Lyon
Thursday 7th September
we ventured out early to find some breakfast at a local boulangerie (bakery).
Then we wandered, led by Sue who had already been in Lyon a couple of days and crossed the Rhône River to the Confluence.
We explored the area before rewarding ourselves with a morning coffee.
We then crossed the Saone River into an old quarter of Lyon. The Basilica of Notre-Dame sits up on the hillside overlooking all of Lyon and the best way to get there is the funicular.
After a break for lunch our wanderings continued around the old quarter and through the Traboules. A Traboule is a narrow passageway that connects two streets by crossing through a block of houses.
As the afternoon grew hotter we commenced our trek home cross the Soane and the Rhône seeking out a cool shelter for a drink. We were delighted to stumble across the Grand Hotel-Dieu. This grand building has a long history dating back to 1184 when it was set up as a place of refuge and a hospital. In 1532 it managed a plague and the famine that were raging in Lyon. In 1741 the Grand Dome was built. In 1886 it became the Centre for surgery throughout Europe and the first X-ray in history was performed beneath the Grand Dome. It was a military hospital in WW1 and in WW2 the Grand Dome was completely destroyed by fire. It finally ceased operating as a hospital in 2009. Over the next 10 years it was extensively refurbished and opened as the InterContinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu.
Such a great place to enjoy a chilled flute of Barons de Rothschild.
