Lyon

When we awoke, we had descended the Saône around the point of the presqu’île formed by the confluence of the two rivers, and gone upriver on the Rhône and docked in Lyon.

It was very windy and hence a bit cooler. The Mistral, the famed Provençal wind was blowing….and keeping the rain away! Still, the skies were as blue as ever and the sun was warm.

Lyon is the second largest industrial and commercial city in France, located at the confluence of the mighty Rhône and its main tributary, the Saône. Lyon has long been the principal center of the French textile industry, specifically the production of silk, dating back to the 15th century; the chemical industry; and metallurgy. Many famous people were born here: Rabelais, Ampère, St. Exupéry, Jacquard, the Montgolfier brothers and the Lumière brothers. Lyon is still the world’s leading center for textile design.

Julius Caesar founded the city in 44BC as Lugdunum and there is a wealth of roman antiquities here. Lugdunum was the commercial and military capital of Gaul. This entire area and that to the south is replete with Roman or Gallo-Roman influences. Lyon also has most well-preserved Renaissance buildings after Venice. Much of Lyon dates to the 19th century. The mix of architecture makes it one of the most beautiful cities.

And then there is the cuisine – Lyon is the gastronomical center of France. It makes sense since the city is in the middle of the country, able to draw on so many different culinary traditions: Burgundy, Ardèche, Alpes, Provence.

Our tour took us through the very old parts of the city on the west bank of the Saône, past the Roman theatres, built in 15BC – the Grand Theatre is the oldest in France and can seat 30,000 spectagtors - and to the top of the Fourvières Hill, dominated by Notre Dame de Fourvière, Lyon’s counterpart to the Sacré Coeur in Paris. Both churches are white basilicas, built after the Franco-Prussian War to thank the Virgin Mary for having spared the cities from les Huns our les Boches. In both cases, the work was paid for by donations from the people. Lyon’s basilica is a gaudy mock-Baroque creation. Yikes!!! A riot of turrets and crenellations outside, marble and mosaics of all colors inside. Not at all to my liking….and I don’t like the Sacré Coeur either!!! But the views over Lyon from the top are stunning: The Croix Rousse area of the silk workers; the Quartier St. Jean and the Quartier St. George …..he two rivers merging, the red-tiled roofs…all of Lyon at our feet.

We had a lovely walking tour through the oldest part of town, the St. Jean district, and we went from street to street through the traboules, something typically Lyonnais. They are literally tunnels that link streets, but inside there are houses on courtyards with access to light. People still live there. It is very hard to explain. You could walk right past the big wooden door and not know that there is a traboule there. They were also used by the Résistance during WWII. Lyon was the center of the Résistance. It is here that Jean Moulin was tortured and sent to a camp where he died….and where 20 odd years ago the “butcher of Lyon”, Klaus Barbie was brought to justice, after he was discovered in South America. France no longer has the death penalty so he was sentenced to life.

We stopped to admire a trompe l’oeil painting on the side of a building….exactly the same type as the one in Québec (and painted by the same group). It depicts various floors with windows; at each window is a famous Lyonnais. These paintings are really wonderful.

Next stop, Place Bellecour located on the presqu’île. The largest square in Europe, it is bordered by majestic 19th century buildings. An equestrian statue of Louis XIV stands in the center.

In the afternoon, there was a lecture on silk painting and weaving. I forgot to mention earlier that we have had lectures on Impressionism; river boats and life – the ships, the lock system in France etc.; current French life, politics etc.