© Patricia Barry 2008 A French city – Lyon 1. Background and Roman Lyon

© Patricia Barry Its importance Next to Paris, Lyon is the biggest and most important city in France.

© Patricia Barry Geography Lyon is the second city of France with its 3 million inhabitants. The city is located in the Rhône-Alpes region, on the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône.

© Patricia Barry A World Heritage Site UNESCO has made the city of Lyon a World Heritage Site because of its uninterrupted history over the last 2000 years. For the whole of this time, Lyon has been a habitable, vibrant and bustling city.

© Patricia Barry A peninsula A confluence is where two rivers unite as one. Lyon is nearly an island, or a peninsula.

© Patricia Barry The topography The confluence provides Lyon with a unique geographic situation because the two big rivers are navigable - the Rhône from the sea. There is a high hill (Fourvière) to the West, and the peninsula between the two rivers.

© Patricia Barry A cross-roads Lyon is a cross-roads for rail, road, river and air traffic. It is also a big industrial and commercial centre. These are good reasons why Lyon has always been, and is still today, an important city.

© Patricia Barry A unique situation Its location has allowed the city to expand from the West to the East over twenty centuries – from the Roman city, to the suburb of la Fourvière, through Old Lyon of the Middle Ages, the 19 th century town on the peninsula, and to the modern city heart in Part Dieu.

© Patricia Barry Roman Lyon The Romans built their city of Lugdunum (hill of light) on the hill in the West called nowadays « La Fourvière ». This was the capital of ancient Gaul. Paris was just a village!

© Patricia Barry The amphitheatre On the summit, they constructed an amphitheatre and a beautiful theatre (which still exist). The photo shows the amphitheatre which is in the heart of town.

© Patricia Barry The Roman Theatre This is the Roman theatre in Lyon – if you go there in Summer you can go to plays, concerts and shows or even an opera!

© Patricia Barry The Roman city These remains of Roman shops can be found near the theatre There are also villas and little houses which have been discovered during excavations.

© Patricia Barry A model In the Gallo-Roman Museum there is an excellent model of this area during the Roman era, so that you can appreciate the size and number of the buildings.

© Patricia Barry The Gallo-Roman Museum Near the theatre, the Gallo-Roman Museum has excellent exhibitions of the ancient objects found by the Lyonnais in their back yards and under their streets.

© Patricia Barry A treasure This chariot belonging to a Celtic chief was found nearby The Museum has both temporary and permanent exhibitions.

© Patricia Barry End of an era The Romans pulled out of Lyon in the 5 th century with the arrival of the Eastern European tribes. Nevertheless, Lyon still remained a rich city because of its commercial links. On the right, the remains of a Roman street near the theatre.

© Patricia Barry La Fourvière Nowadays on the summit of la Fourvière there is the Conservatorium and the modern basilica. The basilica is built from white marble.

© Patricia Barry The basilica of Notre Dame The basilica of Notre Dame has an enormous golden statue of the Virgin Mary on the tip of its spire. It can be seen from a very great distance.

© Patricia Barry L’intérieur. Inside, everything is decorated in mosaics and gold. The Basilica is the second most visited monument in France because of its beauty.

© Patricia Barry 2008 End of Part 1. Go to Part 2 to continue. Find out how the city expanded down hill during the Middle Ages