Words Celia Donoghue
We take film and video for granted today, but imagine the excitement in 1895 when the first moving picture was filmed. The story behind that achievement is compelling. Auguste and Louis Lumière, inventors and industrialists, ran a large textile factory in Lyon. They patented the cinématographe – a device that could record, develop and project moving images. For their first production, they cast workers from their own factory. The mostly female staff were asked to dress smartly, exit the building at lunchtime, and not look at the camera. The result, just forty-six seconds long, was Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory – the beginning of cinematic history.
My sojourn to France’s third-largest city (after Paris and Marseille) coincided with the 130th anniversary of that breakthrough moment. In addition to this cinematic history, Lyon’s traditional cuisine, significant role in the silk industry for centuries, excellent museums and atmospheric mediaeval Old Town, and you have all the ingredients for a memorable stay.
Architectural and historical wonders
My introduction to Lyon’s rich history started at my hotel – Hôtel de Verdun 1882, a boutique gem steeped in heritage. Once home to visionary engineer Michel Perrache, whose 18th-century land reclamation enabled the creation of the Confluence district. It later became the private mansion of Georges Brasserie founder Fritz Hoffner. A fifteen-minute walk took me to Place Bellecour, the largest pedestrian square in Europe. Once owned by Louis XIV, it later became the site of a guillotine!
Wandering through Old Town, I looked up at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière on the hill, then took the funicular for a closer look at its mix of Byzantine, Gothic and Romanesque architecture. From the top, there was the added bonus of a panoramic view over the city.
Lyon is known for its ‘traboules’ – hidden passageways once used by silk workers and later by the French Resistance. To appreciate their architectural details and historical significance, I took a guided walking tour. By chance, we arrived at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral just before midday, in time to see the astronomical clock chime, as tiny angelic figures moved daintily out and back, waving at me to my delight.
Must–stops for film fans
Maison Lumière is an essential stop for film enthusiasts and combines a museum, cinema and well-stocked shop. After visiting the site where the first moving picture was made, I explored the museum, which traces the inventions that made early cinema possible. The museum is thoughtfully laid out in the former Lumière family home, an elegant Art Nouveau building with an impressive winter conservatory.
With more time, I would have stayed for a screening; on offer were retrospectives of early French films by Jean Renoir, and a Scorsese season. Later, in Old Town, I visited the Cinema and Miniature Museum, which displays sets, props, costumes and intricate miniature scenes from films such as Perfume, Jurassic Park and Beetlejuice. I managed to resist climbing into Harry Potter’s flying Ford Anglia, parked in the courtyard.
Lyon’s evolving story
Lyon has plenty to offer the more offbeat traveller. The Pentes district, set between Old Town and the hills above, is gaining a reputation for its designer boutiques, speciality coffee spots and co-working spaces. In autumn, the Peinture Fraîche street art festival encourages visitors of all ages to pick up a pen and add their mark.
The Musée des Confluences, located at the meeting point of the Rhône and Saône rivers and suitable for all ages, is Lyon’s most visited museum. Its exhibitions explore how people interact with their environments, with recent highlights including themes like ‘dreaming’ and the Amazon. The permanent collections trace the great story of humanity – Origins, Species, Societies and Eternities.
More than 130 years after the Lumière brothers rolled their first frame, Lyon continues to play an important part on the world’s cultural stage.
Culinary traditions and trends
Lyon, boasting a rich culinary heritage and vibrant food scene, is widely recognised as the gastronomic capital of France. More than thirty restaurants hold Michelin stars but the city is also renowned for its traditional bouchons, which serve hearty, locally-sourced dishes. These bistros originally catered to silk workers in the Croix-Rousse district. I had a bountiful meal at Daniel et Denise (Rue de Créqui): a signature pâté-croûte (pork terrine in pastry), followed by pike quenelles and a ‘floating island’ meringue dessert. Wine came in the traditional pot Lyonnais – a bottle with a thick base, originally designed to disguise the short measure given to silk workers – reducing their measure to 460 ml rather than the 500 ml (½ litre) they were entitled to.
Catering to more contemporary tastes at Alebrije in Croix-Rousse, chef Carla Kirsch blends French and Mexican flavours in inventive ways. The small restaurant seats just twenty, but the eight-course tasting menu is a gastronomic triumph – highlights included red mullet with spring vegetables, saddle of lamb with minty peppers, and Savoie cheese in a chilli sauce.
For something more casual, La Commune food court draws a lively crowd. People meet for drinks before choosing a meal from one of eight kitchens offering various cuisines, from Italian to Indian to Ukrainian.
- ‘Lyon Unscripted: Film, food and French flair’ is published in Anthology Volume 24. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
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