Lyon (Franco-Provençal: Liyon; formerly Lyons in English) is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of Paris, 278 km (173 mi) north of Marseille, and 113 km (70 mi) southwest of Geneva, Switzerland.
The City of Lyon is the third-largest city in France with a population of 519,127 as of 2023 within its small municipal territory of 48 km2 (19 sq mi), but together with its suburbs and exurbs the Lyon metropolitan area had a population of 2,338,789 that same year, the second largest in France. Lyon and 58 suburban municipalities have formed since 2015 the Metropolis of Lyon, a directly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of most urban issues, with a population of 1,436,354 in 2023. Lyon is the prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and seat of the Departmental Council of Rhône (whose jurisdiction, however, no longer extends over the Metropolis of Lyon since 2015).
The capital of the Gauls during the Roman Empire, Lyon is the seat of an archbishopric whose holder bears the title of Primate of the Gauls. Lyon became a major economic hub during the Renaissance. The city is recognised for its cuisine and gastronomy, as well as historical and architectural landmarks; the districts of Old Lyon, the Fourvière hill, the Presqu'île and the slopes of the Croix-Rousse are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lyon was historically an important area for the production and weaving of silk. Lyon has played a significant role in the history of cinema since Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the cinematograph there. The city is also known for its light festival, the Fête des lumières, which begins every 8 December and lasts for four days, earning Lyon the title of "Capital of Lights".
Economically, Lyon is a major centre for the banking, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The city contains a significant software industry with a particular focus on video games; in recent years it has fostered a growing local start-up sector. The home of renowned universities and higher education schools, Lyon is the second-largest student city in France, with a university population of nearly 200,000 students within the Metropolis of Lyon. Lyon hosts the international headquarters of Interpol, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, as well as Euronews. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute, Lyon is considered a Beta city, as of 2018. It ranked second in France and 40th globally in Mercer's 2019 liveability rankings. Lyon will be the centre of the 2030 Winter Olympics.
History
Toponymy
The name of the city has evolved from the Gallic Lugdunon to the intermediate forms Lugdon to Luon, and developing the present form, Lyon, during the 13th century.
The Gallic Lugdun or Lugdunon that was Latinized in Roman as Lugdunum is composed of two words. The first may be the name of the Celtic god Lug (in charge of order and law), or the derived word lugon, meaning "crow" (the crow being the messenger of Lug), but might also be another word lug, meaning "light". The second is dunos ('fortress', 'hill'). The name thus may designate the hill of Fourvière, on which the ancient city of Lyon is founded, but could mean "hill of the god Lug", "hill of the crows" or "shining hill".
Alternatively Julius Pokorny associates the first part of the word with the Indo-European radical *lūg ('dark, black, swamp'), the basis of the toponyms Ludza in Latvia, Lusatia in Germany (from Sorbian Łužica), and several places in the Czech Republic named Lužice; it could then also be compared to Luze in Franche-Comté and various hydronyms such as Louge.
Further down, in the current Saint-Vincent district, was the Gallic village of Condate, probably a simple hamlet of sailors or fishermen living on the banks of the Saône. Condate is a Gallic word meaning "confluence", from which the Confluence district gets its name.
In Roman times the city was called Caput Galliae, meaning "capital of the Gauls".
During the revolutionary period, Lyon was renamed Commune-Affranchie ("Emancipated Commune") on 12 October 1793 by a decree of the Convention Nationale. It resumed its name in 1794, after the end of the Terror.
Lyon is called Liyon in Franco-Provençal.
Timeline of Lyon Historical affiliations
Roman Empire (Gallia Lugdunensis), 43 BC-286
Western Roman Empire (Gallia Lugdunensis), 286-411
Kingdom of the Burgundians, 411–534
Francia, 534–843
Middle Francia, 843–855
Lotharingia, 855–879
Lower Burgundy, 879–933
Kingdom of Arles, 933–1312
Kingdom of France (Lyonnais), 1312–1792
French First Republic, 1792–1793
Counter-revolutionary, 1793
French First Republic, 1793–1804
First French Empire, 1804–1814
Kingdom of France, 1814–1815
First French Empire, 1815
Kingdom of France, 1815–1830
Kingdom of France, 1830–1848
French Second Republic, 1848–1852
Second French Empire, 1852–1870
French Third Republic, 1870–1940
Vichy France, 1940–1944
French Fourth Republic, 1944–1958
France, 1958–present
Ancient Lyon
According to the historian Dio Cassius, in 43 BC, the Roman Senate ordered the creation of a settlement for Roman refugees of war with the Allobroges. These refugees had been expelled from Vienne and were now encamped at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers. The foundation was built on Fourvière hill and officially called Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity and the blessing of the gods. The city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum (and occasionally Lugudunum). The earliest translation of this Gaulish place-name as "Desired Mountain" is offered by the 9th-century Endlicher Glossary. In contrast, some modern scholars have proposed a Gaulish hill-fort named Lug[o]dunon, after the Celtic god Lugus (cognate with Old Irish Lugh, Modern Irish Lú), and dúnon (hill-fort).
The Romans recognised that Lugdunum's strategic location at the convergence of two navigable rivers made it a natural communications hub. The city became the starting point of main Roman roads in the area, and it quickly became the capital of the province, Gallia Lugdunensis. Two Emperors were born in this city: Claudius, whose speech is preserved in the Lyon Tablet in which he justifies the nomination of Gallic Senators, and Caracalla.
Early Christians in Lyon were martyred for their beliefs under the reigns of various Roman emperors, most notably Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus. Local saints from this period include Blandina, Pothinus, and Epipodius, among others. The Greek Irenaeus was the second bishop of Lyon during the latter part of the second century. To this day, the archbishop of Lyon is still referred to as "Primat des Gaules".
Burgundians fleeing the destruction of Worms by the Huns in 437 were re-settled in eastern Gaul. In 443 the Romans established the Kingdom of the Burgundians, and Lugdunum became its capital in 461. In 843, under the Treaty of Verdun, Lyon went to the Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I. It later was made part of the Kingdom of Arles which was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033. Lyon did not come under French control until the 14th century.
Modern Lyon
Fernand Braudel remarked, "Historians of Lyon are not sufficiently aware of the bi-polarity between Paris and Lyon, which is a constant structure in French development...from the late Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution". In the late 15th century, the fairs introduced by Italian merchants made Lyon the economic counting house of France. Even the Bourse (treasury), built in 1749, resembled a public bazaar where accounts were settled in the open air. When international banking moved to Genoa, then Amsterdam, Lyon remained the banking centre of France.
During the Renaissance, the city's development was driven by the silk trade, which strengthened its ties to Italy. Italian influence on Lyon's architecture is still visible among historic buildings. In the late 1400s and 1500s Lyon was also a key centre of literary activity and book publishing, both of French writers (such as Maurice Scève, Antoine Héroet, and Louise Labé) and of Italians in exile (such as Luigi Alamanni and Gian Giorgio Trissino).
In 1572, Lyon was a scene of mass violence by Catholics against Protestant Huguenots in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Two centuries later, Lyon was again convulsed by violence during the French Revolution, when the citizenry rose up against the National Convention and supported the Girondins. The city was besieged by Revolutionary armies for over two months before it surrendered in October 1793. Many buildings were destroyed, especially around the Place Bellecour, and Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois and Joseph Fouché administered the execution of more than 2,000 people. The Convention ordered that its name be changed to "Liberated City", and a plaque was erected that proclaimed "Lyon made war on Liberty; Lyon no longer exists". A decade later, Napoleon ordered the reconstruction of all the buildings demolished during that period.
The convention was not the only target within Lyon during the French Revolution. After the Convention faded into history, the French Directory appeared and days after the 4 September 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor, a Directory's commissioner was assassinated in Lyon.
The city became an important industrial town in the 19th century. In 1831 and 1834, the canuts (silk workers) of Lyon staged two major uprisings for better working conditions and pay. In 1862, the first of Lyon's extensive network of funicular railways began operation. During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted at least dozens of raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success. Some months later, in June 1894, companion Sante Caserio assassinated the French president responsible for the repression, Sadi Carnot.
During World War II, Lyon was a centre for the occupying Nazi forces, including Klaus Barbie, the infamous "Butcher of Lyon". However, the city was also a stronghold of the French Resistance, the many secret passages known as traboules, enabled people to escape Gestapo raids. On 3 September 1944, Lyon was liberated by the 1st Free French Division and the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur. The city is now home to a Resistance museum.
Geography
The Rhône and Saône converge to the south of the historic city centre, forming a peninsula – the "Presqu'île" – bounded by two large hills to the west and north and a large plain eastward. Place Bellecour is located on the Presqu'île between the two rivers and is the third-largest public square in France. The broad, pedestrian-only Rue de la République leads north from Place Bellecour.
The northern hill is La Croix-Rousse, known as "the hill that works" because it is traditionally home to many small silk workshops, an industry for which the city has long been renowned.
The western hill is Fourvière, known as "the hill that prays" because it is the location for Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, several convents, and Archbishop's residence. The district, Vieux Lyon, also hosts the Tour métallique (a highly visible TV tower, replicating the last stage of the Eiffel Tower) and one of the city's railways. Fourvière, along with portions of the Presqu'île and much of La Croix-Rousse, is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
East of the Rhône from the Presqu'île is a large flat area upon which sits much of modern Lyon and contains most of the city's population. Situated in this area is La Part-Dieu urban centre, which clusters the landmark structures Tour To-Lyon, Tour Incity, Tour Part-Dieu, Tour Oxygène, and Tour Swiss Life, as well as the city's primary railway station, Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu.
North of this district lays the sixth arrondissement, which is home to one of Europe's largest urban parks, the Parc de la Tête d'or, as well as Lycée du Parc and Interpol's world headquarters.
Climate
Lyon has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). The mean temperature in Lyon in the coldest month is 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) in January and in the warmest month in July is 22.6 °C (72.7 °F). Precipitation is adequate year-round, at an average of 820 mm (32.3 in); the winter months are the driest. The highest recorded temperature was 41.4 °C (106.5 °F) on 24 August 2023 while the lowest recorded temperature was −24.6 °C (−12.3 °F) on 22 December 1938.
Administration
Commune
Like Paris and Marseille, the commune (municipality) of Lyon is divided into a number of municipal arrondissements, each of which is identified by a number and has its own council and town hall. Five arrondissements were originally created in 1852, when three neighbouring communes (La Croix-Rousse, La Guillotière, and Vaise) were annexed by Lyon. Between 1867 and 1959, the third arrondissement (which originally covered the whole of the Left Bank of the Rhône) was split three times, creating a new arrondissement in each case. Then, in 1963, the commune of Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe was annexed to Lyon's fifth arrondissement. A year later, in 1964, the fifth was split to create Lyon's 9th – and, to date, final – arrondissement. Within each arrondissement, the recognisable quartiers or neighbourhoods are:
- 1st arrondissement: Slopes of La Croix-Rousse, Terreaux, Martinière/St-Vincent
- 2nd arrondissement: Cordeliers, Bellecour, Ainay, Perrache, Confluence, Sainte-Blandine
- 3rd arrondissement: Guillotière (north), Préfecture, Part-Dieu, Villette, Dauphiné/Sans Souci, Montchat, Grange Blanche (north), Monplaisir (north)
- 4th arrondissement: Plateau de la Croix-Rousse, Serin
- 5th arrondissement: Vieux Lyon (Saint-Paul, Saint-Jean, Saint-Georges), Saint-Just, Saint-Irénée, Fourvière, Point du Jour, Ménival, Battières, Champvert (south)
- 6th arrondissement: Brotteaux, Bellecombe, Parc de la Tête d'or, Cité Internationale
- 7th arrondissement: Guillotière (south), Jean Macé, Gerland
- 8th arrondissement: Monplaisir (south), Bachut, États-Unis, Grand Trou/Moulin à Vent, Grange Blanche (south), Laënnec, Mermoz, Monplaisir-la-Plaine
- 9th arrondissement: Vaise, Duchère, Rochecardon, St-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe, Gorge de Loup, Observance, Champvert (north)
Geographically, Lyon's two main rivers, the Saône and the Rhône, divide the arrondissements into three groups: