La Croix-Rousse is the second major hill of the city of Lyon, as well as the name of a neighbourhood located on this hill. After crossing the Saône from the Fourvière area, I walked up the “montée de la Grande Côte”, a street that links the Place des Terreaux with the Croix-Rousse neighbourhood. I then went down towards the Rhône on the east side of the hill.
The Fourvière Hill is the oldest inhabited part of the city of Lyon. At its foot, along the Saône river, is the Vieux Lyon (Old Town), a neighbourhood that dates from the middle ages. At the top of the hill, the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière and the Tour Métallique dominate the city. Ruins of a roman theatre are also located near those landmarks. To get there, a funicular is available but it also possible to take the stairs.
After leaving the Lyon Confluence area, I walked along the Rhône on the way to the Old Town of Lyon (Vieux Lyon), making a few detours here and there.
Lyon Confluence is the neighbourhood of Lyon located south of the Lyon-Perrache train station, and north of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Until not very long ago, it was an area solely dedicated to industry and full of warehouses, but after a few years of construction and millions of euros in investment, the urban-renewal project has brought new shops, restaurants, offices, housing and a new museum (Musée des Confluences).
Above, Le Cube Orange.
The P+R Etoile is a large car park (P+R = Parking Relais) located on the outskirts of Geneva.
The Parc aux animaux du Bois-de-la-Bâtie is a small zoo located in the Bois-de-la-Bâtie park, in Geneva. It has many animals common in farms or native from Switzerland. Entrance is free.
The Parc du Taillefer is a park in Cran-Gevrier (Annecy). Its elevated position offers a good view on Annecy and the surrounding mountains. The entrance is next to Lycée Charles Baudelaire, not far from the exit of Parcours Nature Fier et Erbe.
The Château de Miolans (Miolans Castle) is a fortress in the Bauges mountains above Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny, Savoie. It was built during the Middle Ages and was converted to a prison by the Duchy of Savoy after they acquired it in the 16th century. Its most famous prisoner was probably writer (and notorious pervert) Marquis de Sade: He was arrested in 1772 in Chambéry and placed under guard at Miolans, until he escaped a few months later.
Last summer, a few weeks after riding my bike from La Féclaz to Albens, I came back to the Bauges mountains. This time, I rode from the Semnoz plateau to Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny in Savoie.
Starting at the Petit Port in Annecy-le-Vieux, I walked along the north shore of Lake Annecy until the Port des Marquisats.