Views from Lyon

Let's start off by taking a look around the city and its streets before getting into the more specific attractions.  Lyon is the second largest city in France by population, and it is continuously expanding.  The city lies at the intersection of the Rhône and Saône rivers.

The best view of the city comes from the Fourviere hill, which is west portion of the city.  This hill is home to a very ornate Byzantine-style basilica, and is accessible by a funicular.

There are many other great views from the riverside.  Here you can see a pedestrian bridge over the Saône, with the Croix-Rousse area of the city in the background.  On this other big hill lie the historic houses where silk was made.

Below the Fourviere hill is Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), which is, unsurprisingly, the original city.

Many of the buildings there are preserved from their original form, while others, which were presumably damaged or destroyed, are restored in colorful stucco.

Vieux Lyon is notorious for having poorly planned streets, most of which run parallel to the river, and few of which run perpendicular.  Instead, people walked towards and away from the river through traboules, which are passageways that ran through the buildings.

These traboules also double as corridors to access homes, which are inside these buildings!  See the stairs?

The expanding and heavily industrialized part of the city is on the east, but the heart of the city lies in between the two rivers, on the Presqu'île, which means "peninsula."  In this area, restaurants and shops are found everywhere.

As we walk along the banks of the Rhône, we can get a good glimpse of Presqu'île, along with some docked boats along our side of the river.  These retired boats are actually permanently parked there and are used as bars and nightclubs.

Other boats are used as party boats and sail along the rivers.  We saw a few of those, including this one, which was hosting a wedding reception of some sort.

The streets of Presqu'île are eclectic, mixing old and new architecture, but always vibrant.  There are many fake facades scattered throughout this part of town.  These trompes l'oeil are famous worldwide, and tourists sometimes come specifically to see these walls.  Even in person, I first thought these stores on the wall were real.

See the red bikes?  These are rental bikes!  These stations are found all across town, and you can just take a bike and return it to any other station.

Tomorrow: Hotspots in Lyon, Part 1!