Presqu'île Plazas and Monuments

The Place des Terreaux is defined by the massive, bronze Bartholdi fountain at its center, showing a woman driving a chariot pulled by four plunging horses. Created by the same sculptor who built the Statue of Liberty, the fountain depicts…

The Hôtel de Ville de Lyon occupies a long, symmetrical block between the Place des Terreaux and the Rhône river, anchored by a prominent central bell tower. Construction finished in sixteen seventy-two, but a fire gutted the interior just…

The Opéra National de Lyon features a massive, semi-cylindrical glass barrel vault perched atop the stone shell of an eighteenth-century theater. Architect Jean Nouvel added this modern superstructure in nineteen ninety-three, doubling the…

Place de la République is defined by the stone fountain at its center, a tiered structure topped by a bronze statue representing the French Republic. This square sits atop land that once belonged to the Cordeliers monastery. In the…

The Place des Jacobins centers on a white marble fountain topped by a statue of four famous Lyonnais artists. This square occupies the site where a Dominican convent stood until the French Revolution. When the monks were expelled, the city…

The Théâtre des Célestins is defined by the massive, curved facade of white stone facing the Place des Célestins, topped by an ornate pediment. This site has hosted performers since seventeen ninety-two, occupying the shell of a former…

Place Bellecour is a massive, gravel-covered rectangle that refuses to hold a single tree or blade of grass. It stands as the largest pedestrian square in Europe, a stark expanse of crushed stone centered around an equestrian statue of…

The Fontaine de la Place Antonin Poncet is defined by the massive, weathered stone bell tower that stands behind the fountain, a lonely survivor of the old Hôpital de la Charité. While the fountain itself splashes gently, the tower once…