In December 1998, UNESCO decided that Old Lyon deserved to be listed as a World Heritage Site, but it wasn't always like this. At the end of WW2, there were few who cared for the old buildings of the Gauls' ancient capital, though they were over a thousand years old. It took all the passion and militancy of a group of enthusiasts who, in October 1946, joined forces, under the  « Association Renaissance du Vieux Lyon », to rescue this doomed island of a city, where people would come merely to mix with the riff-raff. As the years passed and renovations went on, Fourvière revealed vestiges of the Gallo-Roman times, Saint-Jean remnants of the Middle Ages and Old Lyon's Renaissance treasures. 

The best way to discover these colorful areas, steeped in history and stories, is by foot, using the narrow covered pathways that go all through the old town and give you access to secret courtyards and some gems of Renaissance architecture. And when you know that these pathways, which were already there at the time of the Roman Empire, were used by the silk weavers during their rebellion in 1831 as well as by the Resistance fighters during WW2, a little air of revolt is added to the historical discovery.

Information:

Renaissance du Vieux Lyon: http://lyon.rvl.free.fr/

The « traboules » (pathways): there are more than 200 of them in Old Lyon, at Croix Rousse and in the Lyon peninsula (Place des Terreaux and Ainay area), passing through Place Bellecour. In Saint-Jean area, two magnificent covered courtyards from the 16th century located between 27, rue St-Jean and 6, rue des Trois Maries; not to be missed.

If you want to know everything about the « traboules », their history, the circuits and their location: go to www.lyontraboules.net.

Where to spend the night in Lyon:

Collège Hôtel: playing truant two steps from Vieux Lyon
L'Ermitage Collège Hôtel in Mont Cindre
Functional comfort at Lyon Gambetta 

Where to eat in Lyon:

Brasserie Georges: a gastronomic monument
Brasserie des Brotteaux: a gastronomic stopover
Café du Bout du monde: an expat rendez-vous in Lyon
The Pailleron in Lyon: Gargantua's treat