This ear-pleasing term was coined in the 1960s by local historian Félix Benoît to allude to Lyon's inner courtyards, which often lead nowhere yet are of great beauty! Some of the hidden treasures include spiral staircases, Italian-style halls, wells, turrets, statuettes and sculptures, and little gardens.
It would be impossible to explore Vieux-Lyon and the Croix-Rousse hill slopes without discovering their traboules and miraboules! The gems of the Renaissance can be found at Vieux-Lyon! More modern Croix-Rousse examples date primarily from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Those on the Presqu'île that are less well-known are worth making an effort to see! There are around 200 in Vieux-Lyon, 160 on the Croix-Rousse hill slopes, and 130 on the Presqu'île, for a total of 500 traboules in more than 230 Lyon streets.
History:
Saint Ex, who was born in Place Bellecour in 1900, is quoted. Alexandre Dumas, Mata Hari, and Howard Carter are all within us. The traboules are appealing to people of all ages. The Latin transbulare, trabulare, and etymology, do not explain all visitors to Lyon's fondness for them. Since the fourth century, neither has their history. What intrigues us all, young and old, quadras and teenagers alike, is a child's idea, the idea of the secret tunnel.
When the population of Lyon exploded during the Renaissance, new structures were built behind old buildings, without putting into question the design of the plots of the Middle Ages, which encouraged long avenues without crossing streets to acquire space. The traboule was the solution to avoid long diversions.
We did the same thing at Croix-Rousse in the nineteenth century. By borrowing them, one might descend in a straight line from the summit of Croix-Rousse to Terreaux.
The Long Traboule is the most well-known Old Lyon landmark. It joins the streets of Saint-Jean and du Boeuf via three courtyards and four buildings.
Duration RequiredRue Saint-Jean, Lyon, France
4.5
