Sojourn: 44. Lyon - France's third largest city

Lyon is in east central France, a little south of mid-way between Paris and Marseille on the main autoroute to the south. It is about the same latitude as Milan and is in the Rhone-Alpes region. It is the third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille with 2.2 million people.

The old historical city area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognised for its historical silk manufacturing heritage and for more than 2,000 years of ongoing, urban settlement.

The Saône river meets the mighty Rhône in Lyon and the old city is on a peninsula that has the gentle, lady-like Saone on one side and the roaring, business-like Rhone, on the other.

They join at an area known as the Confluence.

We are staying in the old town centre, very close to the Hotel de Ville, the town hall.

As is our habit, we hopped on the Hop-on, Hop-off bus to have a good look around. These buses are excellent value - they give a good overview of how the city is laid out and provide access to the most significant sites.

Here is the gentle Saône running through the historical heart of the city.

And here is the swifter, broader, bustling Rhone which enters the Mediterranean via the wildlife rich Carmarge on the west of Marseille, 350km from here.

Broad cycle paths for commuting and fast riding continue for long distances along the Rhone. Pedestrians have separate paths.

Interesting play spaces ....

Water play is always popular.

The Cathedral of St John is situated in a lovely big square in the old city. The Bishop of Lyon presides here.

We decided to take the funicular from the Cathedral of St John at river level, to the basilica on top of the hill.

The Basilica Notre Dame de Fouviere - quite a position, overlooking all of Lyon.

Notre Dame de Fourviere is a minor basilica built with private funds around 1884. It is situated on a site once occupied by the Roman forum of Trajan and there are other major Roman relics close by, including two amphitheatres.

The basilica is richly decorated, much of it gold, and most in the form of mosaic murals like this one.

This is a mosaic representation of the pilgrimage path of St James to Santiago de Compostela.

There is a 185km Santiago pilgrim path mapped from Lyon to Le Puy-en-Velay. Today’s pilgrims follow in the footsteps of a couple of local saints – Archbishop Hugues and Jean de Bonnevaux – who made the 3300km round trip to Santiago de Compostela in the 11th century, a potent reminder of what a plucky and devoted lot the early pilgrims were. These days, it’s easy for pilgrims starting westward to find their way out of Lyon on the Chemin de Compostelle en Rhône-Alpes (Rhône-Alpes being the region of which Lyon is the capital). All they have to do is look down at the metal scallop shells embedded in the pavement or look up to make sure the mighty Basilica towering above the city is over their right shoulder. Extract from A Food Lover’s Pilgrimage to France by Dee Nolan.

Wonderful views across Lyon can be had from the laneway next to the Basilica. That is the Saone in the foreground and the Rhone behind, with the red scoria coloured square of Place Bellecour at centre right.

Lyon is not a high-rise city. The traditional building height, established in the Renaissance when this was a thriving silk city, is five floors.

Returning to river level by the funicular we enjoyed a beer under the lime trees. It has been in the high 20s since we arrived and we are finding the afternoons very warm after the shadowy chilliness of Paris. I spotted a hairdresser just here and Paul and I were both lucky enough to get an 'on the spot haircut' with a skilled stylist. Very short but OK.