Le Fourvière

Le Fourvière is the 400 foot hill that overlooks Lyon. You can see the magnificent Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière at the top of this hills from anywhere in Lyon. Its white facade glistens during the day and is lit at night. The picture below was taken in La Place Bellcour in the Centre Ville de Lyon. You can just see the red roof tops of the buidings in Vieux Lyon. To the right of the basilica is La tour métallique de Fourvière. Modelled after the third stage of La tour Eiffel in Paris, it was built it with the support of the city as a republican response to the basilica. For many years it was a sightseeing tower and a restaurant, but was converted to a radio antenna in the 1950s. La tour is the highest structure in Lyon and exceeds the height of the neighboring church. This site has had special significance during Lyon's entire history. The Romans built a forum on this site There were Roman temples here. Other cults established a presence here after the fall of the Roman Empire. The first Christian Church was dedicated to St. Thomas à Beckett. In the seventeenth century, a chapel was built here to give thanks for stopping the spread of the Plague in Lyon. Two hundred years later, the Bishop of Lyon made a vow to the Virgin Mary to erect this church if Lyon was spared from a Prussian invasion. Lyon did escape the Prussian invasion and local citizens built the basilica in gratitude.
The Gauls who first settled in Lyon settled on this hill. Its towering height served as a natural defense against invaders. After several successful invasions, these original Lyonnais moved down to the edge of the river. They decided that the advantages of a quick get away outweighed those of a natural defense.

Originally a Roman forum was located on the site of the present church. This ancient forum that gave its name to the hill. The Romans conquered Lyon under Caesar and built temples and public structures at the top of the hill. Several theaters were constructed atop the hill in the first century BC. Twenty one hundred years later, During the summer, they are still in use. Les Nuits de Fourvière presents an eclectic program of dance and music in the Roman Theater. I have gone to several events there this summer. Construction crews still find Roman artifacts when digging foundations, but the theater is the only large building left from that era.
To reach the top of this hill you can walk up steep roads and even steeper flights of steps from Vieux Lyon. While the walk through the lush greenery of le Jardin de Roseries is more scenic, most people choose to take the Funiculaire rail cars. Riding on these cars feels like you are getting on a Roller Coaster. The trains climb up the hill at about a 45 degree angle. Even the station is at an angle. These pictures show the rail car and the station. If you look closely at the tracks you will see a cable running down the middle. At the other end of this cable is another identical rail car. These two cars are attached to each other and move up and down the hill in sort of a see-saw motion. They balance each other which reduces the power needed to move the cars. You try not to think of what might happen if one car comes loose!

Vieux Lyon

In the fifteenth century, the French kings decided to make Lyon the silk capital of France. Generous financial incentives lured Italian and other European silk makers to Lyon. These efforts were successful and Lyon became the silk capital of Europe by the eighteenth century. As the silk industry expanded Lyon's population grew at an explosive rate. Buildings were crammed against each other in the Vieux Lyon. Cobblestone streets, Renaissance houses, and the colorful building facades give this area a jovial Italian air. This is in contrast to the more dignified and elegant feel of the French buildings from the same era. Most workers were illiterate; even the better educated ones did not all speak French. Small statues on street corners indicated the name of the street. La rue de boeuf (the street of the ox) is a typical street intersection in Vieux Lyon. A statue of an ox indicated the name of this street. The lettered street sign is a modern addition that was added much later. A nearby street is named Rue des Trois Maries and had a statue of the three Marys from the New Testament. Unfortunately many all of these statues have not survived.

Vieux Lyon streetscape

This is a typical streetscape in Vieux Lyon. This area lies in a narrow strip of land between the Saône River and the la colline (hill) de Fourvière. Many of these colorful houses date back to the Renaissance when Lyon was the silk capital of Western Europe. Streets in Vieux Lyon are long, winding and narrow with few cross streets. The streets are connected via "les traboules." These are narrow hidden passages that run through the ground floors of houses in old Lyon.
During World War II, Lyon was a center for the French resistance. The resistance was able to hid its fighters in were was able to hide in "Les Traboules." During the renaissance era silk workers could move silk from one building to another without exposing it to the weather. There are few cross streets in Vieux Lyon. As Lyon's population increased buildings were built up against existing houses. The Lyonais created les traboules to allow people to cross from one street to the next without having to walk through someone else's apartment. These are narrow hidden passages that run through the ground floors of houses in old Lyon. Traboule is usually translated into English as a passage way. This does not do justice to these often ornate structures that date back to the Renaissance.

Summer Day in Vieux Lyon

Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) is the most picturesque section of Lyon. It's located at the base of a large hill along the Soane River. The Gauls first settled on in the first century BC. They were followed by the Romans and eventually the Franks. Lyon gradually spread out from here.
Many buildings in Vieux Lyon date back to the Renaissance. The streets are narrow cobblestone avenues. In summer, the area is filled with tourists. Saturday, July 12 was one of the hottest days of the summer. These kids found the perfect way to enjoy the day..

Voyage à Lyon

Despite the best efforts of the airline industry to sabotage my trip. I eventually made it to Paris in early July 2008. The plane from Chicago was delayed two hours because of thunderstorms in Chicago. I missed my connecting flight from New York to Paris. American booked me on a different flight to London with a connecting flight to Paris. More bad weather and airline bureaucracy caused me to miss the connecting flight to Paris.
I finally arrived in Paris about ten hours late. I had booked a shuttle to take me from the airport to the hotel. They refused to pick me up, because it was so late (7:30 pm). I took the RER commuter train into the city and tried unsuccessfully to catch a cab to the hotel. I walked for a mile searching for the hotel. It was located on a street that was so small it did not appear on my map. I found it after a concierge at a nearby hotel gave me directions. Friday, July 4 was a glorious sunny day in Paris. As I walked along the right bank of the Seine, I quickly forgot the ordeals of the previous day. This shot was taken during my walk along the Seine.

La Fontaine de Médicis

Hidden behind trees in a corner of le Jardin du Luxembourg is La fontaine de Médicis. Marie de Medici commissioned this fountain for the garden. The architect modeled after a grotto in Florence where she walked as a child. She did not have much of an opportunity to walk along this fountain. At the time of its completion, Marie was deeply involved in royal political intrigues that endangered her life and resulted in her exile to Germany. This is now a peaceful shaded oasis in the corner of this popular park. This duck has found a use for this modern public sculpture that was placed in the fountain's basin. The sculpture is of a nude woman whose head and feet are submerged in the basin.

Intrepid French Sailor

Paris is located on the Seine river and does not have access to the sea or a lake. Pleasure craft (except for houseboats) are rarely seen in Paris on the Seine.This does not stop this from sailing his yacht on the central basin in le Jardin du Luxembourg.

These gardens are the largest park in Paris. They were constructed in the early seventeen century for Marie de Medici, the second wife of King Henry IV and mother of Louis XIII. She was of Italian descent, so the architect designed the palace in a Florentine style. The queen was unable to enjoy this park for long. Her son exiled her to Cologne shortly after the completion of the park.