Here are some more photographs I've taken around Lyon from December to March. Christmas tree markets, the first movie camera and sunny winter afternoons. One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday afternoon in Lyon is take the metro to Vieux Lyon, and walk for about 2-3 hours through the medieval quarter, prequ'île, and through the beautiful Parc Tête d'Or.
Place Bellecour. On the left is the statue of Louis XIV. I also saw a Ferris wheel like this one in Place de la Concorde in Paris - they're temporary, but this one has been in Lyon for a few weeks already.
La Part Dieu, Lyon's biggest mall, all decked out for Christmas. The other major shopping area (more upmarket) is surrounding Rue de la République on the presqu'île, between Place Bellecour and l'Hôtel de Ville.
The Sâone in winter.
Cathédrale St. Jean. The exterior looks like it was only finished yesterday, instead of hundreds of years ago, largely thanks to restoration works that wrapped up in September.
Christmas tree vendor on the banks of the Sâone. Most of the trees I saw were about half the size of these ones. Even the big ones you can carry home over your shoulder.
Église St. Nizier, named after a 6th century bishop of the city.
Boats moored on the Rhône. In fairer weather some of these boats are rented out by nightclubs and run as "party boats", although fortunately they remain attached to the quai while the party is going on!
The main gate to Parc Tête d'Or.
Statue by the lake in Parc Tête d'Or. This immense park on the banks of the Rhône, about a 30 minute walk from my apartment, is "the most beautiful urban park in France". It contains a botanical garden, a velodrome, a kiddy pool, and even a zoo.
Locally-made cheese for sale at the weekly Saturday market by the Sâone. Market food is usually more expensive than in the grocery stores, but it's certainly more fun to shop here and chat with the farmers.
Mistletoe for sale!
A cold snap in January meant the fountains in Lyon froze - I would think this isn't very good for them! Place des Terreaux.
Old men playing boules, which is similar to lawn bowling or bocce. It's very popular with the senior citizens of France (I also saw this in Switzerland), and you can find them playing in every public square on the weekends.
Inside la maison Lumière, the home of the Lumière family. They invented the colour photograph, movies (they also filmed the first movies, usually short comedic pieces or snapshots of everyday life), and the cream that still used today to cover burns so that they heal, among many other things. They also sent cinematographers to the far reaches of the world, and through their film screening gave the French their first glimpse of cultures from across oceans and seas, that they had only ever heard of in books. Their house in Lyon is a beautiful example of Art Nouveau bourgeois architecture. Their factory, the set of the first movie ever, is still there as well and today houses a theatre that screens black-and-white movies.
One of the very first movie cameras.
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