Vieux-Lyon

A tourist visiting the city of Lyon on holiday, you are standing in Place Bellecour, the square in the heart of the Presqu'île peninsula. Feel free to cross the Saône over Pont Bonaparte (‘Bonaparte Bridge') and you will be in Lyon's oldest neighborhood, the 5th District (69005). This quarter, called Vieux Lyon (‘Old Lyon'), is Lyon's medieval and Renaissance area. It is located at the foot of Fourviere Hill.

In 1964, Vieux Lyon became the first protected area in France, featuring one of Europe's largest collections of Renaissance architecture. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, it is composed of three areas:  Saint Georges in the south, Saint John in the center and Saint Paul in the north.  

Arriving on the bridge you will discover Bonaparte Saint-Georges to your left and St. John's immediate right. The district of Old Lyon indeed organized around three churches: the Cathedral of Saint John, the oldest, which has a Romanesque apse, the Roman Church of St. Paul with its bell tower and the octagonal church built in Saint Georges XIX.

After visiting the Cathedral of St. John you will have much pleasure in walking the streets that lead you to Saint Paul. Not to be missed! At 54 rue St-Jean, enter the Great Traboule. The traboules are the curiosity of the area and more widely in the city of Lyon. What is a Traboule? A path for pedestrians, often narrow, beginning with a corridor for entry and through one or more buildings for connecting one street to another.

Now you want to visit the site Fourviere, the basilica was inaugurated in 1896 and located at the top of this hill overlooking Lyon and the Saône Valley. Take the funicular railway near St. Jean. Visit the Basilica and, later, the museum of Fourviere which has many objects of sacred art.

Immerse them in the Gallo-Roman ruins with the theater (15 av. JC) which could accommodate 10 000 spectators and, below, the Roman baths. Finally, a look at the Church of St. Irenaeus and the crypt of the first Christian martyrs in 177. A little farther, the view of Fort St. Irenaeus who commanded the fortifications of the right bank of the Saône.

A Walk in Old Lyon is a walk through 20 centuries of history. It is also, for lovers of good food and cuisine lyonnaise many small restaurants to satisfy their pleasure before returning to their holiday rental in Lyon.

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