River Cruise Diary – Lyon, France – Day 2

Cathedral of St. John,

Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Our second day in Lyon was one with no organized plan. We were on our own to wander and explore whatever appealed to us. Of course, for me, that meant getting inside the city’s grand Gothic cathedral. The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, completed in 1480, was begun three hundred years earlier.

Cathedral of St. John,

Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Cathedral of St. John,

Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Although it has some Romanesque features, the church has retained a consistent Gothic appearance despite the three-century construction period.

Place des Terreaux, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

The Place des Terreaux has existed since the 13th century. It fronts the Lyon City Hall and was the site of beheadings during the French Revolution. A notable feature of the square is the Bartholdi Fountain.

 

Bartholdi Fountain [1892],

Place des Terreaux, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi is the French sculptor who created our Statue of Liberty. His Lyon fountain depicts a feminine ‘France’ riding a chariot of natural elements and controlling the four great rivers of the country with reins made of water weeds.

 

Beaux Arts Museum, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Also facing the Place des Terreaux is the Fine Arts Museum. Formerly a Benedictine convent, the museum building dates to the 17th century.

Beaux Arts Museum, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

A ten-year restoration of the museum ended in 1998. It showcases collections from antiquity to modern times, making it one of the most important museums in Europe.

Fontaine des Jacobins, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

We wandered into another square, the Place des Jacobins, a French name for followers of St. Dominic. Dominicans occupied buildings on one side of the square since 1296. The Jacobins fountain grew in fits and starts from 1856 to 1885. It is dedicated to ‘Art’ and features a French sculptor, engraver, architect and painter from different periods.

Siren [1884] by Eungene Delaplanche,

Fontaine des Jacobins, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

Personally, I prefer the wet nymphs that surround the lower pool.

Cathedral of St. John,

Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

From Lyon, we left the Rhone to move up its tributary, the Saône River. We were all up on the top deck to enjoy the illuminated buildings as we sailed away from the city into the night.

Low Bridge, Lyon, France (26 April 2006)

As you can see, the sun deck awnings were taken down because some of the bridges left little room to spare. The larger river boats are unable to navigate this channel, so tours no longer continue up the Saône. I’m glad we took this trip when we did.

The final cruise stop will be in the town of Chalon sur Saône.