Go back to the days when Lyon was a fairground city where merchants from all over Europe came to do business. Secret and mysterious, Vieux-Lyon can be discovered behind the doors, where traboules (hidden passages allowing access to two streets through the interior of a building) and interior courtyards reveal all the wealth of their former owners.

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Located in the heart of Vieux-Lyon, Saint-Jean Cathedral, also called Primatiale St Jean (seat of the Primate of Gaul), is a building mixing Gothic and Roman styles. Its construction spanned three centuries, from 1175 to 1481.

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One of the peculiarities of the building is to have an astronomical clock. Made at the end of the 16th century, this indicates the date, the positions of the moon, the sun and the Earth, as well as that of the stars above Lyon. Saint-Jean Cathedral also features remarkable stained glass windows dating from the beginning of the 12th century. The central rose window on the facade is particularly admirable.

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This cathedral was over the centuries the scene of important political and historical events: Pope John XXII was crowned there in 1316; December 13, 1600, the cathedral shelters the marriage of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis; Richelieu received his cardinal bar there in 1622.

Around St-Jean cathedral , rue Saint-Jean is home to restaurants and shops. Rue du Bœuf, designer boutiques alternate with Michelin-starred restaurants. Do not hesitate to get lost in the small cobbled streets of the district!

Former industrial district, Confluence housed the wholesale market and the Rambaud port, which supplied the city with goods arriving by the river, but also factories and prisons. Following the gradual closures of factories at the end of the 20th century, the urban project of Confluence breathed new life into this district and made it possible to extend the city to the south.

The big names in international architecture such as Christian de Portzamparc, Kengo Kuma, or Massimiliano Fuksas have put their mark on surprising architecture. An experimental district at the cutting edge of ecology , this eco-district combines daring and sustainable development.

From the banks of the Saône to the edge of the Cours Charlemagne, it combines shops, homes and offices, between constructions and renovations of old buildings in the port.

Discover a contemporary Lyon looking to the future!

Whether you prefer dumplings, cheeses, macaroons, seafood… you can find everything at Les Halles de Lyon . And everything is good and of high quality , above all, giving pride of place to the finest regional products: it is not for nothing that the Meilleur Ouvrier de France are legion there.

More than a market, it is also a place to eat where you can enjoy yourself at any time , starting early in the morning with the traditional Lyon mâchon.

Here excellence is open to the general public and offers you all year round in the heart of Lyon a real journey to the land of cuisine and good food, where a single slogan resounds: “Welcome to all gourmets!”

One of the most important streets of Lyon in the Middle Ages, rue Mercière is today a lively street that recalls the Renaissance past of the Peninsula. Called rue Mercatoria in medieval times, rue Mercière is today a street where Lyonnais bouchons and restaurants coexist. Lined with Renaissance buildings, it recalls the past and the physiognomy of the Peninsula before the work carried out by the Prefect Vaïsse in the 19th century.

Rue de l'Imprimerie, it hosted this flourishing industry in Lyon from the 15th century and the first printers from 1473. Passing from 56 rue Mercière to 26 quai Saint-Antoine, the passage des imprimeurs is a covered passage with buildings from the 18th century .

It is one of Lyonnais favorite places to walk. The Tête d'Or Park is 105 hectares of nature to frolic on the lawns, under the hundred-year-old trees, to go around the lake (17 hectares). Explore the African savannah of the zoological park where zebras, giraffes, antelopes, lions and other rare species live in freedom on 3 hectares (you can even visit its backstage, by reservation). And in the coming months, the park will have an Asian forest, a real immersive space that will host 25 endangered species.

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Stroll through the botanical garden (the 1st in France, with its 20,000 species) and the tropical greenhouses. From spring, stroll through the magnificent international rose garden ... In the park, you can move around as you like by strolling along the shaded alleys, by running, in a rosalie, by small train, by bike or by segway!

In fine weather, it is very pleasant to rent a boat or a pedal boat to relax on the lake in the middle of swans and ducks!

For children, this is the perfect place to roll in the grass, go for pony rides, play mini-golf or have fun on the playgrounds, rides and attractions, or even watch a Guignol show and bite into a waffle at one of the refreshments.

At the bend of a street or a square, whether in the city center or on the outskirts, more than a hundred frescoes cover the walls of Lyon and thus retrace its history.

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The largest painted wall in Europe, the Fresque des Canuts represents the Croix-Rousse district and is regularly updated! Thus, the characters and structures evolve over the years.

After descending by traboulant to the Terreaux district, admire the celebrities of the Fresque des Lyonnais . Paul Bocuse, the Lumière Brothers or even Abbé Pierre, will you be able to find these personalities who have contributed to the influence of Lyon?

3rd largest square in France (after Concorde in Paris and Quinconces in Bordeaux), it takes its name from "Bella Curia" and successively renamed Place Louis-le-Grand, Place de la Fédération, Place Bonaparte and finally Place Bellecour in 1850.

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At the end of the 12th century, the Archbishop of Lyon owned the vineyard called "Bella Curtis" (beautiful garden) on the square. Baron des Adrets made it a place of arms from 1562 to 1604. Louis XIV in 1658 obtained definitive possession of the town for the town and had a statue depicting it there.

The first bronze statue representing the Sun King was made by Martin Desjardins in 1713. It was destroyed and melted down during the Revolution. In 1825, it was the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot who produced the current statue. Sent from Paris, its inauguration gave rise to major celebrations throughout the city. According to legend, the sculptor committed suicide because he forgot to shape the stirrups. False rumor since the king was represented riding bareback or Roman style.

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The people of Lyon are very attached to this statue which he affectionately nicknamed the “Bronze Horse”.

The Musée des Confluences is awarded 3 * by the Michelin green guide in 2020. Three stars means “worth the trip”. Out of 30,000 starred sites in France, only 255 have three stars in the Green Guide, including Vieux-Lyon and the Musée des Beaux-Arts .

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First of all, the architecture of the museum is incredible! Made of glass, concrete and stainless steel, it stands like a cape on the tip of the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône.

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Such a building could only accommodate an exceptional museum, that of the confluence of knowledge: sciences, techniques and societies, to better understand the world ... The Earth, humanity from its birth to today, history , geography. In other words, an open door to the world, the universe and knowledge: fascinating, isn't it?

The very contemporary scenography is original and beautifully highlights the exhibitions and their singularities. Many relaxation areas allow everyone to follow the tour routes at their own pace. Here is therefore an essential stage of the Lyon cultural landscape , which has not finished surprising us, making us travel and grow.

La Croix-Rousse , "hill that works", while working and laborious of Fourvière, the "hill that prays", was built at the beginning of the 19th century on land that belonged to religious communities. Since 1998, the slopes of Croix-Rousse have been part of the territory classified as World Heritage by Unesco. The significant difference in level has had consequences on the layout of the streets which follow the contour lines, or frankly attack the slopes and turn into stairs. The old areas with narrow streets separating the tall buildings pierced with traboules are totally different from the modern parts.

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The Canuts (silk workers) occupied buildings designed for them and sized to contain the imposing hand looms and new mechanics invented by Jacquard.

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North-south passages in the direction of the slope, the famous traboules, are created to facilitate the movement of pedestrians.

Place des Terreaux , on which the Bartholdi fountain is located, has an area of ​​7000 m². Installed around 1625 on the old ditches of the Lanterne fortifications, it was used as a place of capital execution and as a pig market.

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The name "compost" means mud, earth of embankment. In Roman times, a muddy terrain cut by large ditches occupied the current place, hence its name. This land became a paved public square from the 17th century. The square is bordered to the east by the Town Hall, to the south by the Museum of Fine Arts, to the north by a row of buildings marking the beginning of the slopes of the Croix-Rousse. Its area is 7000 m².

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Renovated by architects Christian Drevet and Daniel Buren in 1992 who moved the Bartholdi fountain and added 69 fountains to the square, each made up of a black granite basin.

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An emblematic Lyon fountain

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Installed on Place des Terreaux, the fountain was completed in 1888. It represents France (Marianne) and the 4 rivers (horses). Originally commissioned by the city of Bordeaux, it represented the "triumphal chariot of the Garonne". The city of Bordeaux having found it too expensive, it is the city of Lyon which acquired it during its presentation at the Universal Exhibition of 1889.