Croix-Rousse was the center of Lyon’s silk industry; you can discover the last authentic family silk weaving workshops (and their stunning wares) with Soierie Vivante (twww.soierie-vivante.asso.fr).
La Halle de la Part-Dieu
102, cours Lafayette
Butchers, bakers, sausage makers and the occasional oyster bar line the aisles at the 1971 covered market where the city’s best chefs shop. Cheese lovers shouldn’t miss a pilgrimage to la Mère Richard’s stall, where Renée Richard displays her spectacularly unctuous St-Marcellin, three-inch disks of creamy goat’s- and cow’s-milk cheese rumored to have been Louis XI’s favorite.
The “Other” Lyon
Lyon’s charm can have intriguing repercussions: a Dubai businessman, captivated by the city on a vist last October, has even decided to build a miniature version of Lyon back home in Dubai. The project, temporarily called Lyon-Dubai City, will include a university; small versions of Lyon’s main museums; housing, hotel and office space; cafes, restaurants, pedestrian malls, town squares, courtyards, a film center, even a church, all inspired by Lyon.
