Emerging From The City Of Lights’ Shadows

With its winding passageways and thousand-year-old walls, Lyon’s historic core is a major site in itself.

by Hillary Larson
Travel Writer

Paris so dominates Americans’ image of France that it is easy to overlook a city like Lyon, two hours south of the capital.

If Lyon were in, say, Albania, it would be a tourism highlight of its region. Instead, Lyon is perpetually in the shadow of the City of Lights, one of the world’s most iconic and international capitals.

And that is a shame, because Lyon, France’s third-largest burg with just under a half-million people, has many of the elements that make for great cities: a beautifully preserved medieval core, charming neighborhoods, delicious cuisine and the cultural sophistication you’d expect from a university town.

(At least one visitor properly appreciated the city: The New York Times ran an article

earlier this year about an Arab entrepreneur who so fell in love with Lyon that he is bankrolling a re-creation of the French metropolis in Dubai, buildings, university and all.)
With far fewer tourists, Lyon can feel more relaxed and friendly than Paris, especially in summertime. Without any Louvre to line up for, Lyon is a city for strolling, unwinding and enjoying the good life. And there’s nothing like a leisurely river cruise to take the edge off midsummer heat.

Many people claim that Lyon has the best food in France, and that’s saying something. I haven’t made an exhaustive survey yet — though I hope to someday — but I will say that Lyon makes a strong case.

With its winding passageways and Greco-Roman arches, its graceful courtyards and thousand-year-old walls, the city’s historic core is a major sight in itself. Many of the ancient warehouses along Lyon’s two rivers — the Rhone and the Saone — have been renovated and play host in summertime to exhibitions of the Lyon Biennale, a major contemporary art event. This year, the Biennale focuses on an exchange with artists from Quebec and runs from April 10 through July 3.

The Biennale is only one of many summer festivals in Lyon, which is far more cosmopolitan than its size would suggest. Les Nuits de Fourviere is perhaps the best known of these festivals; focusing on contemporary music with global appeal, it runs from June 7 to August 2 and this year features such artists as Leonard Cohen, REM, Vanessa Paradis and Massive Attack.

As befits a major city in France, Lyon also has a large and diverse Jewish community, supporting more than 20 synagogues. The Grand Synagogue, dating to 1864, is at Quai Tilsitt; it was largely destroyed in World War II, but the rebuilt structure echoes with the nerve-rattling historical reverberations of 20th-century Europe. (Lyon also boasts several kosher restaurants, a rarity in second-tier European cities.)

Also of interest to the Jewish tourist is the Musée de la Resistance (Museum of Resistance and Deportation), housed in the former Gestapo office in the Guillotiere neighborhood. A series of moving displays of photographs and artifacts commemorates national and local resistance to the Nazi occupation, which devastated Lyon’s Jewish community.

A very different kind of museum, but one with a lot more local color, is the Musée des Tissus. No, it’s not a museum about Kleenex. The Museum of Textiles and Decorative Arts of Lyon is a tribute to the city’s historic silk industry, weaving together exhibits of lustrous fabrics and garments from places as far-flung as Egypt, Persia and Italy with the history that unites them. There are fabrics as old as 2,000 years, linens that graced the intimate chambers of Marie Antoinette and other royals, and gracefully furnished rooms showcasing exotic brocades. The 18th-century palace that houses the museum breathes life and context into what might otherwise be a dull subject.

Visitors looking for stylish textiles they can take home will find no shortage of classy shopping in Lyon, if they can afford the exchange rate. Boutiques abound in the old city, along Rue Victor Hugo, and international chains cluster in the area around Rue Emile Zola. If the euros prove too prohibitive, these neighborhoods are terrific for people-watching as well.

Resources:
Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art
(Web site in French only):
http://www.biennaledeslions.fr/index.html
Les Nuits de Fourviere
(Web site in French only):
http://www.nuitsdefourviere.fr/
Museum of Resistance and Deportation:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/lyon-musee-de-la-resistance.htm
Musee des Tissus
(Museum of Textiles and Decorative Arts):
http://www.musee-des-tissus.com/
(click for English-language site)

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization