The Presqu'île (; literally "almost an island" in French, meaning "

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

")''Le petit Robert de la langue française'' 2007 is the central part of the City of Lyon,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Extending from the foot of the Croix-Rousse hill in the north to the confluence of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

and the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

rivers in the south, it has a preponderance of cafés, restaurants, luxury shops, department stores, banks, government buildings and cultural institutions. The

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

arrondissements of the city are located here, along with the Hôtel de Ville, Lyon's city hall in its 1st arrondissement. The spires of the Church of St. Nizier, rebuilt from the 14th to the 16th centuries, are at the foot of the former Saône river bridge. With a history stretching back to the Middle Ages, Lyon's Presqu'île was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

along with other districts in Lyon as a testimony to Lyon's long history as an important European city and its architecture.

History

This district was an important counterpoint to the

Vieux Lyon Vieux Lyon (, ) is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon. In 1964, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites. Covering an area of 424 hecta ...

district in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. Many picturesque streets still exist. Among these is the rue Mercière, where printers and booksellers gravitated in the 15th and 16th centuries and which still has some superb buildings. The Museum of Printing, housed in the former Hôtel de la Couronne, explains how Lyon’s first books were printed. Squares (in many cases decorated with fountains) and churches sprinkled throughout evoke the presence of numerous convents, including those of the Dominicans (

Jacobins The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

), the Celestines and the Conventual Franciscans (

Cordeliers The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( ), mainly known as Cordeliers Club ( ), was a Populism, populist List of political groups in the French Revolution, political club during the French Revolution from 1790 to 179 ...

), whose St. Bonaventure Church was rebuilt in the 14th century. Further south, the Church of Saint-Martin d’Ainay in the Ainay area was originally the church of Ainay Abbey, a large

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery, and is still a jewel of Romanesque art in Lyon. The

Place des Terreaux The Place des Terreaux () is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France, on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, 1st arrondissement. It borders ...

was created in the 17th century, owing to the construction of two prestigious structures: * The Hôtel de Ville, or City Hall, was built between 1646 and 1655 by the architect Simon Maupin and decorated by the painter Thomas Blanchet. In 1674, the Great Hall was ravaged by fire, and the façade facing the square was redesigned in the early 18th century by

Jules Hardouin Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

. * The St. Pierre Palace, formerly a royal Benedictine abbey, construction of which began in 1659 by the Avignon architect François de Royers de la Valfenière. It now houses the Museum of Fine Arts. The public garden in the former cloister is decorated with the work of famous sculptors and is a quiet, urban oasis. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Place Bellecour was created in honour of

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

. Nowadays, the Place des Terreaux hosts several restaurants and an impressive statue of a woman on a chariot; it is a common sightseeing destination within Lyon. Place Bellecour 1.jpg, Place Bellecour and its equestrian statue of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

Lyon - panoramio (12).jpg, Palais de la Bourse in the Cordeliers district 028. Photo prise depuis les toits de la Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière.JPG, Church of St. Nizier seen from Fourvière Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon - Grand cloître, vue sur la chapelle sous une arche.jpg,

Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu () was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris being the oldest an ...

Théâtre des Célestins.jpg, Théâtre des Célestins Façade de la mairie de Lyon.jpg, Hôtel de Ville Fontaine Bartholdi Lyon 10.jpg, Bartholdi fountain,

MBA Lyon facade jour.jpg,

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (, ) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was res ...

(Palais Saint-Pierre)

Modern times

Jacques-Germain Soufflot Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church ded ...

expanded the hospital located near the old Rhône bridge, building the

Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon The Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon () was a hospital of historical significance situated on the right bank of the Rhône river in Lyon, on the Presqu'île (the peninsula between the Saône and Rhône which run through the city centre). It has been out of use ...

along the banks of the river. Today, the hospital is closed. In the 2010s, works were underway to renovate the building, which now hosts a five-star

InterContinental InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is a British-American luxury hotel brand created in 1946 by Pan Am founder Juan Trippe. It has been part of UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group since 1998. As of January 2023, there were 208 InterC ...

hotel, shops, offices, apartments and the new Cité de la gastronomie. Numerous hôtels particuliers were built in the vicinity of the Place Bellecour. The Hôtel du Gouverneur, built in 1730, now houses the Musée des Tissus (Museum of Textiles) and the Hôtel de Lacroix Laval, designed by Soufflot, is now the Museum of Decorative Arts. In 1855, during France's Second Empire period, Claude-Marius Vaïsse, Prefect of the Rhône département, created the

Rue de la République The Rue de la République () is a street located in the 1st and 2nd arrondissements of Lyon, France. It links the Place de la Comédie in the north to the Place Le Viste in the south, just next to the Place Bellecour, via the Place de la Républ ...

and Rue Édouard-Herriot as part of a series of large construction projects. The Stock Exchange, built in 1860, is an example of the Napoleon III style and is in the heart of the banking district. In the 19th century, two theatres were built: the Célestins Theatre and the Grand Theatre, the latter of which is now the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, rebuilt in 1993 by

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

. These are two of the city’s major cultural centres. Though the business centre is located to the east in the 3rd arrondissement, road signs pointing to the ''centre'' of the city take drivers to Place Bellecour in the 2nd. ''This zone is served by the metro lines , and .''

References

External links

Informations sur le site Lyon.frAssociation œuvrant pour la connaissance et la préservation du patrimoine de la Presqu'îleHôtels and restaurantssite tendancepresquile.orgSur la Presqu'île
: some

traboule Traboules (from Latin ''transambulare'' via vulgar Latin ''trabulare'' meaning "to cross") are a type of secret covered passageways primarily associated with the city of Lyon, France, but also located in the French cities of Villefranche-sur-Sa� ...

s. {{DEFAULTSORT:Presqu'ile 1st arrondissement of Lyon 2nd arrondissement of Lyon Quarters of Lyon Tourist attractions in Lyon

History

Modern times

See also

References

External links