Fresh, light, airy, Lyon's uplifting atmosphere brings an immediate sense of life's pleasures. Tall, dignified Italianate buildings, ochre-tinted, line streets and quayside, brilliantly catching the southern sun. No wonder the Celts dedicated their settlement here to Lug, God of Light.
The extraordinary location, on a slender peninsula at the meeting of two huge rivers, caught the eye of the Romans. The regional capital they built here - Lugdunum - crossed onto the right bank of the Saône, which became the heart of medieval Vieux Lyon.

In later centuries its bourgoisie grew rich on fine silks and embroideries. But the workers who made those luxuries were notoriously downtrodden, and created the working-class district of La Croix-Rousse, on a hill rising from the peninsula. Oppressed silkworkers - canuts, as they were known - created the city's culture of defiance and rebellion, Revolution and Resistance.
Keep an eye open for traboules, alleys that shortcut through private courtyards or beneath houses. They enabled workers carrying expensive fabrics to get around quickly, but became a boon to those dodging the authorities, and were essential to the wartime Resistance.

Mean alleys, fine mansions, the patchwork of districts, all tell that dramatic Lyon story. So do scores of outstanding museums devoted to Fine Arts, Modern Art, Roman history, Puppets (because Lyon has its own loveable rogue, Guignol), Printing, and of course, Silk. Another, in the former Gestapo headquarters, looks at the Nazi occupation, Resistance, and the Holocaust, which played a traumatic role in the city's 20th-century experience.

Out of the museums and back in the pearly Lyon daylight, it's a joy to stroll the backstreets and squares of the Presqu'île, as the busy peninsula between the two wide rivers is known. The smaller Saône is the more important of the two, its quaysides contributing more to the charm and atmosphere of the city than the big highways roaring alongside the mighty Rhône.
After 21 centuries, the Presqu'ile remains the heart and soul of Lyon. From immense Place Bellecour at its centre, shoppers stroll along Rue de la République between grand 19th-century facades, café tables and chic boutiques.

Further still begins the hill of La Croix Rousse. The silkworkers' quarter remains a run-down bargain-basement district, though with a fascinating, bohemian, arty feel. Steep montées - stairway alleys - climb from Roman remains at its foot to the Maison des Canuts at the top, where modern craftsmen demonstrate the old methods of silkwork, and sell the result.

Cross the Saône to Vieux Lyon, a narrow strip beside the river's right bank. Some 300 magnificent Renaissance houses survive here. It's often possible to walk into their 16th-century courtyards, adorned with galleries and staircase towers.
The jewel of Vieux Lyon is its 12th-century Cathédrale St Jean, the façade decorated with hundreds of medallions and ornate carvings. Inside, a remarkable - and entertaining - fourtheen-century astronomical clock gives the time, day and date, and religious holidays, right up to the year 2019. The Cathedral is the attractive venue for frequent summer concerts.

Ride the funicular to the top of the hill rising behind Vieux Lyon. Here stands Fourvière basilica, gaudy 100-year-old landmark visible for miles. At night, brightly illuminated, it seems to hang high in the dark sky over the city.

But for all its grandeur and history, Lyon is about enjoying the present day. Above all, Lyon is France's gastronomic capital (read our article). The old streets of the Presqu'ile are edged with discreet little eating places - known here as bouchons - noted for high quality and modest prices. Some have become legendary, with a sprinkling of Michelin rosettes.
Lyon's famed cuisine is rich in butter, skilful and abundant, with highest-quality fish, beef, chicken and game from productive countryside that encircles the city. Meals are washed down with red wine from the nearby Beaujolais hills, or from grander vineyards of the Rhône.