Culture of Lyon. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

» The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere is a landmark of Lyon that is under the protection of UNESCO. It is located on top of the Fourviere hill and seen from any parts of the city.
»  The basilica was built in 1168 at the site of an old church. When it was destroyed, the chapel remained undamaged and has survived to this day.
»  The magnificent church with four towers and a belfry has two naves. The upper one is decorated with stained glass windows, sculptures, and mosaics. In the basement, there is the crypt of St. Joseph. The basilica was completed only in 1964.
»  The chapel preserved since ancient times was restored in 1845. Its top is decorated with the huge golden statue of the Virgin Mary. Exactly in this chapel, Anne of Austria prayed for the birth of a son in 1630.

» Lyon Cathedral is an oldest temple of the 12th century, which, together with the medieval part of the city, is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist had been built for a long time, until 1481.
»  The 14th-century clock, which, in addition to time and date, demonstrates the astronomical position of celestial bodies and some stars over Lyon, has survived to our days. It chimes four times a day with mechanical human figures showing religious scenes.
»  The cathedral’s 13th-century stained-glass windows have been preserved to the present day. In the burial chapel, there’s Cardinal Bourbon’s tomb (1488).
»  The square in front of the cathedral has a sculpture of John the Baptist made by sculptor Blaise in 1780. The Cathedral is adjacent to a church singing school, which houses a museum of church treasures.
»  The temple witnessed a few remarkable medieval events. In 1600, the wedding of Henry IV and Marie de Medici took place here, and in 1622, Armand Jean du Plessis Richelieu became the cardinal of France here.

» The Museum of Fine Arts opened its collection in 1860. Before that, the building belonged to a convent. After the dissolution of the convent in 1806, a drawing school worked in the palace that had a collection of paintings belonging to the church.
»  In 1860, the building was redesigned into a museum. The 70 exhibition halls display works by French, Italian, Spanish, German artists from the 15th century on.
»  The sculptural collection consists of 1,300 items. A part of the collection – bronze sculptures of the 19th century – is displayed in the museum garden.
»  A collection of ancient Egyptian art exhibits occupies 9 halls. Egyptologists Alexandre Varille and Victor Loret gave over 1,000 artefacts to the museum, including the sarcophagi of Ptolemy III and Ptolemy IV.
»  The museum also exhibits the country’s largest numismatic collection consisting of 50,000 items.

» The Church of Saint-Nizier is a beautiful Gothic temple building having a long history of existence and construction. The first building was erected in the 5th century on the site of the ruined Roman temple.
»  Over centuries, it was gradually acquiring its current appearance: the facade was made in the 14th century, the pink-stone bell tower was made in the 15th century, the side chapels were built in the 16th century, one of the spires appeared here in the 19th century. Therefore, the spires are different.
»  There is a burial place of Bishop Nicetius (573) in the church and an ancient 6th-century crypt with an epitaph of St. Sacerdos, a bishop that is also buried here, in the dungeon.
»  A picturesque statue of the Virgin Mary by Antoine Coysevox (17th century) and original stained-glass windows have been preserved here.
»  The last renovation lasted for 20 years, until 1993. Today, the Church of Saint-Nizier has a parish and holds regular services.

Location on the map:   Facts: » The Palais de la Bourse is a large, skillfully decorated building that attracts tourists and is the pride and landmark of the city.
»  Architect René Dardel used balconies, columns, allegorical statues, and stone carvings to decorate the building.
»  The construction was completed in 1860. Its opening was attended by Napoleon III and his wife.
»  The building housed trade companies, courts, banks. Today, it is the city’s chamber of commerce and industry.
»  In 1894, the Palais de la Bourse hosted an exhibition that was attended by French President Sadi Carnot. During President’s speech, a criminal attacked him and mortally wounded him with a knife.