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Pleasing muddle of old and new

Swathed in 2,000 years of history, Lyon is an old city, yet happily it's far from being a museum piece.

An excellent excursion on first arriving in Lyon, , is to climb the steps from the Vieux Lyon quarter (or take the funicular railway, but it's more satisfying to walk) up the hillside to the Fourviere Basilica.
There is a fine view over the city from the top: church spires, office blocks, vast domes, riverboats, squares and Renaissance buildings jostle comfortably together. Lyon is a pleasing muddle of old and new, not a place of stark contrasts.
The city lies in the and two major rivers, the Rhone and the Saone, join up just outside it. Lyon's commercial centre is built on the narrow peninsula between the rivers, then sprawls outwards in all directions.
A walking tour involves navigating numerous picturesque bridges - but coping with the commuter traffic cramming the river banks can be a less-than-appealing experience.
However the rivers offer plenty of attractions. Along the Saone there is an old book market every day, and craft and food markets on Sunday mornings. Boat rides for tourists are available in the warmer months.
And at night, predictably, all the major riverside buildings are floodlit. Opposite Vieux Lyon, light also ripples onto the water from an intriguing, lengthy stone structure built into the Saone's riverbank.
It takes a while to register that this is an underground car park - tucked neatly away and almost invisible by day, yet an unexpectedly charming sight after dark.
Vieux Lyon, which lies between the bottom of the Fourviere hillside and the left bank of the Saone is the city's compulsory tourist stop.
It's the Renaissance quarter, filled with museums, shops, bars, restaurants and mysterious little passageways called traboules.
The traboules, entered through what look like private front doors (but which are open to the public - check your map for their numbered locations) are early rat-runs, used originally by silk and other tradesmen.
These narrow, somewhat dank alleyways will twist, turn, then abruptly open out into quaint courtyards, with Renaissance staircases lining the sides, and a water well in the corner.
The traboules, lacking amenities such as modern plumbing, fell into disrepair and disuse in the 20th century. But Lyon's city council bought and restored them, and began renting out their old apartments to craftsmen and women.
Many shops in the cobbled streets of Vieux Lyon sell the produce of such local craftspeople, and artists. But the quarter is home to many contemporary businesses too. Peek through some ancient-looking archway and you are as likely as not to be confronted by a gleaming window, bearing a design consultancy logo, and behind it sharply-dressed workers tapping at colourful computers.

Read more in our destination guide to France.