Hotels Lyon

Hotels Lyon

Hotels in the French city of Lyon are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to stay at a high quality hotels or hotels that have a good reputation. Some may want to stay at hotels that are well known. Some may want to stay at luxury hotels or cheap hotels. Some may want to have access to hotels that have high status. Some may want to stay at hotels that have good access to culture and entertainment. Some may want to stay at hotels that have good reputation, and have good access to tourist attractions. Some may want to stay at hotels that are in or near the city.

Some may want to stay at a hotels in the city of Lyon are often required for tourists who requie short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to stay in the city.

Lyon, also known as Lyons in English, is a city in east-central France. Lyon is the second largest French urban area, the first being Paris and the third Marseille. It is a major centre of business, situated between Paris and Marseille, and has a reputation as the French capital of gastronomy and having a significant role in the history of cinema. The local professional football team, Olympique Lyonnais, has increased the profile of Lyon internationally through participation in European championships.

Lyon was founded on the Fourvière hill as a Roman colony in 43 BCE by Munatius Plancus, a lieutenant of Caesar, on the site of a Gaulish hill-fort settlement called Lug[o]dunon, from the Celtic god Lugus ('Light', cognate with Old Irish Lugh, Modern Irish Lú) and dúnon (hill-fort). Lyon was first named Lugdunum meaning the "hill of lights" or "the hill of crows". Lug was equated by the Romans to Mercury.

Agrippa recognized that Lugdunum's position on the natural highway from northern to south-eastern France made it a natural communications hub, and he made Lyon the starting point of the principal Roman roads throughout Gaul. It then became the capital of Gaul, partly thanks to its convenient location at the convergence of two navigable rivers, and quickly became the main city of Gaul. Two emperors were born in this city: Claudius and Caracalla. Today, the archbishop of Lyon is still referred to as "le primat des Gaules".

The Christians in Lyon were persecuted for their religion under the reigns of the various Roman emperors, most notably Marcus Aurelius and Septimus Severus. Local saints from this period include saints such as Blandina (Blandine), Pothinus (Pothin) , and Epipodius (Épipode), among others.

The great Christian bishop of Lyon in the 2nd century was the Easterner Irenaeus.

Burgundian refugees from the destruction of Worms by Huns in 437 were resettled by the military commander of the west, Aëtius, at Lugdunum, which was formally the capital of the new Burgundian kingdom by 461.

In 843, by the Treaty of Verdun, Lyon, with the country beyond the Saône, went to Lothair I, and later became a part of the Kingdom of Arles. Lyon only came under French control in the fourteenth century.

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 (Braudel 1984 p. 327). The fairs in Lyon, the invention of Italian merchants, made it the economic countinghouse of France in the late 15th century. When international banking moved to Genoa, then Amsterdam, Lyon simply became the banking centre of France; its new Bourse (treasury), built in 1749, still resembled a public bazaar where accounts were settled in the open air. During the Renaissance, the city developed with the silk trade, especially with Italy; the Italian influence on Lyon's architecture can still be seen. Thanks to the silk trade, Lyon became an important industrial town during the 19th century.
Lyon in the 18th century

Lyon was a scene of mass violence against Huguenots in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacres in 1572.

During the French Revolution, Lyon uprose against the National Convention and supported the Girondins. In 1793, the city was under siege during over two months, assaulted by the Revolutionary armies, before eventually surrending. More than 2.000 people were executed and several buildings were destroyed, especially around the Place Bellecour. A decade later, Napoleon himself ordered the reconstruction of all the buildings demolished during this period.

The silk workers of Lyon, known as canuts, staged two major uprisings: in 1831 and 1834. The 1831 uprising saw one of the first recorded uses of the black flag as an emblem of protest.

Lyon was a centre for the occupying German forces and also a stronghold of resistance during World War II, and the city is now home to a resistance museum. (See also Klaus Barbie.) The traboules, or secret passages, through the houses enabled the local people to escape Gestapo raids.

Lyon's geography is dominated by the Rhône and Saône rivers that converge to the south of the historic city center forming a peninsula or "Presqu'île"; two large hills, one to the west and one to the north of the historic city center; and a large plain which sprawls eastward from the historic city center.

To the west is Fourvière, known as "the hill that prays", the location for the highly decorated Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica, several convents, the palace of the Archbishop, the Tour métallique (a highly visible TV tower, replicating the last stage of the Eiffel Tower) and a funicular.

To the north is the Croix-Rousse, "the hill that works", traditionally home to many small silk workshops, an industry for which the city was renowned.

The original medieval city (Vieux Lyon) was built on the west bank of the Saône river at the foot of the Fourvière hill, west of the Presqu'île. (This area, along with portions of the Presqu'ile and much of the Croix-Rousse are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the peninsula (Presqu'île) between the rivers Rhône and Saône is located the third largest public square in France, and one of the largest in Europe, Place Bellecour. Specifically, it is the largest clear square (i.e., without any patches of greenery, trees or any other kind of obstacles) in Europe.[citation needed] The broad, pedestrian-only Rue de la République leads north from Place Bellecour. The 2nd arrondissement has many of the finest old residential buildings in Lyon and the area is known for its concentration of old Lyonnaise Catholic families.

East of the Rhône from the Presqu'île is a large area of flat ground upon which sits much of modern Lyon and most of the city's population. Situated in this area is the urban centre of Part-Dieu which clusters the former Crédit Lyonnais Tower (central France's only skyscraper), the Part-Dieu shopping centre, and Lyon's main rail terminal, Lyon Part-Dieu.

North of this district is the relatively wealthy 6th arrondissement, which is home to the Parc de la Tête d'Or, one of Europe's largest urban parks, the prestigious Lycée du Parc to the south of the park, and Interpol's headquarters on the park's western edge.

Within each arrondissement, there are a number of recognisable quartiers or neighbourhoods:

1st arrdt: Pentes de la Croix-Rousse, Terreaux, Martinière/St-Vincent
2nd arrdt: Cordeliers, Bellecour, Ainay, Perrache, Confluent
3rd arrdt: Guillotière (north), Préfecture, Part-Dieu, Villette, Dauphiné/Sans Souci, Montchat, Grange Blanche (north), Monplaisir (north)
4th arrdt: Plateau de la Croix-Rousse, Serin
5th arrdt: Vieux Lyon (St-Paul, St-Jean, St-Georges), St-Just, St-Irénée, Fourvière, Point du Jour, Ménival, Battières, Champvert (south)
6th arrdt: Brotteaux, Bellecombe, Parc de la Tête d'Or, Cité Internationale
7th arrdt: Guillotière (south), Jean Macé, Gerland
8th arrdt: Monplaisir (south), Bachut, États-Unis, Grand Trou/Moulin à Vent, Grange Blanche (south), Laënnec, Mermoz, Monplaisir-la-Plaine
9th arrdt: Vaise, Duchère, Rochecardon, St-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe, Gorge de Loup, Observance, Champvert (north)

Since the Middle Ages, the Arpitans, residents of the region, speak several dialects of Arpitan language. The Lyonnais dialect was partly replaced by the French language as the importance of the city grew. However, it is still alive and, in addition, some "frenchified" Arpitan words can also be heard in the French of the Lyonnais, who call their little boys and girls "gones" and "fenottes" for example.

Lyon was an early centre for printing books, and nurtured a circle of 16th century poets.

The Lumière brothers invented cinema in the town in 1895. The Musée Lumière is there as a testimony, hosting many of their first inventions.[citation needed]

December 8 each year is marked by "la Fête des lumières" (the Festival of Lights), a celebration of thanks to the Virgin Mary, who purportedly saved the city from a deadly plague in the Middle Ages. During the event, the local population places candles (lumignons) at their windows and the city of Lyon organizes and projects impressive large-scale light shows onto the sides of important Lyonnais monuments, such as the medieval Cathédrale St-Jean.

The church of Saint Francis of Sales is famous for its large and unaltered Cavaillé-Coll pipe organ, attracting audiences from around the world. Lyon also features a renowned opera house.

Lyon is also the French capital of "trompe l'œil"-walls, a very ancient tradition. Many are to be seen everywhere around the city. This old tradition is now expending in a contemporary expression.

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