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Aquarium du Grand Lyon
South of Perrache, across the Pont de la Mulatière next to the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, is the well thought-out Aquarium du Grand Lyon, where adults can dive with dolphins and kids stroke fish. Bus 15 links it with place Bellecour.
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Atelier de Passementerie
The riveting Atelier de Passementerie is an authentic workshop where weavers lived and worked until 1979. Its boutique also sells contemporary Lyonnais silk.
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Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière
Crowning Fourvière, Lyon's 'hill of prayer', and proffering a stunning city view from its terrace - is the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, a superb example of the exaggerated enthusiasm for embellishment that dominated French ecclesiastical architecture in the late 19th century.
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Cathédrale St-Jean
Partly Romanesque, Cathédrale St-Jean, seat of Lyon's 133rd bishop, was built from the late 11th to the early 16th centuries. The portals of its Flamboyant Gothic façade (completed in 1480) are decorated with 280 square stone medallions (early 14th century). The astronomical clock in the north transept arm chimes at noon, , and .
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Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation
The WWII headquarters of Gestapo commander Klaus Barbie from 1942 to 1944 houses the evocative Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation . Multimedia exhibits present the history of Nazi atrocities and the heroism of French Resistance fighters. The life and times of Barbie were the subject of the epic 4½-hour film Hôtel Terminus (1988).
Read more about Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation
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Cité Internationale
The northern realms of the Parc de la Tête d'Or sit snug against the brick-and-glass Cité Internationale designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano to host the G7 summit in 1996.
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Croix Rousse
Soulful Croix Rousse - a gargantuan step back in time from the Lyon Confluence - is known for its village air, bohemian inhabitants and lush outdoor food market. The hilltop neighbourhood quietly buzzes north up the steep pentes (slopes).
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Fourvière
Over two millennia ago, the Romans built the city of Lugdunum on the slopes of Fourvière. Today, Lyon's 'hill of prayer' - topped by a basilica and the Tour Métallique - affords spectacular views of the city and its two rivers. Footpaths wind uphill but the funicular departing from place Édouard Commette is the least taxing way up; use a metro ticket or buy a return funicular ticket.
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Fresque des Lyonnais
West of place des Terreaux, some 25 famous Lyonnais peer out from the seven-storey Fresque des Lyonnais, a wall mural featuring loom inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), Renaissance poet Maurice Scève (c 1499-c 1560), superstar chef Paul Bocuse and the yellow-haired Little Prince, created by Lyon-born author Antoine de St-Exupéry (1900-44).
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Grande Mosquée de Lyon
The Grande Mosquée de Lyon, 5km east of Presqu'île, fuses traditional North African architecture and calligraphy with contemporary Western styles.
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Hôtel de Ville
The Hôtel de Ville, fronting the place des Terreaux was built in 1655 but given its present ornate façade in 1702; get a bird's-eye view of its lovely interior courtyard from Les Muses.
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Lyon Confluence
The Lyon Confluence - the spot where the Rhône and the Saône meet south of Gare de Perrache - is the city's most exciting urban space. An industrial wasteland for decades, the riverside site is now the subject of a mammoth around €780 million rejuvenation project.
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Maison des Canuts
During the bitter 1830-31 canut uprisings, triggered by low pay and dire working conditions, hundreds of weavers were killed. Gem up on their labour-intensive life at the Maison des Canuts, a museum with a shop opposite that sells silk.
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Montée de la Grand Côte
Silk, stained glass and other visual arts are the soul of Montée de la Grand Côte, a walkway lined with artists workshops that links Croix Rousse with place des Terreaux, 1er.
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Mur des Canuts
Historically, the old quarter of Croix Rousse is famed for its silk-weaving tradition, illustrated by the Mur des Canuts on the side of an apartment block. Following the introduction of the mechanical Jacquard loom in 1805, Lyonnais canuts (silk weavers) built workshops in this quarter with large windows to let in light and hefty wood-beamed ceilings more than 4m high to accommodate the huge new machines. Most of these workshops are today chic loft apartments.
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Mur du Cinéma
The Mur du Cinéma - a painted wall - recaps Lyon's marvellous cinematic story in still-image form.
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Musée d'Art Contemporain
The Musée d'Art Contemporain displays works created after 1960.
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Musée de l'Automobile Henri Malartre
Motoring enthusiasts can drool over 120 vintage cars (not to mention Hitler's Mercedes and Jean-Paul II's Renault Espace!), 50-odd motorbikes, bicycles and modes of Lyonnais public transport over the centuries at the chateau-museum Musée de l'Automobile Henri Malartre, 11km north of central Lyon along the Saône-side D433. Take bus 40 or 70 to the 'Rochetaillée' stop.
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Musée de l'Imprimerie
The Musée de l'Imprimerie focuses on a technology established in Lyon by the 1480s.
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Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine
Artefacts found in the Rhône Valley, including the remains of a four-wheeled vehicle from around 700 BC and several sumptuous mosaics, are displayed in the Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine.
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Musée de la Poupée
Dolls of all ages and origins grace the elegant rooms of the Musée de la Poupée, inside a fairy-tale castle 12km northwest from the centre. A vast green wooded park hugs the 16th-century chateau and an electric train takes punters on park tours in summer. The fountain-studded paddling pool makes cooling down on hot summer days great fun.
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Musée des Arts Décoratifs
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs displays 18th-century furniture, tapestries, wallpaper, ceramics and silver.
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Musée des Beaux-Arts
The Musée des Beaux-Arts showcases France's finest collection of sculptures and paintings from every period of European art outside Paris. Its cloister garden is a great picnic venue.
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Musée des Confluences
Watch this space for the incredible Musée des Confluences, a spacey science- and society-focused museum set to open in 2008. As much stunning piece of contemporary architecture as museum, it will be housed in a futuristic steel-and-glass transparent crystal topped by a floating 'cloud'. Inside, three of the 10 vast exhibition areas will grapple with eternal questions like 'Where do we come from?', 'Where are we going?' and 'Who are we and what are we doing?'.
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Musée des Tissus
Extraordinary Lyonnais silks, French and Asian textiles, and carpets are showcased at the Musée des Tissus .
