We left Vienne for Lyon at 5:00am on the 16, arriving about 8:30am. It's amazing how time just somehow isn't relevant on the river.
I went with a tour called Panoramic Lyon today, visiting various parts of the city, and also finding spots to see it all laid out below us. Here are some selected pictures.
Lyon is France's third largest city, and (at least according to my sources) France's second most significant cultural center (after Paris, or course). Old Lyon, like many of the places we visited on this trip, is where one walks through cobblestone streets and traboules. The latter are unique passageways through building that connect adjacent streets. Inside these passageways, there are apartments that spiral up from the street level. Lyon is also a center of French cuisine.
Other things along the tour ... note the mini-Eiffel Tower!
When we were up above the city, a little greenery to make me happy ...
I hadn't really realized the importance of silk in Lyon until this visit. Prior to the industrial revolution, patterned silk necessitated the talents of skilled weavers, access to raw materials and significant investment in equipment. Tours was one of the early centers of silk manufacturing (~15th century), due in large part to its proximity to the nobility in Paris.
In 1466, King Louis XI set up Lyon's first silk manufacturing endeavour. Ultimately, Lyon overtook Tours as the largest French producer of silk cloth, and in 1540, Lyon was granted a monopoly on silk production by the king. By 1620, there were over 10,000 looms in the city. Things change of course, and the upheaval of the French Revolution severely diminished the demand for silk. That was the start of the - let's not say end - diminishing of the importance of Lyon in the silk trade. More to come on this.
And, to end another day, this time an evening view of Lyon from the Hemrod.
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