Vieux Lyon Cultural & Historical Walking Guided Tour (English)
Description
Step into the heart of Lyon on a captivating walking tour that weaves together centuries of mystery, culture, and culinary delights. With your engaging guide, Paul, you'll explore Vieux Lyon— where every cobblestone and secret passageway tells its own story. What to Expect: Insider Secrets: Meander through the traboules (hidden passageways) that only locals truly know. Cultural Tapestry: Delve into Lyon’s vibrant history—from the Renaissance splendor to its unique role in silk production. Historic Narratives: Hear gripping tales of bravery during World War II, including the complex legacy of the era marked by Klaus Barbie and the inspiring resistance efforts. Culinary Heritage: Explore the traditional world of Lyon’s famous bouchons and discover how culinary legends like Paul Bocuse have helped shape the city’s reputation. Modern Marvels: Visit Lyon’s bustling city center, to see architectural gems such as the Théâtre des Célestins and the historic Hôtel Dieu.
Tour Options
Itinerary
A quick visit to the cathedral and it's astronomical clock
We visit a few of the hidden passageway, the traboules, in Vieux Lyon
We will have a look at some miniatures in the free courtyard of the museum
We will have a look at the iconic piece of architectureof Vieux Lyon, La Tour Rose
In this silk shop, we will see the live silkworms during the silk season and might even visit the model of the jacquard loom.
We will see the impressive courthouses of Lyon, where the trial of Klaus Barbie took place
We'll see the façade of the theatre and maybe descend into the modern artwork that is hidden underneath the square
This is the main shopping street of Lyon
We will visit the Hôtel Dieu, the old hospital that has recently been transformed with a shopping center, luxury hotel and food court inside.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(1,015)
We had the most interesting tour of our whole 6 weeks time in France. Paul was easy to listen to and showed us sights that we wouldn't have found ourselves and we loved his history anecdotes.
Paul is a fantastic guide and gave us wonderful history and insights into Lyon, at a very manageable pace, and with lots of engagement for us and our two kids (12 and 15). We had such a great time we did his other tour the next day which was equally good and also different content.
This being our first time in Lyon, we wanted a good overview of what makes this city unique, and Paul certainly delivered. He made some recommendations for what to do and see on our own after the tour, including the all-important question of restaurants.
Excellent tour! Paul was a captivating and informative guide. Would highly recommend doing this tour near the start of your time in Lyon
Great tour with lots of local history and stories. Kept us all engaged. Not too much walking, but every destination had a lot to learn about.
Paul is an excellent guide ! He is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Lyon ( which is a great city). The pace was perfect and the anecdotes and suggestions were top class.
I had such a great tour with Paul that the next day I did his tour of the Croix Rousse area! Paul is extremely knowledgable, friendly, and a very engaging guide. Note that if you book through his website, I think you can avoid the fee from tripadvisor - the tour is free and paid for primarily by tips. Each tour I took was approximately 2.25 hours, with a fair bit of walking. Bring a water bottle if it's summertime! Paul will show you free places to refill it.
My husband and I really enjoyed this tour. Paul was so informative. It was a great mix of history, humor and recommendations of things to do in Lyon. Definitely learned some things we didn’t know. Highly recommend!
Overall very happy with the tour. Guide was knowledgeable and gave us loads of details and information on Lyon and sights.
Paul's tour was phenomenal. We learned more about Lyon ( it's history, quirks, current culture) than I could have imagined possible in 2 hours! Thank you so much for this unforgettable experience!
