Curious Traveler

(upbeat music) (upbeat music ends) (gentle music) - "Curious Traveler", is made possible by the following.

(air whooshing) (gentle music) (gentle music ends) (upbeat music) (upbeat music fading) (upbeat music) This French city's original name was Lugdunum.

It proudly has the second largest Renaissance district in all of Europe, where you will find some pretty mysterious traboule and it also has the sweetest bright pink praline.

Today we are getting curieux about Lyon.

(upbeat music) Lyon is the third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille and it lies in the southeast of France, across and between two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone.

(upbeat music) Lyon began under a different name, Lugdunum, in 43 BC as a Roman colony and became an important city of Gaul.

In the 11th century, Lyon becomes part of the Holy Roman Empire.

And in the 14th, part of the Kingdom of France.

(upbeat music) And Lyon is known for many famous, curious and wonderful residents.

The Lumiere brothers, pioneers of film, had their studio here.

The author of, "The Little Prince", Antoine de Saint-Exupery was from Lyon.

And the Guignol marionette puppet was created here by a local silk worker.

And that silk, as we shall soon see, it became very interwoven into Lyon's history.

Although it is unknown whether these little silk worms spoke with a French accent.

During World War II, Lyon plays an important role in the French resistance.

And Lyon is widely considered to be the capital of French gastronomy.

Take that Paris.

(upbeat music ends) (gentle music) So here's what I'm curious about in Lyon, who built the first church here and why?

What is this ox doing here?

Where can you find some secret passageways used by the French resistance?

Why is this pizza pink?

When did the entire city slide downhill?

And how did Lyon get the name Lyon?

And does a lion have anything to do with it?

Who, what, where, why, when and how?

So much to be curious about in Lyon.

(gentle music) Our curious journey through lovely Lyon begins here in its Old Town, at the foot of Fourviere Hill.

The city has a UNESCO status and just one mosey through its cobbled historic streets will tell you why.

Fourviere Hill was where the Roman city of Lugdunum was founded, but once the Roman Empire fell, a new location needed to be chosen for the city, the solution, just slide on down the hill.

So as we've learned, Lyon began high up on a hill as a Roman city.

But once that water supply was destroyed, everything moved down the hill to be closer to the Saone River.

And then much later, this beautiful Renaissance city was built, today called the Old Town.

Built in the 15th and 16th century they established three districts and named them after three Saints, St. Paul, St. George, and St. Jean.

(upbeat music) In each of these three districts, today considered smaller neighborhoods, each have their own church whose spires peek out above the skyline of the Old Town or Via Lyon.

(upbeat music) So let's stroll through the Via Lyon in search of the town symbol, the lion.

So which did come first, the lion or the name Lyon?

Well as fun as it would be to imagine lions roaring their way across the city, that's not exactly what happened.

Actually, the name Lyon comes from that ancient Lugdunum.

But what does Lugdunum mean?

The fort of Lugus.

Lugus was a Celtic God whose name possibly meant light.

So while Lyon is now the city of lions, it was originally the city of light.

Take that again, Paris.

(upbeat music) So how did we get the lion symbol for Lyon?

Well because of the counts of Lyon, who in the early Middle Ages adopted the mighty lion as their symbol of strength, nobility and courage and put it on their official coats of arms.

So today you will find this mighty symbol all over the city, from the churches to the sculptures, in curious locations, big and small.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music ends) Next we explore the city's Christian history by visiting one of those three original Old Town neighborhoods, St. Jean.

In the heart of Old Town, you will find the or the Cathedrale Saint-Jean, or the Cathedral of Saint-Jean.

And you kind of can't miss it, it is the largest and most important building here in the Old Town.

In fact, it lends its name to the surrounding district and to the main street.

Originally built in the 12th century in the Romanesque and then later the Gothic style.

It speaks to Lyon's role in the Christianization of France, that is because it is one of the first major cities to have become Christian.

And inside you will find this beautiful astronomical clock where you will find the Renaissance and the Christian view of the universe.

We have the sun rotating around the earth instead of the other way around.

Two beautiful angels on either side.

And last but not least, God watching over the passage of time.

(gentle piano music) Saint-Jean Cathedral is part of what gives Lyon its UNESCO status.

It took more than three centuries to build, from the year 1175 until 1480.

And its giant oak doors welcome thousands of visitors each year.

(gentle piano music) Just steps away from the church, you will quickly get lost in Lyon's labyrinth of lovely little streets with fantastic old Renaissance buildings just high enough to keep you cool and shaded on a summer's day.

And lined with so many tempting shops and cafes and especially the Bouchon, a distinctly Lyonnais type of restaurant specializing in meats and heavy homestyle dishes, which is fitting since we are here on a specially named street.

As you wander the beautiful little streets of Via Lyon, you will have some helpers to help guide the way, they will be in the form of either little saints or beautiful little sculptures of the Virgin Mary up high on street corners.

Now there's one that's a bit of an exception though, if you see this guy, a happy little 16th century ox, you know you are on Rue de Boeuf.

Rue de Boeuf is the perfect example of the quirky little details of these wonderfully winding streets of the Old Town.

Here along Rue de Boeuf you will also find a historic shop.

But it's not a giant ox doing all the hard work, but in fact, teeny tiny worms, silkworms in fact.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Lyon was considered the silk capital of the world.

And this beautiful little shop, proudly founded in 1830, carries on Lyon's rich tradition of silk production.

What was once exclusively a material of the east became a booming industry here in the city.

Thanks to some Lyonnais inventions, methods and most importantly the taste of French kings who liked to prance around and find silk fashions and of course, decorate their royal residences, only using the silk made in, you guessed it, Lyon.

(gentle piano music ends) And this demand for silk created lots of jobs here in Lyon.

By the 17th century, more than 10,000 silk looms are whirring away across the city.

And to say that silk production was arduous is an understatement.

It takes all day just to weave a few centimeters of fabric.

This made silk, of course, extremely expensive, which brought great wealth to the city.

And this powerful export industry has a fun little detail (gentle music) about how the precious and delicate fabric was transported from the shops over to the river to be shipped around the world.

And I know just where to go to find out that story, follow me.

(gentle music) Here still along Rue de Boeuf, there are entryways into secret passageways.

To help me find those secret paths is Eleonore Delenne, a Lyonnais local who loves sharing the secrets of her city's famed traboules.

Okay this is beautiful here in Old Town, I know it's got a lot of legends, a lot of mysteries.

I wanna know about the traboules.

- Of course.

Let's go and visit one.

- Oh, we have one right here?

- Yes.

- Oh, this is exciting.

- Just over there, just push the door.

- Alright.

And this unassuming little doorway happens to lead into centuries of history.

All right so, take me through the history of the traboule.

I know it was built in the Renaissance.

Now were these alleys planned as part of the building complex?

- Yes.

- Okay.

- It was used as first as a shortcut, you know?

Because here in the old city, it's a small area, a small district between the hill and the river.

- Okay.

- With a lack of space.

- Yeah.

- So they used it as perpendicular streets to go easily from one street to another.

- Understood, understood.

Okay...

There are around 400 of these traboules, or covered passageways throughout the city, a labyrinth of somewhat secret shortcuts, a network of alleys, paths and walkways that have helped people get from one city block to another city block in a hurry.

And more importantly, unseen.

About 50 of them are open to the public like this one, but the apartments above are still being lived in today so let's use our indoor voices while we learn about this fascinating history.

These historic traboules were originally used by the those Lyonnais silk workers who needed to get from factory down to the river without getting their delicate and oh so lucrative silk wet or damaged.

Those same silk workers later used these secret passages during a worker's revolt in the 19th century.

But it was a revolt of a different kind in the 20th century that really made the traboule go down in history.

Okay let's move into the second time period that's very important for the traboule, the French resistance, the good guys, the good guys.

- Exactly.

- How did they use these semi-secret passages to pass along messages?

- Well yes, it was used to to hide sometimes because the German occupied Lyon, they didn't have the map of the traboule, you know?

And it was also used to put secret messages in mailbox.

So someone was entering one side, putting a little message and leaving the other side, and another person was doing the opposite, collecting the message and leaving on the entrance.

(upbeat music) - [Christine] In fact, Lyon was a center for the French resistance during World War II.

That incredibly brave group of men and famously many women who risked their lives to protect France during the Nazi occupation.

Can't you just picture the secret meetings going on here and little hiding places here?

(upbeat music) So much important history in these walls.

And then in an instant, with the creaking of a door, you are pounced right back into the modern day onto a different street.

And just like that... After a terrific time travel through a traboule.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music ends) Next we time travel again, but this time back to the ancient origins of Lyon, back to ancient Rome in Lugdunum.

And for that, (upbeat music) instead of twisting through secret passages, we trek up a hill, Fourviere Hill.

Here we find the highest point of the city, Lyon's own Eiffel Tower named La Tour Metallic, (upbeat music) built simply to compete with Paris.

(upbeat music) Are you starting to detect a rivalry here?

(upbeat music ends) And more importantly, you will find the reason that the hill is called, "The Hill That Prays".

It is believed that a pagan altar and then a Christian shrine were built on this spot, which is why this lofty hilltop location was chosen for the magnificent Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere, a glorious symbol of the city.

(upbeat music) The Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere was built in the 19th century and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

This towering tribute was designed by a Lyonnais architect in a unique mix of Romanesque and Byzantine styles.

The four towers symbolize the four cardinal virtues, fortitude, justice, prudence and temperance.

(upbeat music) But there's another more curious interpretation of those four towers.

The church is lovingly referred to as the upside down elephant because it kind of looks like an elephant laying on his back with his four legs sticking up into the sky.

(upbeat music) But an elephant isn't the only curious creature here, of course there's the lion of Lyon greeting you at the entrance.

Inside the ceiling is soaring, the volume is almost overwhelming and the Virgin Mary stands proudly at the end at the altar.

Here the Byzantine influences glitter all around you, along the central nave, on six giant mosaics on the walls, more mosaics on the ceiling and even more under your feet.

It is believed that the architect was inspired by churches in Sicily.

The themes of the wall mosaics all have to do with the life and influence of the Virgin Mary on France.

This panel shows Pope Pius V asking the Virgin Mary to bring victory to Christians during battle.

This mosaic depicts the Council of Ephesus, which declared Jesus as the incarnation of God with the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms.

And this panel portrays Saint Pothinus, the first bishop of Lyon, arriving in the city with the Virgin Mary watching from above.

(gentle music) So much history, so much beauty, so much to take in here on, 'The Hill That Prays".

(gentle music) Next we climb to the ancient origins of Lyon.

Here we are joined by Mathilde Carpentier with Lyon Tourism.

We are at a very important spot for Lyon, this is where Lyon began.

I know the Romans came here, what's the magical number, 43 BC?

- Yes.

The city was founded in 43 BC and the Roman, they arrived here in this hill and they just saw the both rivers we have down there and they saw that the hill could give them a good angle so that they could see other people who would come to fight.

But it all started here, yeah.

- It all started here, it's just fascinating.

- Yeah.

- [Christine] And once those Romans decided that this spot at the meeting of two rivers was a good strategic military post, they settled in and did their Roman thing, like building the model Roman city, complete with forum.

- You would go do your shopping and it was really a place where people would come and meet, which is the really forum is the- - Yeah.

- It's what people do, they meet.

- And we do the same thing today, which is what makes it so interesting.

- Exactly.

(upbeat music) - And that forum gives us the name Fourviere Hill, because Fourviere comes from the Latin, "Old forum", and the site of that forum is where the mighty Basilica stands today.

(bell dings) (upbeat music) And after all that shopping and gossiping at the forum, Romans loved some entertainment.

And that's exactly what they got here at two different amphitheaters.

The Grand Theater is one of the oldest and largest in Roman Gaul.

At its peak in the second century, Lugdunum was appointed the capital of Roman Gaul.

The ancient province, which at the time covered most of modern France, Belgium and the Southern Netherlands.

But then as time went on, as we've learned, the city moves downhill closer to the rivers.

And to build the new medieval city of Lyon, you'll never guess where they quarried their materials from, (upbeat music) from these ancient Roman buildings.

- The stones were taken to other part of the city, so you have Roman pieces everywhere.

But so the stone would travel all over the city to make another building, another cathedral, another (indistinct), depending on which God was the new God at that time.

- Which one was (indistinct).

We call that Renaissance recycling.

- Yeah, yeah.

- They take the Roman stones.

- Exactly.

- By chance, the Cathedral of Saint-Jean, did they use any Roman stones?

- Yeah.

Yeah, they do.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- Isn't that amazing?

- Yes it is.

- Isn't that amazing?

- It's the same stones.

yeah.

The founding of the cathedral, you see that there are different colors.

And actually some colors are from these stones here.

- That's incredible.

So the next time you wander the Renaissance streets of Lyon's Old Town, keep an eye out, you might just come across some quite ancient Roman buildings now embedded into entirely new buildings, continuing the curious story of Lugdunum, Lyon.

(upbeat music) And something else happened over the centuries, Lyon goes from being the capital of Gaul to a capital of silk production, to becoming the capital of gastronomy for France.

(upbeat music) Lyon is famous for its cuisine because of its world famous chefs, its pioneering restaurants and its use of fine French foods grown from across the country.

In fact, Lyon is at the very center of the Vallee de la Gastronomie tourism route, which stretches more than 300 miles across France, from Dijon to the north to Provence in the south, where you can nibble and sip your way all across the country if you so desire.

And who doesn't?

(upbeat music) But if you don't have that kind of time, may I suggest this incredible city within a city of all things Gastronomie.

(upbeat music) There's been some form of food market on this spot since 1859.

And this food market grew over the years.

And then in the early 2000's it becomes Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, named for legendary chef Paul Bocuse.

Chef Bocuse was known as the Pope of gastronomy, he was a pioneer of nouvelle cuisine and he also happened to be the inspiration for the chef in the Disney film, "Ratatouille".

How cool is that?

And of course, he was a proud resident of Lyon.

(upbeat music) And here in this gourmet food hall dedicated to this pope of gastronomy is stall after stall, after shop after shop, just bursting with delightful sights, scents and of course fantastic French flavors.

Everything from oysters to tiny takeaway treats that you might not have heard of.

I know what a croque monsieur is, but this is a croque monsieur... (speaking French) It looks like it's a layers of a lasagna.

- Yeah.

- So they've taken a ham and cheese sandwich and what are all the layers that they've added on there?

It's crazy.

- You have cream cheese.

- Oh my gosh.

- Cream cheese and the truffles inside.

- Perfect, perfect.

Right.

And yet French people are, at least French woman are always so thin, I don't understand that.

(laughs) - Eating is very important.

The cream and the butter.

- Yeah.

On everything?

- Yeah, everything.

- On everything.

- Yeah.

- I think I've experienced that, I was like, why does this taste so good?

Butter.

That's the answer.

That's the answer.

- Or cream.

- Or cream or both.

Okay.

This... To guide us through these gastronomic delights is Lyon Food Tour Guide Tatiana Agostini.

You know you don't eat that part, right?

Yeah.

And we begin with the Frenchiest of all French treats.

This might be my favorite place because it's a rainbow of colors of all the different types of sugar and carbs one could possibly have.

We of course have Macaron, which is the quintessential French pastry.

- Yeah.

- But I know here in Lyon there's a specialty.

- Yes.

So you have, we are in Bouillet.

- Yeah.

- The Bouillet (indistinct).

- Okay.

- Yeah.

He create many different flavors and developed this one in here.

- The special one.

Okay.

- Yeah.

So it's chocolate.

- Okay.

- Dark chocolate, 70 percent of chocolate (indistinct).

- Perfect.

Perfect.

- Inside you have a salt caramel.

- I love salted caramel, but before I bite into this little work of art- - Yeah.

- Are these little flecks of gold on the outside?

I get so excited about this.

- Yeah.

It's blinging.

- That tells you how...

It is bling.

It is blinging.

Okay let's bling to that.

Let's see what it tastes like.

Oh my gosh, it's so orange.

I shouldn't talk with my mouth full, but it's so good.

So it's that bright orange, that's the caramel?

- Yeah.

- Oh my goodness, look at that.

- It's a little macaron.

- It's delicious.

Surrounded by sugar, what could be better?

Don't mind us while we hang out here a little while longer.

(upbeat music) (speaking French) Lyon is also known for its croutes, a wonderfully layered creation of meats, pate, sometimes eggs and other ingredients, all lovingly wrapped up in a pastry and shaped into a loaf.

So it looks like a plain loaf of bread on the outside, but when you cut into it, you will see the layers of tastiness.

And it is also no surprise that Lyon is known for its specialty sausages and cheeses.

All right, this is the best part of a food tour, the tasting.

- Yeah.

- What do we have here?

- So you have the different sausage I show you before.

- Yeah.

- So here is the Rosette.

- Okay.

- The Jesus.

- Yep.

- Jesus.

- Jesus, Jesus.

No S, no S. - Jesus, yeah.

And this one is Saucisson de Lyon.

- Okay.

- So it's lighter than the others.

- And that's the specialty?

- Yes.

- Well they're all specialties, but this is Lyons.

- Yeah.

- [Christine] And we also have a very special type of cheese.

This is a Saint Marcellin and it was a favorite of Chef Bocuse.

- Well this cheese is a little bit different because it's more time to maturation and when you open... - Oh, this is exciting.

There's always like a present or a gift on the inside.

- Very flowing inside, you see?

- Oh yes.

Oh, that's beautiful.

So Bon appetit.

- Bon appetit.

- Almost too pretty to eat, almost.

Why does everything taste better in France?

It just does.

But must save room for dessert.

Okay our second dessert, but who's counting?

Because we finally get to figure out the mystery of the pink pizza.

So this bakery's beautiful, all these different types, but the thing they're really known for looks like a pizza, but is really not a pizza.

- Not a pizza, no.

(upbeat music) - [Christine] This is Lyon's famous pink praline.

It is traditionally made from almonds, a whole lot of sugar and a touch of rose or rouge food coloring.

Of course, there are many theories about who actually invented this jewel toned treat, one story says that a Lyonnais pastry chef was inspired by the rose gardens of his city, how lovely.

What we do know is that this rose colored treat comes in many forms.

The tiniest is the pink praline wrapped around an almond, and perhaps its most traditional form, a deep dish tart.

Then there is this pink Frisbee version.

What in the world are these beautiful little red disks of happiness?

- Because we are in a bakery- - Yeah.

- And not in a pastry.

- Yeah?

- So in France we have the traditional menu in our bakery, the tarts don't have the boards.

In a pastry shop, they always with the boards.

- Because it's in a bakery we don't have a pie crust- - Yeah.

- That's for a patissier versus boulangerie.

- Yes.

This is the difference.

- I got it.

- It is more rustic.

- Let's see what this tastes like.

So we've got red glowing goodness on the top, cooking on the other side.

I'm having the best day ever, by the way.

So what is this one called?

- Sablee or praline.

- Okay.

Okay.

- Sablee is a sandy pastry with sugar, pollen sugar.

So they take the little pollen you see before, and they cook it and put it- - Melt it down.

So this is just a thin layer on a thin cookie versus the tart where it's kind of more of a pie, is what we call it.

Ah.

- Yes.

It's more a pie and more sugar in this one.

- So this one's like good for on the go.

- Yeah.

- You know, you have 12 a day and you don't feel bad about it.

That's perfect.

Talk amongst yourselves, we may be here a while.

This is the best non pizza I've ever had.

(upbeat music) So from a Celtic then Roman hilltop town, perched perfectly above two rivers, which then had to be moved down that hill closer to the rivers reusing some of those ancient building blocks, to a mighty church or two, testaments to its Christian legacy, set within a magnificent maze built thanks to the wealth created by these tiny little squiggly fellas, where if you look closely, you can see some saints and ox and a speedy and secret pathway which helped out some incredibly brave heroes.

To the tastiest of all destinations, a culinary city within a city dedicated to the city's favorite chef.

And full of ruby red treats, Lyon has so much to be curious about.

(upbeat music ends) Merci for joining us on our educational journey and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when and how's of curious Lyon.

As the Lyonnais say, bon appetit (speaking French).

(upbeat music) "Curious Traveler", is made possible by the following.

(air whooshing) (gentle music) (gentle music ends) (upbeat music) (upbeat music fading) (upbeat music) Still curious, go to CuriousTravelertv.com and find our links to follow us on social media.

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