Our Blog - Lyon July 2007

In July we took a weekend trip to Lyon, France which is roughly 300 miles south of Paris. Taking the high speed train it only took us a little over two hours to get to the downtown of Lyon. Lyon is within 100 miles of the Mediterranean and as a result the weather is warmer and the architecture (the orange tiled roofs for example) looks closer to the Riviera.

It was a bright and sunny day when we got into Lyon which made the orange tiled buildings more impressive. A portion of Lyon sits on a hill above the river and it provides a scenic picture.

On top of the hill is the Basilique de Notre Dame, the symbol of Lyon. It was built after France's defeat in the Prussian war of 1870 and was intended to underline the power of the Catholic Church in France.

Another view of the Basilique, this time from the side which allows you to see the four steeples more clearly as well as the rest of the church.

One of the more interesting sights in Lyon was the old Roman amphitheater, built in 15 BC to seat 10,000 spectators. The theater is the oldest Roman theater in France and sits just down the hill from the Basilique.

A close up view of the steps in the large theater.

A second smaller theater called the Odeon is best known for its geometric flooring and it was designed for music and poetry performances.

Cathedrale St Jean