Two days in Lyon, “City of Lights”

Lyon’s various neighborhoods are brimming with historical and contemporary wonders! You’re in for a big treat if you like architecture. Lyon is the product of 2,000 years of history, and it is continually growing and maintaining the fruits of its past, which is why it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I enjoyed two days in this wonderful city before heading to the Domaine des Halles Chateau. I spent the first half of my trip in the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts, and the second half of my visit touring some of the city’s most famous buildings, including the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière and the Lyon Botanical Gardens, with plenty of gastronomic delights in-between!

Lyon is France’s second largest city, as well as one of the country’s oldest, and is known as the country’s culinary capital. Le Vieux Lyon, the city’s enormous old center, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Europe’s greatest ensemble of Renaissance structures. In addition, Lyon boasts a new museum that appears to be competing for celebrity with Bilbao’s Guggenheim. The new Confluences Museum is located at the crossroads of two rivers.

In the center of the city, the Saône joins the Rhône and practically forms an island. On the right bank of the Saône, you’ll find Roman ruins and early structures. Lugdunum, the town’s Roman name, was founded 100 years B.C. Rivers are important for commerce, trading routes to and from the Mediterranean, and natural defense.