Month: December 2021

We had docked in Lyon during the night. When we awoke, we found ourselves not only in the third largest city in France (after Paris and Marseilles) but docked on the Saône instead of the Rhône. Lyon straddles both rivers.

Founded as the Roman city of Lugdunum on Fourviére Hill in 43 BC, Lyon became the capital of the Gauls. The Archbishop of Lyon is still referred to as the “Primat des Gaules”. Interestingly, Lyon was not under French control until the 14^th century.

The silk trade was one of the main drivers of the city’s development during the Renaissance. During that time the system of secret passages known as traboules were created in the part of the city now known as Vieux Lyon. These came in handy during World War II. Klaus Barbie, the Nazi “Butcher of Lyon” had his headquarters at the Hotel Terminus. The French Resistance was very strong in Lyon and used the traboules as a means of escaping the Gestapo raids.

During the morning while the bicycle race was taking place and the streets of Lyon were mainly closed to any other vehicles, I got the tags for my cases and packed everything that I wouldn’t need until we got to Paris. I also wandered around the top deck and took some photos of the city from up there. Back in my cabin, I got some nice photos of swans, boats, kayaks, and even the tail end of a group of cyclists who shot by on the other side of the Saône.

We had a grilled lunch up on the open top deck of the ship with steak, salmon or burgers as our choices. Several sides were also served. A couple flavors of ice cream were provided for dessert.

Our tour of Lyon began as a coach tour. The part where we first departed from the tour coach, took place at the same place as the city began — Fourviére Hill. We went by the Roman remains of the Theatre of Fourviére and the Odeon of Lyon on the side of the hill (photo included) and parked up on the top of the hill.

There was quite a view of the city from up there (photo included) plus a truly gorgeous basilica. Occupying the site of the Roman forum of Trajan at the top of Fourviére Hill, the basilica was actually quite new, having been built between 1872 and 1896. Next door was a lovely bell tower and Shrine of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. It had a golden statue of Mary at the top.

We were given some free time to visit the basilica before we needed to return to the tour coach. But first I needed to visit a smaller facility near the wall overlooking the city.

When I entered the little building, I discovered a turnstile to get in and a machine attached to the wall from which a ticket needed to be purchased. Although I could get by with what I remembered from high school French fairly often (like when making purchases at the market at Tournon), there were plenty of times when I was completely lost. I looked at the machine and realized that I understood enough French to purchase the ticket. Whew!

Most ticket-operated turnstiles I had encountered before were the type where you slid a ticket into a slot and the turnstile let you through. Instead, this one read the code on the ticket when you placed the ticket against a little screen. Fortunately I figured that out too and found myself headed down the stairs to the rest rooms.

In France, sometimes rest rooms are separated between “Hommes” and “Dames” and sometimes it is everyone together. These were separated and very clean. Perhaps not everyone wanted to spend 0.70€ and waited until they could find one for free. I was the only person down there.

My time inside the basilica was limited to just a few quick photos instead of being able to tour the entire building. But my half hour had dwindled to fifteen minutes, so I did what I could after taking several photos outside. It was a beautiful building.

After driving around the modern parts of the city and some of the 18^th and 19^th century parts, we stopped just outside of the old Renaissance portion of the city known as Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon). There we got off of the tour coach again and took a walking tour. All of the streets were narrow and cobbled, so were pedestrian only. Our local guide led us through a couple of the traboules into the courtyards from which the buildings could be entered. The courtyards were quite lovely and definitely a “back in time” experience.

Vieux Lyon is the largest, intact, Renaissance neighborhood in Europe and is a protected district. It has three distinct sections:

1. The Saint Jean Quarter, which is the oldest, dating to the Middle Ages. It was mainly a center of religious and political power.
2. The Saint Paul Quarter, dating from the 15^th and 16^th centuries. This section was dominated by Italian bankers and merchants and contained several mansions.
3. The Saint Georges Quarter also dated mostly from the Middle Ages. The silk weavers moved in during the 16^th century. The traboules were built here.

Traboules were created as a means to pass through buildings and their courtyards, connecting streets directly with one another. At the time, there weren’t a lot of streets that ran parallel between the hill and the Saône. So these passages (which were closed off by doors) were quicker routes to get where one needed to go. But you had to know they were there.

Even now, with only a handful of traboules open to the public, the majority are still secret passages. The first one we entered had a long, dark, narrow corridor with heavy wooden doors at each end. The second one had a shorter, wider passage with the doors open on each end. This one had some elegant shops in the courtyard. It also had a famous tower called the Tour Rose (Pink Tower).

In that same courtyard was an old, wooden door with loads of nails that was labeled “Institut des Sciences Clavologiques”. It means “Institute of Nail Sciences” and is a joke. There is a private society that meets there and nobody knows what they do. I am certain it has something to do with drinking.

Next time – Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Chateau Cromatin

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