France City  -  Lyon

Rhône (69)
Rhone-Alps

Phone : 04 72 77 69 69
Fax : 04 78 42 04 32

Lyon Tourism Website
	Lyon
	Trains to/from Lyon
	Hotels in Lyon
	Lyon airport
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	Lyon History
	Lyon Transportation
	Lyon Geography
	Lyon Administration
	Lyon Culture

It is a major centre of business, situated between Paris and Marseille, and has a reputation as the French capital of gastronomy and a significant role in the history of cinema.

Lyon is the préfecture (capital) of the Rhône département, and also the capital of the Rhône-Alpes région.

 
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The city gave its name to the Lyonnais province, of which it was the capital. Today the region around Lyon is still known as Lyonnais (French: le Lyonnais), or sometimes even as the Lyonnaise Region (French: Région Lyonnaise).

Lyonnaise Region is an unofficial, popular name, not to be confused with the administrative région of Rhône-Alpes, which is much larger than the Lyonnaise Region. Lyon is also the international headquarters of Interpol.

Local Attractions - Places to Visit    

• Tour métallique de Fourvière, 1894 More>>

• La Mouche Cattle Market and Abbatoir, 1914, 1928, Tony Garnier, architect

• Sainte Marie de La Tourette monastery, 1960, Le Corbusier, architect More>>

• Saint-Exupéry International Airport (formerly Satolas Airport), 1975. Guillaume Gilbert, architect More>>

• Opéra National de Lyon, renovation and expansion 1993, Jean Nouvel, architect

• Lyon Airport Railway Station, 1994, Santiago Calatrava, architect

• Cité Internationale, 1998, Renzo Piano, architect

• Cathédrale Saint-Jean More>>
  

  

• Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière More>>
  

  

History    

Lyon was founded as a Roman colony in 43 BC by Munatius Plancus, a lieutenant of Caesar, on the site of a Gaulish hill-fort settlement called Lug[o]dunon—from the Celtic sun god Lugus ('Light', cognate to Old Irish Lugh, Modern Irish Lú) and dúnon (hill-fort). More>>

Access / Local Transportation    

Various transportation facilities are available in Lyon such as Air, Rail, Intercity Coach, Vélo'v. More>>

Geography    

Lyon's geography is dominated by the Rhône and Saône rivers which converge to the south of historic city centre forming a sort of peninsula or "presqu'île"; two large hills, one to the west and one to the north of the historic city centre; and a large plain which sprawls westward for the historic city centre. More>>

Administration    

Lyon is the capital of the Rhône-Alpes région, the préfecture of the Rhône département, and the capital of 14 cantons, covering 1 commune, and with a total population of 445,452 (1999). More>>

Culture    

As early as the 13th century, residents of the region spoke a dialect of the Franco-Provençal language. This Lyonnais dialect was replaced by the French language as the importance of the city grew. More>>

Colleges & Universities    

• CPE Lyon

• École Centrale de Lyon

• EM Lyon (École de Management de Lyon)

• École Normale Supérieure de Lyon

• École Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines

• École Nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon

• Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon

• Institut d'études politiques de Lyon

• Institution des Chartreux

• Université Claude Bernard (Lyon I)

• Université Louis Lumière (Lyon II)

• Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III)

• Université Catholique de Lyon

• ESDES Business School

• École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État

• La Martiniere Lyon

Population     

Together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Lyon forms the second largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, with 1,648,216 inhabitants at the 1999 census, and approximately the 20th to 25th largest metropolitan area of Western Europe.

Sport     

Lyon is also home to current Ligue 1, five time champions, Olympique Lyonnais.

Famous People    

The long list of notable native Lyonnais includes:

• Sidonius Apollinaris (430-489)

• Abbé Morellet, Litterateur (1727-1819)

• The Christian philosopher Ballanche (1776-1847)

• The religious painter Hippolyte Flandrin (1809-1864)

• The Jesuit Père Coton (1564-1626), confessor of Henry IV and a native of Néronde

• Abbé Terray, Controller general of finance under Louis XVI, a native of Boen (1715-1778)

• Maurice Scève, 16th century poet

• Louise Labé, 16th century poet

• François Rabelais, 16th century writer

• Shlomo Aviner, renowned Religious Zionist rabbi

• Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Roman emperor

• Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, painter of the life of Ste Geneviève (1824-1898)

• Fr. André Coindre, founder of the order of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart

• Jules Favre, Republican statesman

• Tony Garnier, Architect and Utopian planner

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Aviation pioneer and Writer

• Marie-France Gaîté (la Gribouille), Singer

• Maurice Jarre, Composer

• Jean-Michel Jarre, Musician

• Bishop Mathias Loras, the first Bishop of the Dubuque, Iowa Diocese

• Henri Cochet, Tennis player

• Youri Djorkaeff, Football player

• Raymond Domenech, Trainer French football team

• Bertrand Tavernier, Movies director

• Caracalla, IIIrd century Roman emperor

• Bernard Pivot, Journalist

• Hector Guimard, Art Nouveau architect

Credits : This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lyon".