13/05/2023
Croix-Rousse Neighborhood
Long known as ‘the hill that works’ due to all its silk weaving workshops, the popular Croix-Rousse Neighborhood sprawls across a plateau in Lyon’s fourth arrondissement. One of our favorite parts of the city, it has a lovely small-town feel with cute little cafes and local boulangeries bordering its maze of leafy squares.
Here you’ll find the massive Mur des Canuts mural and the superb museum of the same name; both of which highlight the hill’s unique history and architecture. To gain a greater insight into the area’s rebellious past and actually find some of its hundred or so hidden traboule passageways, we decided to take a guided tour. Well worth the money, it included a silk-making demonstration and stops at Croix-Rousse’s symbol the Gros Caillou and the beautiful Belvedere viewpoint.
To get back to the center, you can stroll to the bottom of the historic neighborhood’s slopes (known as ‘Les Pentes’). Its narrow streets also contain loads of trendy bars, interesting art galleries and the ancient Amphiteatre des Trois Gaules which was constructed by the Romans in 19AD.
