Saône and the Rhône

From Paris we grabbed our rental car and headed south and a little east to Lyon, France.  I'm following Diego's lead for the most part on this European leg of our journey.  We took the scenic route for much of our drive because we would see more of the little towns and also because the French highways are quite expensive.

We made it to Lyon in the evening and our apartment was nice.  In a little town just south of Lyon and an easy 10 minute drive into the city.
I wasn't sure what we were going to do or see in the city, but it turns out that there is a lot to do there.  I really liked Lyon.

Vieux Lyon

It's a small sized big city with two rivers that run through the center.....The Saone and the Rhone.  We learned some of the history of the city on a bike tour.  In the 19th century, Lyon was a center for silk production and that brought many Italians to the area.  Our tour guide pointed out that the old part of the city, Vieux Lyon, shows the Italian influence on the city.  The way that the buildings are layed out, the design and the streets.   During WWII both German and resistance forces were in Lyon and there are secret passageways between buildings all over town.  People hid in these "traboules" to escape the Germans. There is a map that we downloaded and you walk around the city pushing on random doors to see if they will open.  It feels little weird because you're not sure if it's someone's home, but very exciting when the door opens to a hidden passageway.

On of the traboule doors.  

Traboule

There are two hills in the city.  One has the basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere at the top and that one is known as the "hill that prays."  The other hill is where the silk factories were located and it is known as the "hill that works."

We took the tram up the "hill that prays" and had a beautiful view looking down over the city.



Also, not too far from the church are Roman ruins.



There is a beautiful park in the northeast part of the city that is huge with a lake, zoo, botanical gardens and green space galore.




I really liked the city because there is the old part where you feel like you're in an italian village.....you cross over the Saone River and you're in a completely different setting with people walking all around shopping and enjoying the parks.  Then you cross the Rhone and there are restaurants set up along the river with everyone sitting outside and big community pool and people just lounging in the green space hanging out.

Trying some typical Lyonise food.

A little play time.

Saying goodbye to this pretty city.