What they are
A traboule is a pedestrian passage that runs through a building and its courtyards, linking one street to another. The word is Lyonnais — an old way of saying a passage that goes through. Other towns have them, but Lyon's are the famous ones.
They come in several shapes: straight through, where you can see the exit from the entrance; around a corner, through two buildings; or opening off a single courtyard in several directions. Some climb staircases, because the streets they join sit at very different heights.
Where they are
⭐ The two great concentrations are in Vieux Lyon, where they run parallel to the Saône between the long streets, and on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse, where they let the silk weavers carry cloth downhill without going round by the road.
Getting it right
⚠️ A traboule is a way through somebody's home, not a museum corridor. Only some are open to the public, usually by an agreement with the city; push a door only where it is marked, keep your voice down, and leave the letterboxes and stairs alone.
⭐ The tourist office publishes which ones are open. Without it you will spend a morning trying locked doors.
