France’s second city deserves far more attention than it typically receives, and this Lyon walking tour by G Caleb Lee — the first of a two-part 4K walkthrough — shows exactly why. Focusing on the traboules of Vieux Lyon and the Renaissance streets of the Presqu’île, it captures a UNESCO World Heritage city where silk merchants’ hidden passage-ways, Roman ruins, and the birthplace of cinema coexist with the finest bouchon restaurant culture in the world. If you have ever considered Lyon as a stopover between Paris and the Mediterranean, this video will change your mind.
About This Walking Tour
G Caleb Lee’s walkthrough series explores cities at ground level with a methodical patience that rewards careful viewing, and the Lyon instalment benefits from a destination that is dense with visual interest at every turn. Part 1 concentrates on Vieux Lyon — the old town on the west bank of the Saône, and one of the largest Renaissance urban ensembles in Europe — and on the traboule network that runs through it. Traboules are covered passageways connecting streets through internal courtyards and staircases, originally used by silk merchants to transport finished fabric under cover from weather. There are approximately 500 of them in Lyon, of which around 40 are accessible to the public on the Vieux Lyon and Croix-Rousse sides of the city. The video enters several traboules and follows them through to their exits, conveying both the architectural logic of the system and the genuine sense of discovery that comes from stepping off a public street into a six-storey Renaissance courtyard. The walking pace is leisurely, which suits a neighbourhood designed for exploration rather than transit. For visitors planning their own traboule walk, this video is one of the best available guides to which entrances to look for and what to expect inside. Lyon’s old town is best explored in the morning, before the tour groups arrive — the video’s quiet streets suggest an early departure.
Highlights of Lyon
Vieux Lyon’s Renaissance architecture is extraordinary in scale and concentration: the streets of Saint-Jean, Saint-Georges, and Saint-Paul contain fifteenth and sixteenth century townhouses with elaborate carved stone portals, galleried courtyards, and the distinctive pink and ochre plasterwork that gives the neighbourhood its warm colouring. The Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a Gothic structure built between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, anchors the southern end of the old town and houses an astronomical clock from the fourteenth century that still chimes on the hour. The Croix-Rousse hill above Vieux Lyon is the former capital of the global silk industry, where 20,000 canuts (silk weavers) once worked on hand looms called Jacquard machines — the forerunner of the programmed loom and thus an ancestor of the computer. Today the hill has a strong bohemian character with independent cafes, street art, and the vast mural of the Fresque des Lyonnais depicting 24 famous residents of the city. The Musée des Beaux-Arts on the Place des Terreaux is considered one of the finest fine arts collections in France outside Paris. And the Fourvière hill on the western edge offers Roman amphitheatres, a spectacular basilica, and views across the full width of the city and its two rivers.
A Brief History of Lyon
Lyon was founded as Lugdunum in 43 BC by the Roman general Lucius Munatius Plancus, and within decades had become the capital of Roman Gaul — the administrative, commercial, and military hub of the entire province. The remains of two Roman theatres on the Fourvière hill are among the best preserved in France and still host summer performances. Medieval and Renaissance Lyon prospered enormously through the silk trade and through the four annual trade fairs that made it a crossroads of European commerce. The canuts revolts of 1831 and 1834 — uprisings by silk weavers against wage reductions — were among the first major industrial labour conflicts in France, predating Marx’s analysis of class struggle. On December 28, 1895, Auguste and Louis Lumière projected the world’s first publicly screened motion pictures at the Grand Café on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris using equipment developed in their Lyon factory — making Lyon the birthplace of cinema. The Institut Lumière in the Monplaisir neighbourhood preserves the Lumière family villa and runs a permanent museum and cinema dedicated to this history.
Practical Tips
TGV trains from Paris Gare de Lyon reach Lyon Part-Dieu station in approximately two hours. Lyon has two main stations — Part-Dieu and Perrache — both well connected to the metro network. A funicular from Vieux Lyon metro station climbs to the Fourvière basilica and the Roman theatres, saving a steep climb. The best time to visit is May to June or September to October for pleasant walking weather; the Fête des Lumières on December 8 transforms the entire city with large-scale light installations and draws enormous crowds. Lunch at a traditional bouchon is essential — these small family-run restaurants serve classic Lyonnais cuisine including quenelles de brochet (pike dumplings) and tablier de sapeur (tripe). Beaujolais wine is the local choice. The Halle de Lyon Paul Bocuse market on the Cours Lafayette is a superlative food market worth visiting any morning.
Watch & Explore More
France rewards the walking explorer across all its cities. Find more walking content on the @walkingtoursvideoscom YouTube channel, and pair this post with our guide to the Toulouse walking tour through the Pink City — another underrated southern French city waiting to be properly explored.