© G. Rouzeau / ViaMichelin Régis Neyret transform the negative image of Lyon into that of a pleasant-to-stroll-in city of art and architecture.

ViaMichelin: Lyon, a city long considered grey and sinister, has what image today?
Régis Neyret: Listen to this revealing anecdote. BMW has chosen Lyon to present its latest coupé model to 500 international press journalists - an absolutely unbelievable choice five years ago. In the weeks to come Lyon will appear in the car pages of the press world wide. An obvious sign, if any, that the city has shed its negative image for good.

Can you present yourself in a few words for people from outside Lyon.
I've spent all my professional life in a small press group I created. My 'first' life was therefore devoted to my passion for information. My 'second' life is devoted to my enthusiasm for the heritage and its safeguard. A long, long time ago [laugh], I undertook, with others, to save and resuscitate the Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) and its St-Jean district. A few of us, Jaycees, saw Lyon not only as an economic capital but also as an attractive tourist destination. This awareness dates back to the end of the 1950s, a time when the association 'Renaissance du Vieux Lyon' was created.

What were the first concrete steps that you took to safeguard Old Lyon?
We managed to persuade Louis Pradel (1906-1976), mayor of Lyon for almost twenty years, not to cut a wide avenue through Old Lyon to reach Fourvière hill. At the time we were helped by a 'lad' [laugh] called André Malraux (then the Culture Minister) and by his Act creating the concept of conservation areas - distinctive urban districts placed under the protection of the Ministry of Culture. In 1964, Old Lyon became the first district in France to be designated as a conservation area.

What was the state of this district at the time?
The structural work, very sound, remained intact but was very dirty and poorly maintained, and, above all, there were no modern conveniences - 60% of the housing of the time did not have toilets. Restoration began and took a long time. But I, among others, believe you should not hurry matters, particularly to preserve the social fabric of this district inhabited by people of modest means. Today it is one of the few inhabited and lively historic districts, unlike other touristic city centres that have been turned into 'museums'.

Tell us about your second career now, which began at an age when others retire.
I was indeed extremely lucky to be offered a change in job at the age of sixty. I dealt with the restoration of the Halle Tony-Garnier (the former cattle market), an immense metallic structure erected in the 1920s. A former culture minister, Michel Guy, designated it as an historic monument before Louis Pradel could demolish it, which was the fate suffered by the abattoirs by the same architect.

Pradel seems to have been keen on demolition.
And at building at the same timehe can be credited with a certain number of positive things. But I was indeed among those who often opposed his action because he demolished buildings without due reflection. In the case of the Halle, the new municipality decided to rehabilitate it after fifteen years of dereliction. I therefore worked with the architect Bernard Reichen who, with Philippe Robert, restored the Meunier chocolate factory at Noisiel. The Halle has now become a must for touring groups and show organisers because it can seat 18,000 people.

Since 1998 the site of Lyon has been included on UNESCO world heritage list. Tell us all about this.
Being a World Heritage Site has greatly contributed to changing Lyon's image for good. When Raymond Barre's culture and heritage attaché asked me to be his adviser I was going to propose that just Old Lyon (26 hectares) should be designated. However, with Didier Repellin, our brilliant chief architect of historic monuments, and the 'Renaissance du Vieux Lyon' association, we realised that presenting only Old Lyon was a mistake. A number of old districts have already been preserved in Europe, and from a heritage viewpoint, Lyon is neither Prague nor Venice. We therefore decided that our chances of acceptance as a World Heritage Site would be greatly improved if we presented the whole of the historic site of Lyon (500 hectares) - which after all has been the scene of uninterrupted human activity for some 2,000 years - and UNESCO accepted our proposal. It was this underlying characteristic of Lyon - it's 2,000-year continuity, from the Gallo-Roman period to the present day - greatly appealed to the United Nations.

What are the consequences of this designation?
There are two consequences. First, the Lyonnais have discovered the wealth of their own heritage, whereas they previously thought just of money when the word 'heritage' was mentioned. Second, in the eyes of the whole world, Lyon's image has been completely transformed. Some American and Japanese tour operators specialise solely in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Lyon has now become a weekend tourist destination: the hotel occupation rate has risen from 25% to more than 50%.

What's your favourite part of the city?
I often invite people to go on a walk through history in Lyon. Start on the Esplanade de Fourvière (magnificent view), and walk down through the Roman theatres to Montée du Gourguillon which leads directly to in front of Cathédrale St-Jean, Lyon's great medieval monument. In the St-Jean district, this walk takes you past Renaissance façades. Then cross the river Saône to the Presqu'île (peninsula), mainly built in the 17th century. The walk finishes on the slopes of Croix-Rousse, a 19th century district of silk-weavers. I'm also very fond of the Place des Célestins and its underground car park (1995) designed as a hollow tower resembling an Italian-style theatre - a real work of art signed jointly by the architect François Tage and the artist Daniel Buren.