Access Lyon Silk, stone and two rivers.

France- - Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

LYON · RHÔNE

A Roman capital, a Renaissance city of silk, and the place France comes to eat — all on one site.

Roman theatres on Fourvière, merchants' houses along the Saône, weavers' workshops on the Croix-Rousse, and passages that run straight through the buildings. Book the bouchons you care about.

Dennis G. Jarvis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Lyon in brief

Country	France — Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, prefecture of the Rhône
Size	France's third-largest city, at the meeting of the Rhône and the Saône
Language	French. English is common in the centre and at the stations
Currency	Euro
Getting around	Four metro lines, two funiculars and trams — and the flat Presqu'île on foot
Arriving	Saint-Exupéry airport, linked to Part-Dieu by the Rhônexpress tram; the TGV from Paris takes about two hours
December	The Fête des Lumières, around 8 December — the busiest days of the year
Heritage	The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site

43 BCLugdunum founded on Fourvière

AD 19the amphitheatre of the Three Gauls

1646the Hôtel de Ville begun

1857the Tête d'Or park opens

1862the world's first urban funicular

1895the Lumière brothers' first film

Start here

Ten sections. Lyon is built in layers — a Roman hill, a Renaissance quarter, a silk weavers' hill and a modern city across the Rhône — and these follow the way you will actually use it.

TWENTY PLACES, ONE PAGE EACHSightsEvery sight on this site has its own page with its own photographs.A METRO, TWO FUNICULARS AND YOUR FEETGetting AroundLyon is compact between its rivers and steep on its hills; the transport is built for both.THE CITY FRANCE COMES TO EAT INEating & DrinkingIn 1935 the critic Curnonsky called Lyon the world capital of gastronomy. The city has not let anyone forget it.LIGHTS IN DECEMBER, THEATRE IN SUMMERWhen to ComeLyon is a city for any season, but two dates shape the year.THE CITY IN LAYERSNeighbourhoodsLyon's quarters run in bands between two hills and two rivers — each one a different century.THE RHÔNE AND THE SAÔNEThe Two RiversLyon is built where two very different rivers meet — and the quays along them are the city's best walks.TWO THOUSAND YEARS ON ONE SITEFrom Lugdunum to the LumièresA Roman capital, a Renaissance city of banks and printing presses, the silk trade — and cinema.MEDIEVAL, ROMAN, ALPINE, AND WINEDay TripsLyon sits between the Alps, the Beaujolais and the Rhône valley — the best day trips go in every direction.BUILT AROUND THE HILLS AND THE MEALSItinerariesFive lengths of stay, arranged so you climb each hill once and never miss a lunch. Each of the museums here takes a weekday off, so check the one you are building a day around before you set out.WHAT GENUINELY NEEDS ARRANGINGBooking AheadMost of Lyon needs no booking at all. A few things do.

All twenty sights