- The Mole Diaries: An insider's guide to Lyon
- Accommodation in Lyon - learn from this year abroader's mistakes!
- Read Charlotte's Lyon-Córdoba Blog to find out how she's getting on at the Université Lumière Lyon 2.
Roughly divided up into 9 districts, Lyon has many a string to its bow. Wander along the Fourvière Hill for some religious charm in the form of churches and take in the arrondissement that was once home to the Romans. If a bit of Italian flair is more your thing, you can grace the Vieux Lyon and admire the typically Renaissance period buildings, making sure you experience the traboules—classically Lyonnais-style corridors that link 2 streets, within a building, usually through a courtyard. These tunnels served the purpose of helping Romans carry water to and fro, silk makers in the Renaissance period to move stock from shop to shop, and later Résistance members to use them as hiding place. In fact, Lyon's architecture across town hides many a story that will soon have you investing in a hefty map to make sure you don't miss any nook or cranny.
Around a hundred trompe l'oeil works of art have been painted onto the walls of houses and buildings across the city, ensuring you get your daily intake of art wherever you go. The panoramic viewpoint in Place Fourbières will leave you short of breath, seeing a city that has combined different cultures and times, in an amalgam of buildings and districts. If contemporary life is more your thing, then you should head to Presqu'île, where fine shops and food find their place next to particularly good clubbing venues. Speaking of food, Lyon is, as you may well know, the culinary place to be for all you foodies out there. If your idea of fun is frolicking with some gratin Dauphinois, then look no further and behold its birthplace! Wine is also rather good in this area of France, so you're bound to have your taste buds tickled. Clubbing also takes on another dimension, with many péniches (boats lined up along the middle of the river) doubling up as drinking dens and offering up their decks as dancefloors, on a regular basis. A lively student population ensures cheap deals are available on travel and going out, with a vibrant social scene to boot. A world-renown theatre and cinema scene make sure this city ticks all the cultural boxes, and for you sport fans out there, make sure not to miss a local rugby match (oui, I kid you not!), with some footie friendlies ten a penny. All in all, a city that really deserves a look in, if not a live in!
