LYONS (French LYON) (li'onz, Fr. le-on), a famous city of eastern France, capital of the department of Rhone, lying 315 m. S.S.E. of Paris, and 218 m. N. by W. of Marseille on the P.L.M. railway. Pop. (1931) 548,793. Lyons stands at the confluence of the Rhone and the Saone at an altitude of 54o to i,000 ft. above sea-level. The rivers, both flowing south, are separated on the north by the hill on which lies the populous working quarter of Croix-Rousse, then by the narrow tongue of land ending in the Perrache Quarter, so called because it was reclaimed from the rivers in the 18th century by the sculptor Perrache. The peninsula thus formed is over 3 m. long and from 65o to I,000 yds. broad, and is traversed lengthwise by the finest streets of the city, containing many of the chief buildings, the docks of the SaOne, etc. Where it enters Lyons the SaOne has on its right the faubourg of Vaise and on its left that of Serin, whence the ascent is made to the top of the hill of Croix-Rousse. Farther on, its right bank is bordered by the scarped heights of Fourviere, St. Irenee, Ste. Foy and St. Just, leaving room only for the quays and one or two narrow streets ; this is the oldest part of the city. The river sweeps in a semicircle around this eminence (410 ft. above it), which is occupied by convents, hospitals and seminaries, and has at its summit the famous church of Notre Dame de Fourviere, a centre of pilgrimage.
The Rhone, less confined than the SaOne, flows swiftly in a wide channel, broken when the water is low in spring by pebbly islets. On the right hand it skirts first St. Clair, sloping upwards to Croix-Rousse, and then the districts of Terreaux, Bellecour and Perrache; on the left it has a low-lying plain, occupied by the quarters of Brotteaux and Guillotiere, and the Parc de la Tete d'Or with a lake, zoological collection and very fine botanical and pharmaceutical gardens. It is defended from the Rhone by the Quai de la Tete d'Or. Brotteaux is a modern residential quarter. Guillotiere to the south consists largely of workmen's dwellings, bordering wide, airy thoroughfares. To the east extend the manu facturing suburbs of Villeurbanne and Montchat, and extension into the plain of Dauphine, south-east of the Rhone, is likely to continue.
The Rhone and the Saone are bordered by fine quays and crossed by 24 bridges—II over the Rhone, 12 over the Saone, and I at the confluence. The Pont de la Guillotiere over the Rhone preserves a portion of its mediaeval predecessor. The name, Notre-Dame de Fourviere, originally applied to a small chapel of the 9th century on the site of the old forum (forum vetus) from which it takes its name. It has been often rebuilt, the chief feature being a modern Romanesque tower surmounted by a cupola and statue of the Virgin. In 1872 a basilica was begun at its side in token of the gratitude of the city for having escaped occupation by the German troops; it was finished in 1894. Marble and mosaic have been lavishly used in the ornamentation of the interior and of the crypt. Round the apse runs a gallery with a fine view, from which, according to an old custom, a benediction is pronounced upon the town annually on Sept. 8.
The cathedral of St. Jean at the foot of the hill of Fourviere was begun in the i 2th century, to the end of which the transept and choir belong; the gable and flanking towers of the west front were completed in 1480. A triple portal surmounted by a line of arcades and a rose window gives entrance to the church. Two additional towers, that to the north containing one of the largest bells in France, rise at the extremities of the transept. The nave and choir contain fine stained glass of the 13th and 14th centuries as well as good modern glass. The chapel of St. Louis or of Bour bon, to the right of the nave, is a masterpiece of Flamboyant. Gothic. To the right and left of the altar stand two crosses pre served since the council of 1274 as a symbol of the union then agreed upon between the Greek and Latin churches. Adjoining St. Jean is the ancient Manecanterie or singers' house, much mutilated and frequently restored, but still preserving graceful Romanesque arcades along its front. St. Martin d'Ainay, on the peninsula, dates from the beginning of the 6th century and was subsequently attached to a Benedictine abbey. It was rebuilt in the loth and 11th centuries and restored in modern times, and has a nave with four aisles, a transept and a choir with three semi circular apses. One tower is in the middle of the west front, an other at the crossing; the four columns supporting the latter are said to have come from an altar to Augustus. A 12th century mosaic, a high altar with mosaic work and a beautifully carved confessional, are among the works of art in the interior. St. Nizier, the first cathedral, is 15th century Gothic with a 16th century porch; its crypt is very ancient and in it St. Pothinus officiated. The hotel de villa (17th century) on the Place des Terreaux, the space filled in when the Perrache was reclaimed, has a good east façade. The south side of the square is occupied by the Palais des Arts, a 17th century Benedictine convent now accom modating the school of fine arts, the museums of painting and sculpture, archaeology and natural history, and the library of science, arts and industry. The museums have a very important collection of antiquities, rich in Gallo-Roman inscriptions, includ ing the bronze tablets discovered in 1528, on which is engraved a portion of a speech delivered in A.D. 48, by the emperor Claudius, advocating the admission of citizens of Gallia Comata to the Roman senate. The "Ascension," a masterpiece of Perugino, is the chief treasure of the art collection. A special gallery contains the works of artists of Lyons, among whom are numbered Antoine Berjon, Meissonier, Paul Chenavard, Puvis de Chavannes. The Bourse (exchange) in the Rue de la Republique, is a fine building and includes the Musee historique des Tissus, in which the history of the weaving industry is illustrated by nearly 400,000 examples. In the buildings of the lycee on the right bank of the Rhone are the municipal library and a collection of globes, among them the great terrestrial globe made at Lyons in 1701, indicating the great African lakes.