1. LYONit’s better than
P A R I S

2. Lyon may be called ‘France’s Second City,’
yet in reality it trumps its capital counterpart
in nearly every category. Paris has the
Seine? That’s cute. Lyon offers a choice
of rivers, the Rhône and Saône. Whereas
Parisians often meet travellers with a scowl
of resentment, the Lyonnais are keen to
share a smile and a story. A night out on
the town in Paris will have you scratching
your head the next morning, wondering
where all of your euros went. Nightlife in
Lyon, on the other hand, will leave you with
at least enough money to pay for a slice of
pizza on your stumble home. Paris may be
called ‘The City of Love,’ but Lyon is the city
where you will actually feel the love.
INTRODUCTION
THEATRES, TUNNELS AND TINY THINGS
CLASSIC LYON
‘Contrasts - Meet the Confluence’
‘Les Traboules - A Trip Through Time’
‘Only Lugdunum’
‘Lyon: The Director’s Cut’
‘Hidden Secrets’
‘Walled Up’
Contents
BOOKS, BOBOS AND BARBER SHOPS
UNUSUAL LYON
‘Live Like a Lyonnais’
‘Tokens From Your Travels’
‘The Hipster Trail’
STALLS, SIESTAS AND SPEEDOS
DAY TIME LEISURE
‘This Little Piggy Went To Market’
‘All that Glitters is Gold’
‘Lyon à la Mode’
‘Testing the Water’
BANDS, BOATS AND BOUCHONS
NIGHT TIME LEISURE
‘A Taste of Lyon’
‘Allez, Allez L’OL’
‘A-Live in Lyon’
‘Eat, Drink and be Merry’
‘Cocktails, Bars and Barges’
‘Getting Over Your Hangover’
fêTES, FACTS AND FRENCHMEN
LEARN ABOUT LYON
‘Lyon Will Make You Smile’
‘Understand Les Lyonnais’
‘International Events’
BEDS, BICYCLES AND BILLETS
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
‘Getting Around the City’
‘Vélo’v’
‘All Travellers Need Their Beauty Sleep’
As this guide will prove, there are many
reasons why Lyon should be top of your
travel bucket list. Take a wander through the
pages and you will discover a whole new
take on the city. From history to hangover
cures, tourist gems to hipster trends and
Français to Lyonnais, you’ll find everything
you need right here. Book your flight and
pack your bags – the true French capital
awaits.
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3. THEATRES, TUNNELS AND TINY THINGS
CLASSIC LYON
Abandoned Theatre Model
Musée Miniature et Cinèma

4. What to do with a derelict district in
the heart of a historical city? Go on a
walking tour through the two different
sides of Lyon and find out.
A no man’s land on the tip of the
peninsula between the Saône and
Rhône rivers with nothing but
factories and the harbour - that’s
what Confluence used to be just a few
years ago. Now, times are changing:
witness the development of a whole
new district with life, shopping and
culture.
CONTRASTS - Meet the Confluence
Traboules
Croix-Rousse
6 7

5. A trip from old to new Lyon will make
you feel like entering another world.
Start in the historical core between Place
des Terreaux and Place Bellecour in a
southerly direction, and relish the view
over the historical places and buildings
whilst walking along the pedestrian
streets. Now and then, have a break and
sit outside one of the numerous cafés,
bars or restaurants tucked away within
the small lanes: just watch the world
go by and enjoy the sound of French-
speakers surrounding you. From typical
Lyon specialities, such as crêpes and
ice cream, to international cuisine, you
will surely find the right meal for you. In
particular, don’t miss a visit to Place des
Jacobins with its imposing fountain. This
is Lyon in its purest form.
Go further southwards and you will
continue to discover the historical and
cultural centre of Lyon, with its small and
original shops and bars and its huge
variety of museums, theatres and old
churches. A look inside the mosaic-lined
chapels will leave you in awe.
If you suddenly face a building that looks
like an enormous spaceship behind Place
Carnot, you have arrived at the station of
Perrache, that stands above the freeway
separating Confluence from the rest of
Lyon.
In case you went along the water and just
found the freeway: don’t worry, you have
the same chance to reach Confluence as
everyone else. Just search for a tunnel
leading to the other side, or as highly
recommended, avoid it and try to find
the metro station of Perrache. Seeing
these tunnels might be an experience,
but struggling through the metro station
is an adventure in itself, just without the
typical, odious human stench found
inside tunnels.
After you have finally made your way
through the labyrinth of this building,
the hardest part is over; just keep
going straight. You know that you’re
about to enter Confluence when huge
construction sites appear on the left
hand side (southeast) and the landscape
starts to change into a rotten, neglected
factory area. That’s how it used to look
like before the construction work started.
Surely still a good setting for a horror
movie.
In extreme contrast, you face this
giant, hyper-modern residential area
to the right (northwest) with a giant
shopping mall right in the centre of the
neighbourhood. Including 106 shops, 12
restaurants, a cinema, parking space for
1500 cars, a hotel and even a climbing
wall, it represents a whole new life for
Confluence. In addition, strolling through
the newly built quarter around Place
Nautique is worth the walk, even though
it still gives you a feeling of sterility and
artificiality.
Confluence has provided living space
for people of every age and social
background since 2008, as students and
single parents live next door to yuppies
and high-achievers, meaning that this
face-lift represents just another example
of the diversity of Lyon.
More information can be found in the
Confluence museum - another futuristic
spaceship building, which is however not
completed yet. According to the plans,
it should be finished in 2014; for more
information see the web page at www.
lyon-confluence.fr.
Confluence Shopping Centre
112, Cours Charlemagne
Shops open daily 10.00 - 20.00
Restaurants open 10.00 - 23.00
(Monday - Thursday and Sunday)
Restaurants open 10.00 - 00.30
(Friday and Saturday)
Metro A - Perrache
Tram T1 - Perrache
Town Houses
Vieux Lyon
Apartments
Confluence
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6. With a smile, our tour guide
offers a welcome escape from
the sweltering urban scrum. As
an elaborately decorated door
opens off the Rue St Jean, we are
introduced to a city within the
city – les traboules, a network of
around 300 passageways and
courtyards that run through the
city.
With a working knowledge of
this hidden network, essential
for any vrai Lyonnais, it’s possible
to traverse both Vieux Lyon and
Croix-Rousse without setting
Les Traboules - a trip through time
foot on a main road. But not only
is this network very useful, it is
also endlessly interesting. These
walkwaysofferglimpsesatahidden
Lyon. You may find a tattoo artist
working to the music of AC/DC,
or dodge a band of rollerblading
kids. These glimpses, brief as they
may be, prompt wonder at the
lives behind the walls.
More intriguing still is the
traboules’ rich history. Some of the
earliest date back as far as the 4th
century, but they are best known
for their role in the silk trade – the
industry that made the city’s name.
Les canuts – silk weavers – used
the traboules of Croix-Rousse to
transport their wares to market.
By the 1830s, the area became a
hotbed of revolutionary activity,
as disaffected workers marched
through the traboules and briefly
took control of the city.
In the 20th century, the traboules
again became a focal point for
conflict. Their capacity for stealth
was put to good use during the
Second World War, as the French
Resistance used the passageways
to hide from the Gestapo. This was particularly
useful in the early days of occupation, when
only the Lyonnais knew of their existence.
If you only have time for one, make sure to
visit La Traboule de la Tour Rose. One of Lyon’s
most famous traboules, it is known for its warm
terracotta interior. Or if you have a little more
time, cross over to Rue St Jean in the city’s
longest pathway, known as la longue traboule.
Residents of the apartments surrounding the
traboules have agreed to keep them open to
the public between the hours of 8am and 7pm
but some will nevertheless be closed. Your best
bet is therefore to arrive as early as possible,
but make sure to keep noise to a minimum –
the residents can be a little wary of tourists.
La Traboule de la Tour Rose
22, Rue du Bœuf
Metro D - Vieux Lyon
La Longue Traboule
54, Rue St Jean
Metro D - Vieux Lyon
1110

7. Did you know Lyon was once a capital city? And
not just of the area now called France, but of the
whole region of Gaul?
Well, way back in 43BC the Roman General, Lucius
Munatius Plancus, was tasked with founding
a ‘colonia’ here by the Senate. The spot was
considered important because of the two major
rivers it overlooked, but it was really more of a
ratification exercise since people from nearby
Vienne (known as Vienna) had already started to
settle here. Although the town’s official name was
Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, after its founder, the
inhabitants gave it the much catchier name of
Lugdunum, after Lug, the Celtic God of Light. It is a
Only Lugdunum
native connection that has been maintained to this
day through Lyon’s reputation as the ‘city of lights’.
Despite these Celtic remnants, however, ancient
Lugdunum aptly fulfilled its role as the central
hub (de facto) of Roman activity in the region.
It hosted the annual Council of the Three Gauls,
rivalled Rome itself in commerce and was proud
to be distinguished as the birthplace of two highly
successful Emperors (Claudius and Caracalla).
Although much of the Roman remains are now lost
beneath ‘new’ buildings, the echoes of Lugdunum
can still be found in Lyon if you know where to look.
Simply follow this easy Roman guide to ensure that
you don’t miss out.
The Gier Aqueduct
StartontheFouvièrehillaboveStJustwiththeremains
of one of Lugdunum’s four aqueducts. Once 85km,
it is the longest on record. The Rue Roger Radisson
is a good spot. Here sections of the aqueduct tower
majestically on the right whilst other parts have been
incorporated into later structures on the left. If you
fancy a trek out of Lyon, however, a reconstructed
segment is visible on the Route de Pins.
Gier Aqueduct
Rue Roger Radisson
Funiculaire - St Just
Roman Baths
Back down from Fouvière, on Rue des Farges, you’ll
findoneofLugdunum’spublicbaths.Largeapartment
buildings completely hide the ruins from the road,
but pass under their open orange arches and the
stonework bursts out of the hillside before you. It’s
difficult to identify any recognisable features without
archaeological training, but the semi-secrecy of the
site makes it worth the diversion.
ROMAN BATHS
Rue des Farges
Funiculaire - Minimes
Munipal Buildings
Fourvière Roman Site
12 13

8. Theatre and Odeon
Further on up from the baths lies the jewel of Lyon’s Roman crown, the magnificent Theatre and Odeon
Complex. Located at the very heart of the ancient city, this was where citizens from all walks of life would
come to watch plays, music and poetry. The theatre could then seat 10,000 spectators, whilst the smaller
Odeon had a capacity of 3,000. The ruins are enclosed by iron railings, but it is free to enter and open
every day. The plaques placed periodically throughout the site explain in French and English the history
of each construction, but beware, there is a lot more information en français. You will also see here the
space where the Roman Forum (market square) once was, although during Lyon’s annual music festival,
Les Nuits de Fouvière, this will be blocked off.
Theatre and Odeon
Rue des Farges
Funiculaire - Minimes
Roman Bath Ruins
Rue des Farges
1514

9. Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls
Now travel right across the city to the Jardin des Plantes in the Croix-Rousse district to discover Lugdunum’s
Amphitheatre. Although these remains are far smaller than the ruins in Fourvière, the excavation is highly
provocative to the imagination. As a plaque outside will tell you, it was here in 177AD that numerous
Christian martyrs were tortured and killed, including, most famously, Saint Blandine. It is now half buried
under the road and the whole area is fenced off so that you can’t go in, but it is worth a glance for any die-
hard Roman fans. Just imagine the clash of swords and roar of lions and you will easily bring the spectacle
to life.
Gallo-Roman Museum
On the same site, built into the hillside, is the world-renowned Gallo-Roman Museum. An architectural
curiosity in itself – built by Bernard H. Zehrfuss out of Guggenheim-esque sculpted concrete – its portal-
like windows give panoramic views over the Theatre and Odeon ruins. The layout is clearly divided into
different areas of Roman life in Lugdunum (and elsewhere in the Rhône area) and there is a handy English
audio tour with amusing ‘scenes’ to guide you around. Like the Theatre ruins, there is more information in
French, but the signboards throughout consistently offer something in both languages. There are perhaps
too many stone epitaphs, but the museum also hosts some star attractions (like complete room-sized
mosaics) to break the monotony. It is open daily between 10am and 6pm, except for Mondays and some
public holidays. Entry is €7 (€4 concessions), but completely free on Thursdays.
Gallo-Roman Museum
6, Rue de l’Antiquaille
Funiculaire - Minimes
Ampitheatre of the Three Gauls
Jardin des Plantes
Metro C - Croix Paquet
Architecture
Gallo-Roman Museum
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