FOURVIÈRE

As one of Lyon’s collines, Fourvière guarantees one thing: a fantastic view. And the huge plus of this hill is that you don’t have to climb it to see it. If you have a valid metro card, you can just change onto the funiculaire at Vieux Lyon, and voilà, two minutes and a little more body contact than you might enjoy later, you are standing in front of a very, very big white church. Some would also call it Basilique (de Notre-Dame de Fourvière). 

Once you’ve recovered from the shock of the monument’s size, you could walk along either the right or left side of the church until you get to a stone wall. Now this is the moment to look up (or actually semi-down) and be impressed by the view.

Okay, on a day like this, you are not going to see the Mont Blanc. But you can see buildings and rivers and tiny ant people walking across the bridge.

When you’re done looking down, you can go back to the old town to get some crêpes, OR, you can decide to do some more exploring up there. Because, believe it or not, there is more than the basilica and the view. Take a guess! What will you find if you continue to the right from the basilica? 

--- A ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE. And several more of those ancient stone constructions. And a few ancient stones looking lost because, presumably, nobody wanted to use them.

And there is more. YES REALLY. If you look quickly, you’ll think it’s the Eiffel tower. And you can try positioning yourself in front of it in a way that makes it look like you’re standing in front of the Eiffel tower. Most likely you won’t succeed. Unless you’re a pro at Photoshop.

There are a couple more interesting sights on Fourvière, including parks, a retirement home, a fig tree and a pomegranate tree. The pomegranate tree is too far away to steal any fruit.

If you’re feeling sporty and up for the challenge, you can not take the funiculaire down, but walk. By foot. It’s a lot of stairs. And you’ll probably need crêpes afterwards to make up for all those lost calories.