The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is a minor basilica in Lyon dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to whom is attributed the salvation of the city of Lyon from…
The origin of the Basilica’s construction in 1870, when France was facing the Franco-Prussian war. Lyon citizens prayed to the Virgin Mary to protect the city,…
The northern wall represents allegories of faith, hope and charity. On the 35 metre long facade, the main portico is composed of three arches, above which is a…
Composed of 3 big naves and 3 vaulted spans, gothic arches, the whole of the higher church is supported by 16 columns. There are 8 chapels and the apse is lit…
The interior of the upper church is stunning: the rich decoration jumps out. The main colour is blue, which is the colour of the Virgin Mary and gold is also…
On the side walls are 6 large mosaics of 164 square feet, by Charles Lameire et Georges Décote, show, on the left, the link of Mary to the Church and on…
The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is listed as a historical monument, registered to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The basilica Notre-Dame of Fourvière offers a unique architecture with a byzantine, gothic and romanesque inspiration. It has got 4 towers, 157.5 feet high,…
A panoramic view of Lyon from Fourvière hill next to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.
Buildings along Quai du Dr Gailleton, Lyon, France. At the top of the hill is the Tour métallique de Fourvière ("Metallic tower of Fourvière"), a landmark of…
Wandering the streets of Lyon, the city's incredible murals are difficult to miss. These huge, beautiful paintings adorn buildings and walls, capturing the…
The La Fresque des Lyonnais captures the images of all of Lyon's most famous residents from ancient times to the present day and covers 8,600 square feet.
Lyon’s love affair with mural art is mostly due to a series of chance encounters more than three decades ago. In the early 1970s a group of local students got…
So how do the artists create works of such size? Not surprisingly, they are broken down into more manageable small squares. Each square of a planned picture is…
While most paintings are viewed at eye level, murals hundreds of feet high are seen from street level, meaning the artist has to subtly alter the perspective,…
A group of ten students went to study modern wall painting in Mexico, where Diego Rivera had launched a new artistic tradition in the 1920s with a series of…
Sections that are extremely detailed, like the dozens of different breads in the baker’s window on the Lyonnais mural are done indoors and pasted on later. Each…
The Rue des 3 Maries in the heart of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), France and the Presqu'ile shopping district.
Winding their way through buildings, courtyards, and up and down staircases, Lyon’s secret covered passageways, or traboules, are an ideal way of visiting the…
Some have counted as many as 400 traboules in Lyon, but just over 40 are open to the public, each clearly marked with a small identifying seal. It’s the…
