A brief trip to Lyon (by Kerouac2)

[Deleted]

I had planned this trip about a month ago as a very short getaway due to certain restrictions that I had on my free time. Before the trip took place, the restrictions suddenly disappeared, but trains and the hotel were already locked in, so there was no possibility of changing anything. I had a ticket to the Lyon-Part Dieu station, which is the main station of the city, even though my hotel was closer to the old main station Lyon-Perrache. That shows how little I know about Lyon, because I discovered that my train was going to BOTH stations, and later on I saw that almost every train from Paris goes to both stations. When my train arrived at Lyon-Part Dieu, every single person in my car got off, which worried me (might they disconnect this car before continuing to Lyon-Perrache?), so I got off, too. But I saw there were still a few people in the next car, so I entered it and sat down. It only took about 5 minutes to reach Lyon-Perrache.

Lyon-Perrache is indeed a rather seedy old station with a few modern add-ons. It definitely needs some work done to it.

This is the back end of the station, so it isn't quite THAT bad.





I managed to get my bearings and found my hotel, where I left my little bag (too early to check in).

I found my landmark for the trip, Sainte Blandine. At least I assume that it is the name of the church because it was the name of the tramway stop next to it. I did not check.





Needing to kill time, I went back to Lyon-Perrache and took the metro to "Vieux Lyon."



I arrived right next to the cathedral of Lyon, a rather dumpy small place.



The main religious attraction of Lyon is the basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière, up on top of the hill. I wasn't sure if I would visit it or not.



The cathedral wasn't even open when I passed by. What kind of cathedral isn't open at noon on a religious holiday?





I was amused by the cohabitation of these three commerces next to the cathedral. Centuries seems to be knocking into each other.



I started down rue Saint Jean, the main pedestrian street.

[Deleted]

There is a distinct possibility that I am biased, but I don't find the streets of Lyon to be as interesting as those of Paris. But they are not boring either, thank god.















Something that dismayed me a bit were the little squares with a grand total of one tree. Yes, I'm sure they look extremely better when the tree has leaves.







I felt that a certain product was being very much pushed here. It is something that we don't do in Paris, even if the restaurants would like to.

[Deleted]

I went to the banks of the Saone, the river that meets the Rhône in Lyon.





The architecture started look at bit more interesting, at least different from Paris.







These stairs were the beginning of the climb to Fourvière. I had no intention of using my own legs to go up Fourvière, if at all.





One thing about Lyon is that lions are much more often seen as sculpted heads on buildings than humans. After all, they are the symbol of the city.









I'm sure there must be a story behind this particular choice.



heading back toward the cathedral

[Deleted]

Back to the cathedral, which was now open (still don't know why it was ever closed!). It benefited from the "enhancements" of the French revolution.







Inside was as usual.





Two minutes inside were enough. ND de Fourvière up there was getting more appealing by the minute.



a cute sign I saw along the way



The Vieux Lyon metro station connects to two different funiculars to go uphill. No need for an extra ticket.

[lagatta]

I've been up to Fourvière, but didn't go in the basilica. It is a not-very-old one similar to Sacré-Coeur, a mish-mash of neo-Gothic and neo-Byzantin I believe, and I wasn't very interested in it. I was interested in the magnificent view onto the city and sat there sketching for hours.

Though I spent most of my time in the Croix-Rousse, which was very "alternatives sociales" back then - we were in a bouchon run by anarchists, but some anglo or northern European anarchists wouldn't have approved as it was most definitely not vegetarian or austere... I'm sure la Croix-Rousse must be quite gentrified now, but I imagine that it is still more interesting than that very touristy part of old Lyon. Very different architecture from Paris, in some ways more like northwestern Italy.

[Deleted]

Beautiful, thank you. I had a great-aunt named Blandine. Now I'll have to do some research into the Saint.

[htmb]

I like seeing the interesting architectural details. Love one of the river photos, too.

I just this week started reading a not very good account story of an Englishman's time living in Lyon while he taught English for a living. Maybe your report will help give me a better feel for the city as I continue to slog my way through the book.

[Deleted]

There is just one tiny section of the funicular route outdoors and all of the rest is in a tunnel.



The station at the top lets you out right in front of the basilica.



Since it just dates from the 19th century, its statues are intact.





The inside of the basilica is considerably nicer than the cathedral.





Mosaics cover the ceiling and walls.















There seemed to be more worshippers than in all of the churches of Paris combined.

[bixaorellana]

Yaay -- you went inside! I have never been sure if I totally approve of that era, but it sure is fun. I'm intrigued by the use of copper here and there in the ornamentation.

What are the boarded up arches in your picture of the funicular route?

Is there any significance to the candles being in the colors of the French flag? Incidentally, that photo of the candles with the man in the cowl at the top and the other man in glasses at the bottom is just wonderful.

I found the street pictures quite attractive. It's probably much nicer in better weather.

[Deleted]

Notre Dame de Fourvière is one of the most unusual churches in France in more ways than one. For one thing, it is privately owned so neither the Catholic church nor the French state controls it. It was not affected by the law of 1905 regarding the separation of church and state. It was built with funds raised by popular subscription and belongs to the Commission de Fourvière, which represents the population of Lyon. This naturally creates certain complications for the upkeep and modificiations. As recently as 2011, there was a major controversy when legal challenges were made to the fact that the city financed an elevator for the handicapped although the law prevents public money from being used on a religious building not owned by the state. The courts decided that the expense was justified because the elevator is used not just by the faithful but also by ordinary tourists.

Another element of controversy which upsets both the government and the Catholic church are the mosaics around the altar illustrating the "heresies" among which one can find arianism, macedonianism, nestorianism, monophysism, iconclasm, lutheranism, manicheism, jansenism and naturalism, as well as the symbol of the hydra and the serpent. Frankly, the names of some of these isms are just too fun for me to look up and be disappointed by the definition. The cardinal of Lyon deplores the fact that the basilica can not be modified since its classification as a monument because he would like these mosaics to be removed. Lutheranism as a heresy is considered to be particularly embarrassing in modern times, so an ecumenical marble plaque has been installed nearby claiming mutual respect between Catholics and Protestants.

Then there is the architecture itself, which a lot of people find much too Arabic although the architect was inspired by the architecture that he saw in Palermo. Finally, some people are upset that the basilica turns its back to Lyon, but that is simply because it was built with an east-west orientation like most churches.

back outside

This tower was built for the 1894 World's Fair in Lyon and not by Gustave Eiffel. It was nearly demolished in 1943 because the iron was needed for the war. In 1953 it was bought by the government broadcasting agency to transmit the first television channel, and it has remained a transmission tower since then.

at last the view of Lyon from above



There's the cathedral.















You can see the Alps in the distance.





The high rises of Lyon are around the Part Dieu train station.



There was also a relief map so that the blind can examine the panorama.









Then I went back to the funicular, which the locals call the ficelle (the string).

[Deleted]

I took the metro to Place Bellecour, the central square of the city. There is absolutely nothing attractive about it, but it looks very useful for demonstrations.



Anywhere that you have an unobstructed view in Lyon, ND de Fourvière looms above.



Le Progrès is still the principal newspaper of Lyon, but clearly they have moved their offices elsewhere.



the main pedestrian street



I walked over to the Rhône.



This old huge hospital is being turned into a shopping mall. The palissade proclaims "largest construction project in France on a classified monument."



nice place to sit on a warm sunny day, which is not the case today



What's wrong with these people?



A gang of swans was obviously hatching an evil plot.







I took the tramway back to the hotel. This line uses exactly the same model as my T3 line at home.

[htmb]

I've also been through Lyon a few times on the train, but have never stopped. I just never had a good enough reason. It seems fairly generic, but maybe that's just the effect of the grey skies. The views from outside the basilica are fabulous though. Your entertaining narrative certainly adds to this thread, too.

[Deleted]

Well, I did some reading about Ste. Blandine, one of the many Christian martyrs of Lyon in 177 CE. Being a slave, she was treated with particular savagery by Marcus Aurelius' military.

She was bound to a stake and wild beasts were set on her. According to legend, they did not, however, touch her. After enduring this for a number of days she was led into the arena to see the sufferings of her companions. Finally, as the last of the martyrs, she was scourged, placed on a red-hot grate, enclosed in a net and thrown before a wild steer who tossed her into the air with his horns, and at last killed with a dagger.

Why they named my great-aunt after an obscure, tortured saint from Lyon I'll never know. Poor thing (my great-aunt) never made it out of chldhood.

[htmb]

Kerouac, do you know anything about a garden on top of Lyon-Perrache?

[Deleted]

I had never heard of it, but Google tells me there is a little (500m²) garden at one end of the building.

img.over-blog.com/300x225/4/09/61/68/echangeur.jpg

[Deleted]

I was staying in the Confluence part of the city, and one of the reasons that I got an excellent hotel rate is that up to now it has been a very unappealing area. It is part of a little peninsula where the Rhône and the Saone meet (hence the name of the area) and until the end of the 20th century, even though it was quite central in the 2nd arrondissement, it was just an industrial zone. Now a lot of it is a massive construction zone but in the last couple of years a lot of the major new stuff has been completed. After dark, I walked down a big street that was in a total shambles through the construction zone. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake because it was necessary to constantly decline the advances of numerous ladies who were hanging around there for some reason.

Actually, in the construction zone they had made an effort with nighttime aesthetics.



Euronews, the European news channel headquartered in Lyon, moved into a new building in the area just last year.





If I had known my hotel was only 2 tram stops from the Musée des Confluences, Lyon's newest museum (devoted to natural history and ethnology), I would have visited it during the day.



It replaces the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle which closed in 2007.



The new Pont Raymond Barre (a bridge only for the tramway, pedestrians and bicycles) connects it to the 7th arrondissement.



Returning toward the hotel on a more respectable boulevard, I was able to see the Confluence shopping mall which opened in 2012.



Frankly, I found the building absolutely spectacular and approve of the fact that it is not an enclosed air conditioned environment but it open to real weather on all sides.





One last person (look closely at the bottom) was using the indoor climbing wall.



There is a boat service certain days of the week to take people up the Saone to other parts of the city.



There are 18 restaurants, and I thought this unified display was a good idea.



A few minutes later I was back at my local landmark of Sainte Blandine.

[bixaorellana]

I hope you gave out Anyport cards to those ladies who were at loose ends.

Love that view of Lyons from above.

Not surprising that the architect of Notre Dame de Fourvière's inspiration by the architecture of Palermo produced something "too Arabic". Palermo was the Islamic capital of Sicily from 831 to 1072.

[lagatta]

I guess all those ladies just find K2 irresistible, eh?

[whatagain]

You skipped the remains of the arena close to Fourviere.
I don't like the basilica. I like the confluence. Problem is we pass it by with the car en route to SE france. But never stop.
I had s drink in the tallest tower near part Dieu. Nice view.
Did you venture in the Bouchons area just below fourviere bryween the mountain and the river ?

[htmb]

Skipped the aqueduct, too. :-)
You'd better go back.

[Deleted]

For a one day trip, you only get one day's worth of sights. You'll have to make your own reports.

The next morning the only thing on my agenda was to take the tram to the Part-Dieu station. Interesting long ride, unphotographed because it was rush hour.



La Part-Dieu used to look stunningly modern. Now it just looks stunningly 1980-ish. (It opened in 1983.)





The whole zone is being renovated at the moment and there will apparently be a couple more high rises.



The people of Lyon call the old not-new-anymore Tour Lyonnais "le crayon."



The shopping mall opened in 1976 and it looks it. It is still one of the largest shopping malls in France with 34 million visitors a year.



I went out the back end of the train station and saw that there is a special tram to the airport. It costs a whopping 14.70 euros.



back entrance to the station



There are bad people in Lyon, just like in Paris, just like everywhere.



I have to laugh at the idea that there could ever be full security against terrorism in such a place.



This guy seemed to have brought his wolf with him.



I waited with the others in front of the sign until my track was listed, and two hours later I was back in Paris.

[htmb]

Very interesting photos. I like all the colored lights in the construction area. That animal certainly does look like a young wolf. Would he be allowed to travel on the train outside a crate, I wonder?

[lagatta]

You must get to les pentes de la Croix rousse, and some other places in and around Lyon.

It is sad, though. One of my friends there was a "grand frère" of Maghrebi origin who worked with youth in the area, but he was anything but a strict Muslim; he was an anarchist (of the gentle variety) and had no truck with any organised religions. His companion was une Française pur porc (!) and they had a couple of happy kids.

[mossie]

A good tour of a city, which as you say, is very different to Paris. I suppose it is that bit further south and the mediterranean influence is beginning to overcome the dour northernness

[whatagain]

The title was perfect - myvtrip was even briefer, i had 2,5 hours. I started at Lyon Part Dieu railways station, but tiok no pic of it. 
However, upon leaving it, i climbed the stairs to a kind if mall. 
Climbing it under 28c was not such a great idea. 

I had a drink up the Radisson hotel 10 years ago. At the top.



The building in front is a car park. The one in back a tower. Full of glass, so a nice one. 

After a few hundreds meters it started to look like a city i like. 

[whatagain]

This looks like streets with XIXor early XX buildings. 

Crossing the Rhone to go into old Lyon. 

Probably an old hotel... 

A basilica. Ugly from outside and meh from inside. 

But i liked this altar. 

Ok. We are in the center, after 30 min under the sun.
Le cagnard, as we say in France when it is unbearable.

From center towards the very old Lyon, between the Rhône and the mountains.  I must check what this Eiffel looking tower is. 

A view from a bridge... i took that one when going back. 

I  the old Lyon, i started hearing German, English and other uncivilzed languages. 

[whatagain]

View towards the mountain. 

The restaurants are called 'bouchons .  Cork. Must look why. 

The square in front of the cathedral. Kerouac took the pic from the other side. 

The cathedral. The place is now very clean. 

Inside. There are hundrefs like these. 



The first two churches of Lugdunum, dating 150 after JC, the other a bit later. 
And that was it. Back ro the station to catch my train. 10 000 steps in 2 hours and 15 min. 
I need to stay there ! 

[bixaorellana]

I can't believe you climbed those stairs in the heat and lived to tell about it!

Yet another quick but satisfying report from you. I really love that soft warm yellow of so many of the buildings and how the light makes some of them rather rosy.

Very serious about silence in the cathedral!

[bjd]

The beige/yellow courtyard and buildings suddenly make the area more southern-looking than the rest of Lyon.

[kerouac2]

The city looks quite deserted, but that's how all of the 'southern' cities look during the hottest part of the day. They aren't crazy, just the tourists.

The metal tower of Fourvière was built with no real purpose except out of jealousy for the Eiffel Tower which is 3 years older. Now of course it serves as a broadcasting tower.