Vieux Lyon Walking Tour Experience
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
This walking tour traces the transformation of a city reinvented across two millennia. Begin your journey atop Fourviere Hill, where Roman soldiers once watched over their empire. Stand in the ancient Roman theatres where 10,000 spectators gathered for performances 2000 years ago. Step inside the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, a 19th-century masterpiece of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture adorned with mosaics and golden ceilings. Descend through time into Vieux Lyon, one of Europe's largest Renaissance quarters. Navigate the traboules - secret covered passageways built in the 4th century for quick river access. These same passages later served the Canuts, Lyon's silk workers, who carried fabrics through hidden corridors. During World War II, the Resistance used these routes to evade Nazi patrols. Learn how Lyon transformed from Roman capital to Renaissance banking hub to the silk capital of Europe. Hear stories of emperors, merchants and resistance fighters who shaped Lyon !
Inclusions
What's included
- Walking Tour
- Funicular ride to Fourvière Hill
- Local Guide
- Entrance to Fourvière Basilica
What's not
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
Itinerary
Funicular ride to Fourvière Hill
Begin your journey atop Fourviere Hill, where Roman soldiers once watched over their empire. Stand in the ancient Roman theatres where 10,000 spectators gathered for performances 2000 years ago.
Step inside the breathtaking Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, a 19th-century masterpiece of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture adorned with stunning mosaics and golden ceilings.
Navigate the mysterious traboules - secret covered passageways originally built in the 4th century when residents needed quick access to the river. These same passages later served the Canuts, Lyon's legendary silk workers, who carried their precious fabrics through hidden corridors.
Descend through time into Vieux Lyon, one of Europe's largest Renaissance quarters.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Your guide will be waiting for you at Place Saint-Jean, in front of Saint-Jean Cathedral. Please arrive 15 minutes before the tour starts.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 20 travellers
- Operated by
- Smart City Tour
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
How it compares in Lyon
- Its from-price is 82% below the median of the 399 experiences we list in Lyon.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Lyon
Lyon, where the Rhône and Saône meet, is a Roman and Renaissance city of covered passageways, long called the capital of French cooking.
Lyon spreads across two rivers and two hills. On Fourvière hill, the white basilica looks down over the Roman theatres of Lugdunum, once the capital of Gaul, while the Renaissance old town below has narrow streets and covered passageways, the traboules, that silk workers used to carry cloth. The old town and the slopes of Croix-Rousse, the silk weavers' hill, are part of the UNESCO-listed historic site.
Top-ranked sights in Lyon: Old Lyon (Vieux Lyon), Traboules of Lyon, Lyon Cathedral (Cathédrale St-Jean).
Special offers in Lyon
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
