Vieux-Lyon - Old Lyon

The Vieux-Lyon district

The Vieux-Lyon is one of the vastest Renaissance districts of Europe, a maze of cobbled alleys and traboules at the foot of Fourvière. The Lyon audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this historic district listed as world heritage, cradle of the town.

The Renaissance district and its traboules

The Vieux-Lyon, nestled between the hill of Fourvière and the Saône, is one of the largest Renaissance urban ensembles of Europe, a true journey through time. This district knew its apogee in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when Lyon, a great place of trade, banking and printing, attracted rich merchants, notably Italian, who had sumptuous private mansions built there. Its cobbled alleys, its inner courtyards, its staircase towers and its façades adorned with mullioned windows compose a setting of rare coherence. The district is famous for its traboules, these covered passages that cross the buildings and link the streets between them, vestiges of the era of the canuts and silk, which also played a role during the Resistance. The Vieux-Lyon is divided into three parts, around the churches of Saint-Georges, Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul. The first protected sector of France, it is listed as UNESCO world heritage. A historic jewel and the heart of the old town, the Vieux-Lyon is a must-see stop.

What to see

Here you wander in one of the largest Renaissance ensembles of Europe, between Fourvière and the Saône, with its cobbled alleys, its inner courtyards, its staircase towers and its private mansions built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by rich merchants, famous for its traboules, vestiges of the era of silk, organised around the churches of Saint-Georges, Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul, listed by UNESCO. The Vieux-Lyon is the historic heart of the town. It is a must-see stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Vieux-Lyon extends between the hill of Fourvière and the Saône, reachable on foot and by public transport. It is a public district freely accessible; the shops and restaurants have their own hours, and some traboules, private, can be visited with respect for the residents. You discover it by strolling in the alleys.

What is the Vieux-Lyon?

One of the largest Renaissance urban ensembles of Europe, between Fourvière and the Saône, which knew its apogee in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; famous for its cobbled alleys, its private mansions and its traboules, it is organised around the churches of Saint-Georges, Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul and listed as UNESCO world heritage.

Where is the Vieux-Lyon?

Between the hill of Fourvière and the Saône, in Lyon, in France.