Lyon: Private Historic Guided Tour

Le Parc des Hauteurs is a park located on the Fourvière hilltop. Thanks to its location, you can enjoy a great panorama of the whole city of Lyon! The park is composed of several areas: a footbridge called the Passerelle des Quatre-Vents with an overlook of gardens and convents, the Loyasse cemetery, the Visitation garden, and the Rosaire garden. It will be a wonderful promenade in a mysterious atmosphere where you will love discovering secret gardens and shady paths.

Close to the Parc des Hauteurs, the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is an impressive mix of Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. It overlooks the city of Lyon for a long time and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Indeed, as the bubonic plague was doing a lot of damage in Europe in 1643, it is said that the Virgin Mary saved the city of Lyon from the disease. To thank her miracle, a bell tower topped with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary has been made. The indoor of the Basilica is stunning, composed of mosaics and magnificent stained glass.

The next step of this tour is a hidden house inside the Old Town of Lyon. The Maison du Chamarrier was built in 1498, but its foundation dates from the 13th century. This house is famous not only because of its age. The architecture was the first Renaissance style of the area. Its entrance surmounted by a canopy is unique thanks to a pinnacle turret similar to those from Gothic churches. The spiral staircase is in a stunning Gothic style, large and ornamented.

Also known as Lyon Cathedral, the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon is a Roman Catholic church and a landmark of the city. The building is standing since the 15th century. The indoor and the outdoor of the Cathedral are stunning. The apse and choir are of Romanesque design when the nave and façade are of the Gothic style. The church contains many beautiful pieces like two crosses from the 13th century and the famous Lyon Astronomical Clock from the 14th century.

Hidden by the beauty of the Lyon Cathedral, le Jardin Archéologique is still a place of history. The Archeological garden contains the remains of Saint Etienne and Sainte Croix churches dating from the 4th and 16th centuries. Those two churches were important as they were, with the cathedral, the core of the first Christian communities. Here, you will have the chance to look at the relics of those buildings as well as the Gallo-Roman spas.

Located in the Old Town, La Maison des Avocats is a beautiful example of Renaissance-styled house. La Maison des Avocats can be seen as a cousin of la Maison du Chamarrier because of its unique outlook. The house is composed of many parts. There are the main building and a gallery overlooking a Tuscan courtyard with its well. The oldest part of the house is the oriental building built in the 14th century. Today, la Maison des Avocats is the home of a cute museum of miniatures and cinema.

Often called the Palace of the twenty-four columns, the Court of Appeal of Lyon has been build in 1845 in the finest neo-classical style. This historical place is indeed constituted of twenty-four white columns which are beautiful on a sunny day. Famous trials happened in this building like Klaus Barbie's trial in 1987 with a sentence of life imprisonment for crimes against humanity during the Second World War.

La Maison Thomassin is one of the oldest houses in the city. Built during the 13th century by the Fuer's family, it has been renovated several times since then. The indoor and the outdoor is a mix of different times, from the 13th to the 15th, and the 17th to the 20th century. This historical monument is unique thanks to its Gothic façade. It is an excellent example of how a house is changing in its utilization during centuries.