The hotel, I was told, is in the city`s only skyscraper, just across the street from Lyon`s modern Part-Dieu railroad station. You might expect Inspector Jacques Clouseau to walk out of the station and bumble around in search of it, but not a savvy tourist.
Wrong.
A steady rain was falling when my train from Bologna, Italy, arrived at Part-Dieu on a Friday evening. No one, not even the Lyon Tourist Office in the station, could direct me to the Pullman Hotel, where I had a reservation. Maybe it was my accent. Finally, one person seemed to understand what I was looking for and pointed in the direction of a massive shopping center.
Beyond the center was a skyscraper, but it did not have the appearance of a hotel and it certainly was not across the street. And there were no signs pointing the way to a hotel.
But, bags in hand, I hurried across the plaza and bus lanes into a Lyonnais version of Chicago`s Water Tower Place, a sprawling, four-story, crowded indoor shopping mall with all sorts of stores, restaurants and a three-story-high fountain. Finally, I spotted a hotel sign and jostled my way up an escalator and out the rear of the center. There was the the 39-story, russet tower that I later learned was referred to locally as Le Crayon.
Additional signs directed me on a circuitous route halfway around the tower and down an escalator to a ground-level hotel entrance, then to an express elevator to the 32d-floor lobby and registration desk. Clouseau, of
”Pink Panther” fame, never would have made it.
My visit to Lyon was part of a 14-day, 2,603-mile Eurailpass trip, using Amsterdam, Bologna and Lyon as hubs for taking day trips by train to other towns and cities no more than two hours away. My idea was to copy the airlines` hub-and-spoke system, doing excursions from a base city to avoid the constant changing of hotels. Lyon, for example, is a convenient base for visiting such diverse places as Paris, Dijon, Vienne, Avignon, Grenoble and Geneva. In trying to cut down on costs, it often pays to avoid staying in the more expensive capitals.
Lyon lies in the Rho ne River Valley, 310 miles and two hours slightly southeast of Paris via France`s 168-mile-an-hour TGV (Trains a Grande Vitesse) sleek express trains.
Lyon, the country`s second largest city with nearly 500,000 residents, is a gem unto itself. It is, of course, a gastronomic capital, with the famed Michelin three-star Paul Bocuse restaurant eight miles north and three two-star and 11 one-star restaurants in the city itself. It boasts more than a dozen museums, a bevvy of art galleries and antiques shops, major department stores and trendy boutiques, even a pedestrian mall with, mon Dieu!, a McDonald`s and a Burger King. It has Roman ruins and a charming old section. The city was renowned for its silk industry, but today it is an industrial and research center. And, while Paris boasts only the Seine, Lyon is split by two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone. Its three major districts are linked by auto and pedestrian bridges and in part by a new metro system and by buses as well as taxis.
The Part-Dieu area, on the east side of the Rhone, is among Lyon`s most modern, but is not where the city`s charm or history lies.
Lyon had its start as Lugdunum in 43 B.C. atop a hill overlooking the right bank of the Sao ne. It was the Roman Empire`s western capital for several centuries. This was the beginning of what today is essentially three distinctly different commercial sections of Lyon.
Gradually, the Lyonnais moved down the slope to the river bank, across the river to Presqu`i le, as today`s 18th- and 19th-Century city center between the two rivers is called, and across the Rhone and into modernity. Modern Lyon partially is symbolized by the railroad station, Part-Dieu shopping center with 14 theaters, four department stores, myriad shops and a McDonald`s. The plaza behind the center adjoins an ultra-modern Maurice Ravel concert hall and the Credit Lyonnais Tower, with the hard-to-find Pullman lobby on the 32d floor. A locked-in rate of $69 plus the view made the Pullman a great deal.
If you were to visit Lyon chronologically, the starting point would be Fourvie re Hill, crowned by an enormous 19th Century basilica and Tour Me tallique, a communications tower, which from a distance, looks like a miniature Eiffel Tower. On Fourvie re are the vestiges of the once Roman capital-a 15th Century B.C. theater that seats 10,000; the oldest odeum (once covered theater) in France with 3,000 seats, and the Cybele Temple. The Museum of the Gallo-Roman Civilization houses remains of the empire, such as statues, tombs, mosaics, arms and jewels.
A funicular runs from the foot of Fourvie re Hill to the basilica, a massive, multilevel place of worship built in 1870 at the request of the women of Lyon and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The basilica, which occupies the high ground, is a short walk from Roman Lyon. The basilica`s terrace provides a spectacular city panorama.
The charming section of Vieux (Old) Lyon lies at the foot of Fourvie re. Narrow, cobblestone streets meander off from Place St.-Jean and the Gothic St.-Jean Cathedral, whose origins date to the late 11th Century. Its clean, sand-colored appearance belies its age; it was cleaned in 1982. Among its treasures: a towering 14th Century astronomical clock that in addition to telling time and showing lunar phases, has a moving calendar of holidays or feast days from 600 years ago to the year 2019, and a cast of moving characters that perform when the clock strikes noon, 1, 2 and 3.
From the cathedral, wander along St.-Jean, a narrow street lined with bistros, shops, flower stalls and cafes. The village-like, romantic setting of this strip of restored buildings is a far cry from the bustle of Presqu`i le. Vieux Lyon was the heart of this city during the 15th and 16th Century. Medieval and Renaissance mansions conjure up images of a grand town alive with fascinating characters.
A special treasure in Old Lyon is in Ho tel de Gadagne, 14 rue de Gadagne, off St.-Jean and Place du Petit Co llege. The inauspicious looking courtyard manse, constructed between 1511 and 1527, houses two admission-free museums on various levels connected by narrow spiral staircases. One is the History Museum of Lyon; the other the Puppet Museum. The mildly interesting History Museum is devoted to medieval archeology, furniture, ceramics, paintings, prints and maps.
The Puppet Museum, however, is a delight. It was started in 1950 and is still growing. Marionnettes from Italy, the Soviet Union, the Far East, Java, Madagascar, Cambodia, Turkey, Holland and France link the world together with this special art form. But Lyon`s fascination with these characters stems from Laurent Mourguet, creator of ”Guignol Lyonnais,” in 1808. Mourguet`s famous character of Guignol was adopted by Marcel Marceau, master of mime. Lyon`s love of Guignol, and his co-characters Gnafron and Madelon, was marked this year with the observance of the 180th anniversary of their creation.
While wandering around Old Lyon, visit another Renaissance building, Cour des Loges at 6 rue du Boeuf, stunningly transformed into an elegant 63-room atrium-style hotel with a restaurant, bar and indoor swimming pool. You`d never guess what lies inside from looking at the exterior on the street that parallels St.-Jean. Rates are stunning as well, from 900 to 1,700 francs
(roughly $150 to $285 a night).
Old Lyon`s narrow streets project the same kind of ambiance as Paris` Ile St. Louis. But only in some architectural ways are the two cities similar. From the old town, wander down to the right bank of the Sao ne. Across the river, the building facades and mansard rooflines are reminiscent of Paris.
Lyon lends itself to leisurely walking and it`s the best way to see how the city grew. As a Lyonnais said, ”From Fourvie re to Part-Dieu, you cover 2,000 years of Lyon history, from the Gallo-Roman days to the 20th Century.” On Presqu`i le, there are sections that remain from the 16th Century to the turn of this century. The farthest out is the hilly Croix-Rousse, once the heart of the silk industry. At Place des Terreaux, you`ll find Ho tel de Ville, Lyon`s Baroque city hall that still gleams from the refurbishing it received in the early 1980s, and its neighbor on the square, the Muse e des Beaux Arts, built as a convent in the late 17th Century. The art museum displays a little of everything, from Roman relics to pre- and post-Impressionist works.
Two other museums recommended to me were the Muse e des Hospices Civils at Place de l`Hopital, in the impressive Hotel Dieu, a hospital overlooking the Rho ne: and the Muse e Historique des Tissus at 34 rue de la Charite, devoted to the city`s silk industry and to textile weaving. The first was closed, but the second, which didn`t sound appealing, turned out to be a knockout. First of all the collection is in an elegant house-mansion is a better word-where the governors of Lyon used to reside. The museum not only traces the history of silk making in Lyon, which started in 1536, but also displays tapestries, vestments and carpets from all over the world.
To sample the hustle and bustle of every-day Lyon, stroll along Rue de la Re publique, one of the longest pedestrian-only streets in Europe. It extends for a mile to Place Bellacour, the city`s main square, and continues on Rue Victor Hugo to Place Carnot and Perrache, the latter Lyon`s other railroad station.
Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are among the major stores along the way, not to mention all the specialty shops selling everything from Lyonnais gourmet items and Rhone Valley wine to shoes. Unfortunately, the pedestrian street also attracts loiterers, much to the dismay of the Lyonnais, one of whom said city officials are rethinking the mall concept.
For those seeking public transportation along the way, the metro runs beneath Re publique. It`s a two-train transfer ride between Part-Dieu and Perrache, but there are frequent trains that connect the two stations, something for Eurailpass holders to keep in mind.
Back at Lyon`s very modern Part-Dieu Commercial Center, the trappings reminded me of an American mall with the sounds of music and the smell of fries. Fast food is available at McDonald`s or French counterparts.
The commercial center, in addition to fast and French food, is loaded with bookstores, department stores and shops.
After a tour of the Part-Dieu Commercial Center, it`s a pleasure to take the circuitous route to the 32d floor of the Credit Lyonnais Tower and view 2,000 years of Lyon in one quick glance and wish you were back in Old Lyon.
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For more information about Lyon, write to the French Government Tourist Office, 645 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60601; 312-337-6301.
