Compare Cheap Car Hire Now!

Compare Leading Companies

Car hire Lyon

LYON is physically the second biggest city in France, a result of its uncontrolled urban sprawl. Viewed at high speed from the Autoroute du Soleil, the impression Lyon gives is of a major confluence of rivers and roads, around which only petrochemical industries thrive. In fact, from the sixteenth century right up until the postwar Lyon’s dominance of metalworks and chemicals, silk was the city’s main industry, generating the wealth which left behind a multitude of Renaissance buildings. But what has stamped its character most on Lyon is the commerce and banking that grew up with its industrial expansion. It is this that gives the town its staid, stolid and somewhat austere air.

Most French people would find themselves in Lyon for business rather than for recreation: it’s a get-up-and-go place, not a lie-back-and-rest one. You probably wouldn’t plan a two-week stay in Lyon – as you might in Provence’s cities – but Lyon certainly has its charms. Foremost among these is gastronomy ; there are more restaurants per Gothic and Renaissance square metre of the old town than anywhere else on earth, and the Lyon could form a football team with its superstars of the international chef circuit. While the textile museum is the second famous reason for stopping here, Lyon’s nightlife, cinema and theatre (including the famous Lyonnais puppets), its antique markets, music and other cultural festivities might tempt you to stay at least a few days in Lyon. In addition it has been long established as the home of major biennial festivals of art and fashion.

Places To Visit & See – Days Out – About Lyon

The official date for the start of the January sales depends on which region of France you are visiting. In Lyon the second Wednesday of the month is normally when the sales kick off. So where will you find the best bargains in Lyon? Rues Emile Zola and Président Edouard Herriot play host to most designer names in fashion, including Hermés, Dior and Vuitton. While high street fashions, in shops such as H&M and Zara, can be found on the Rue de République, Lyon. For interior design head over the Rhone river to the 6th district and Avenue du Saxe.

Capital of Gaul under the Roman Empire, major center of culture and trading during the Renaissance, strong industrial breeding ground in the nineteenth century, Lyon has become a large European metropolis, benefiting from the influences that have swept across its beautiful landscape. Now included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Lyon is categorized along with prestigious cities such as Venice, Prague, or Saint Petersburg.

From the Roman city of Lugdunum to the city of today, two millenniums have left their mark in terms of an outstanding architectural heritage, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers : Fourvière, with its basilica and Gallo-Roman ruins, the Renaissance district of Old Lyon, which is centered around Saint Jean Cathedral, the presqu’île (peninsula between the two rivers), which was shaped by the great classical and imperial era, along with the slopes of the Croix-Rousse, where the silk industry thrived.

A particularly lively part of the city, Lyon’s historical area is proof of the importance that the city places on its heritage, preserved and enriched over the centuries, it is now turned towards the future.

With its department stores and pedestrian precincts, its luxury goods shops and fashion boutiques – not to mention one of the largest shopping centres in Europe – Lyon is a shoppers paradise. The main shopping area in town, centred between the Rhone and Saone, is the Presqu’ile where a full range of shops are interspersed with loads of bars, cafes and theatres.

Lyon, considered to be the food capital of France, is famous for its native restaurants called bouchons. Lyon is also known for being an easily traveled Medieval city complete with twisty roads and interesting buildings. Lyon city is host to many festivals, a couple of notable ones being: Les Nuits de Fourviere, a cultural festival held June to early August; and Festival Berlioz, festival celebrating the composer’s music held August/September.

Lyon is almost as good a place for nightlife and entertainment as it is for eating, with a good range of clubs, cinema, opera, jazz, classical music concerts and theatre. The best places in Lyon to wander if you are looking for a bar are rue Mercière and rue de la Monnaie and, most particularly, the streets of Vieux-Lyon, especially in the southern parts of Lyon around the place Bertras. And make a point of crossing the river by the passerelles as this whole district of Lyon looks magnificent at night.