Above - Looking towards the top of the hill where our Youth Hostel was over the Saone
Above - the centre of Lyon
Above - Aimee and a rather strange but beautiful tree
Above - Place Bellecour - the largest square in France
Above - the church at the top of the hill.
Above - the Rhone at night
Above - La funiculaire - the cable car that avoids '10 minutes de grimpette'Lyon is a beautiful city. It has the Rhone and Saone river flowing through it. It has an old quarter. It has a hill, a steep hill - where our Youth Hostel was and also where there is a beautiful church and fantastic views over the city. It has a quirky quarter - croix rousse, again with good views but also with some interesting shops, and is also home to the largest square in France - Place Bellecour. Lyon is clean, the people are friendly, the drivers don't drive like maniacs, they actually stop to let you cross the road, unlike in Marseille...
We went to the Textile Museum as Lyon's economy was based on textiles, silk in particular. We ate in a creperie. We saw the Hotel de Ville, La Prefecture, La Theatre, L'Opera, L'Eglise, Lyon's very own Eiffel Tower. We took a bus and used La Funiculaire which is like a cable car to avoid walking up the ridiculously steep hill. Lyon's transport network is more impressive than Marseille's, but then again, that's not hard. There is a more comprehensive metro system of 4 lines rather than 2. And, more importantly, 4 lines which cover the city and run past 21h. There are more buses, buses with cloth covered seats rather than the plastic ones in Marseille. What does this tell you? That the Lyonnais are able to respect their public transport, ie. not grafitti on it, so they get comfy seats rather than hard plastic ones. There is also a tram. Put this together with clean streets - no litter and more importantly - no dog poo, and the distinct lack of grafitti and it makes for a very amicable city full of happy, polite people.
