Fourvière Hill + Old Town

TOUR 2 – Fourvière Hill and Basilica + Old Roman theaters + Old Town (3 hours-tour)

Fourvière Hill is a very symbolic place in Lyon. It was the place where the city was founded in 43 B.C. and where Romans settled the Forum “the city center” during ancient times. Consequently, Lyon was provided with the most important Roman monuments, temples, aqueducts, and theaters.
Among the most important remains of Roman period still visible nowadays on the hill, there are the ancient Roman theaters, bearing witness to a time of greatness of Lugdunum, as the city was named in those times.
Besides, Fourvière Hill offers a unique panoramic view of the city, where we can understand the strategical location of Lyon, not only as one of the most important Roman colonies, but also as the “Capital of the Gauls”.
Today, the Hill is crowned with the splendid “Basilica of Our Lady of Fourvière”, built in the end of 19th Century, and representing the importance of the religious history and faith in Lyon during the entire Middle-Ages until Modern times.
After the Fall of Roman Empire in the 5th Century, the population settled at the bottom of the Hill, adjacent to the Saone River, to develop a new society based on the religious power. It corresponds to the nowadays “Old Town of Lyon”, the Medieval and Renaissance district with in its center, the magnificent Saint John’s Cathedral, in authentic gothic style.
During this tour, we will start exploring the hill, with its beautiful panoramic view of the city. We will visit the Fourvière Basilica and the Roman theaters, and we will finish the tour in the “Old Town”, visiting Saint-John’s Cathedral, its narrow and picturesque streets and secret passageways called “Traboules”, learn about Lyon’s gastronomy, and we will admire some rich palaces and their breath-taking courtyards.