Lyon Attractions, France

Musée des Beaux-Arts
In Lyons, on the south side of the Place des Terreaux is the Palais St-Pierre, a former Benedictine convent (1659-1685) which now houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts, with a rich collection of pictures, sculpture and decorative art; the modern period is particularly well represented.

Notre-Dame de Fourvière (photo - left)
Above Lyons old town, to the west, is the hill of Fourvière (from Latin Forum Vetus, the "Old Forum"), rising to a height of 130m/425ft above the Saone, with two funiculars running up the hill. On the summit is the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (1872-1896), with an interior richly decorated with mosaics and paintings; under the church is a crypt, similarly decorated. From the northeast tower, there is a magnificent view of the city and surrounding area.

Some 500m/550yd south, in a park, are two Roman theaters (excavated since 1933) and a Gallo-Roman Museum (vases, gravestones, coins and fine mosaic pavements).

Old Town
To the north of the cathedral is old town of Lyons, which has been carefully restored and contains many fine old houses. In Rue St- Jean, on right, is the neo-classical Palais de Justice (Law Courts; by Baltard, 1832-1842). In the Quartier St-Georges is the well known Cafe du Soleil, originally a religious house and later used for performances of the Théâtre Guignol. In the same street are two interesting museums, the Musée Historique de Lyon (history of the city) and the Musée de la Marionnette (Puppet Museum), housed in the 15th C. Hôtel de Gadagne.

Place Bellecour
Lyons's finest square is Place Bellecour, situated between the Rhône and the Saône, with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV by the Lyons sculptor F. Lemot (1775-1827). The buildings on the east and west sides of the square were erected around 1800. To the southeast, near the Head Post Office, is a 17th C. tower. From the north side of the square there is a view of the hill of Fourvière.
From the square Rue Victor-Hugo runs south by way of Place Ampère (monument) to the attractive Place Carnot, which has a large monument to the Republic erected in 1890.

Place des Terreaux
In Lyons, the Place des Terreaux is built over a Roman canal, and gets its name from the earth (terre) used to fill it up. In the square is a monumental fountain by F.-A. Bartholdi (1834-1904) representing the rivers flowing into the ocean. During the French Revolution the guillotine was set up in this square. On its east side is the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), built between 1646 and 1672 and rebuilt in Baroque style by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1700 after a fire. It has a main front richly decorated with sculpture, two courtyards separated by a graceful intermediate wing with three arches, and a 50 m/165ft high tower. The rear of the building looks on to the Place de la Comédie, in which is the Grand Théâtre (19th C.).

St Jean Cathedral
In Lyons, from the northwest corner of Place Bellecour, Rue Chambonnet and the Pont Bonaparte lead west to the right bank of the Saône; from the embankment before the bridge there is a fine view, to the right, of the choir of the cathedral, the Palais de Justice and the hill of Fourvière. A little to the north is the Romanesque Cathedral of St-Jean (12th-15th C.), with a Late Gothic facade and a rose window of 1393. The most notable features of the interior are the 13th- 14th C. stained glass and an astronomical clock by the Basle craftsman N. Lippius (1598) in the Romanesque transept.

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