The thousand faces of Lyon: from the old town to Street Art

Lyon, France, is one of the most vibrant European cities; it is characterized by very picturesque ancient and modern fountains, colorful buildings, trendy restaurants, and a riverside that will give you unforgettable moments during your walks. Its historic center has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We thought of creating a guide that could help you better organize your vacation in Lyon: what to see, what to visit.

What to see in Lyon: what to visit

Lyon, a lively city in the south of France, will surprise you with the variety it offers visitors, from the history of its silk factories, to the beauty of its Renaissance buildings, to the charm of the ancient traboules, passing through its gastronomic specialties. If you only have a few days, we recommend following this small itinerary.

Visiting Lyon will be truly pleasant for you, thanks to the wonders that this city will offer. Here are the main places of interest in Lyon.

1 Historic Center of Vieux Lyon

The Historic Center of Vieux Lyon is also called Old Lyon, and it is one of the largest Renaissance historic centers in Europe. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is where Lyon’s nightlife takes place.

2 La Croix–Rousse

La Croix–Rousse is a neighborhood famous for its ancient silk production; it is a very characteristic area where you can visit a particular open-air food market, near the river of Lyon.

3 Place Bellecour

Place Bellecour must definitely be included in the list “What to see in Lyon”. It is one of the largest squares in Europe and is the center of the city of Lyon.

4 City Hall

City Hall is the town hall of Lyon and is wonderful to admire, given its grandeur.

5 Cathedral of Saint Jean

The Cathedral of Saint Jean is in Gothic-Romanesque style, very old. Don’t forget to include it in the list “Lyon, things to see”.

Lyon tourism is very active also thanks to the various museums of the city, able to satisfy everyone’s tastes.

6 Lyon Museums

• Musées des Beaux – Arts: museum of fine arts;
• Centre of Resistance and Deportation: historical museum;
• Lumière Museum: museum about the history of cinema;
• Gadagne Museum: museum about the history of Lyon;
• Musée des Tissus: textile museum;
• Contemporary Art Museum.

The inhabitants of Lyon, the Lyonnais, are hospitable and helpful to tourists, and they will always be ready to give you directions on more places to visit and on things to do in Lyon.

7 Lyon, short itinerary

Start with a minibus tour to discover the origins of Lyon and its monuments by following a well-designed route that will take you from Fourvière to place Bellecour passing through Croix-Rousse. The tour lasts just over an hour, but will offer you a surprising historical overview of the city. In Lyon, art is also at home: it features a wealth of exhibitions, festivals, concerts, and retrospectives for all tastes.

8 Lyon, Festival of Lights

The beautiful and elegant Lyon in December dresses up in lights and colors for four days for the historic Festival of Lights. A launching pad for emerging artists but also a stage for internationally renowned artists, who with their installations illuminate and enhance the main monuments in the city center, the city parks, and the Rhône Riverbank. A trip to Lyon during this period is a multisensory experience that will delight your eyes, ears, and heart, giving you unforgettable emotions. The Festival of Lights is definitely one of the ” Lyon: things to do” list. It is a very important celebration for the inhabitants of Lyon, held in the days around the Immaculate Conception and is a triumph of lights and colors. Highly recommended.

9 Lyon, street art

Street Art is an artistic phenomenon born in the United States during the 1960s, which over the years has undergone dozens of transformations and influences capable of generating different currents: from graffiti, to tags to murals. The spray brushstrokes, initially seen as mere scribbles, or the variety of tools used, have managed to give, albeit in their simplicity, a burst of colors able to change the face of dozens of cities. The veil of ambiguity that has covered the phenomenon of Street Art for years – often judged as vandalism with the sole purpose of political and social protest, seems to finally fall, revealing the direct and incisive messages that street artists like Erase & Arsek, Jace, Ant Pandakroo, Monsta, Nelio, Nikodem and many others have bravely proposed, endowing it with an identity that seems to be reborn, under the spotlight of museums and galleries worldwide, and telling the close bond that links the street artist to the canvas, understood as the entire city with its architecture and its history.

Quick info: Lyon, how to get there, what to eat and many other curiosities

10 How to get to Lyon

Once you reach Lyon airport, called Lyon Airport Saint – Exupéry, you can reach the city center, about 25 km away, using the continuous train service, or by taking a bus or a taxi. The fastest and most convenient means is undoubtedly the train.

If you are thinking of traveling to a second city after your visit to Lyon, we want to recommend two particular trips:

• Lyon – Turin: they are only about 300 km apart and are well served by the railway line;
• Lyon – Paris: they are about 450 km apart but, thanks to high-speed rail, you will arrive in less than 2 hours.

11 Getting Around Lyon

The most practical way to get around Lyon is the metro; however, do not underestimate the possibility of walking, to be able to stroll along the rivers of Lyon and fully enjoy the poetry of the French city.

12 What to eat in Lyon

The places where to eat in Lyon are really numerous, given the importance placed on gastronomy. We recommend trying as many typical dishes as possible, including: Salade Lyonnaise, a typical salad with poached egg, onions, and chicken liver, Rosette de Lyon a typical Lyon sausage, and Tablier de sapeur, Lyon-style tripe. To end your stay in style, head to one of the many bouchons in Lyon to taste one of the many French specialties accompanied by a good glass of beaujolais.

13 Where to sleep in Lyon

For choosing your hotel in Lyon we suggest the historic center area, so you can breathe the true romantic air that this town knows how to offer.