Vieux-Lyon

About Vieux-Lyon

Vieux-Lyon is the city's oldest and loveliest quarter, stretched along the right bank of the Saône at the foot of Fourvière hill. Its 24 hectares hold hundreds of 15th- and 16th-century houses from the days when Lyon was a rich city of fairs and bankers. In 1964 it became the first area in France protected under the Malraux law, and in 1998 it joined the UNESCO list.

The quarter has three parts: Saint-Jean around the cathedral in the middle, Saint-Paul to the north, where Italian bankers lived, and Saint-Georges to the south, home to silk weavers from the 16th century. It's a place of narrow cobbled streets, houses with turrets and courtyards, shops, workshops and restaurants.

What to see

• Traboules — passages through buildings and courtyards.
• Saint-Jean Cathedral — Gothic, with an astronomical clock.
• Rue Saint-Jean — the quarter's main street.
• The Gadagne museums — Lyon history and puppets.
• Museum of Miniatures and Cinema — film sets and models.
• The Saône quays — views of Fourvière hill.

The traboules

Vieux-Lyon's great mystery is its traboules, from the Latin trans-ambulare, 'to pass through'. With only a few parallel streets between the river and the hill, residents cut passages straight through buildings and courtyards to reach the Saône faster. Later silk merchants carried their cloth through them, sheltered from the rain.

Traboules are hard to spot: the entrance looks like an ordinary front door. Behind it lies a vaulted corridor, a courtyard with galleries and spiral staircases in towers, and an exit onto the next street. Many are on private property, but some are open to passers-by in the daytime; look for the signs and keep your voice down, as people live there.

Saint-Jean Cathedral

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral is Lyon's cathedral. It took nearly three hundred years to build, from 1180 to 1476, yet it is remarkably consistent: the apse and choir are Romanesque, the nave and façade Gothic. It's 80 metres long and the nave rises 32.5 metres.

Inside, be sure to find the astronomical clock with its moving figures (the present one dates from 1661) and the Bourbon chapel, a masterpiece of 15th-century sculpture. Next door, the Romanesque Manécanterie displays the cathedral's treasures.

Museums and food

The Renaissance Gadagne mansion holds two museums: Lyon history and puppets, since Lyon is the home of the famous puppet Guignol. In a 15th-century house, once the Golden Cross inn, is the Museum of Miniatures and Cinema, with models and props from films.

Vieux-Lyon is the best place to try local cooking in a bouchon, a small restaurant with checked tablecloths: sausages, pike quenelles, Lyonnaise salad and Saint-Marcellin cheese. Many bouchons line Rue Saint-Jean and Rue du Bœuf.

Tips for your visit

Allow two to three hours to wander Vieux-Lyon, half a day with museums. A good route: traboules and Rue Saint-Jean in the morning, then the cathedral, and after lunch the funicular up to Fourvière.

Vieux-Lyon pairs naturally with Fourvière Basilica, right above the quarter, and an evening walk along the Saône.

The streets are cobbled and some traboules have steps, so a pushchair can be awkward in places. Evenings at weekends are busy, and popular bouchons are best booked.

Places in Lyon: compare and choose

Places in Lyon rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.

Nearby and on the way

44

Saint-Jean Cathedral

Lyon, France

40 min · Free · 4 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Saint-Jean Cathedral

45

Fourvière Basilica

Lyon, France

1 h · Free · 8 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Fourvière Basilica

45

Place Bellecour

Lyon, France

40 min · Free · 12 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Place Bellecour

45

Lugdunum

Lyon, France

1 h 45 min · Theatres free; museum ticket · 13 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Lugdunum

How to do it right

• Traboules in the morning.
• Get a map at the tourist office.
• Book your bouchon.
• Take the funicular up.

Questions