JOURNEES EUROPEENNES DU PATRIMOINE - Sept 18 & 19

Once a year, communities throughout Europe open the doors of many, many public and private (mostly museums and churches) buildings to the public.  We were told by many people that this was an opportunity not to be missed.  So we got our brochure for Grand Lyon (includes suburbs) and started scoping out our plan of attack for these two days.  Since Grand Lyon is quite spread out, we decided we could do justice to no more than three locations each day.  Here's what we saw...

Saturday
Our first stop was the Mairie of our Arrondisement (#3).  Lyon is so big that it's divided into multiple arrondisements (regions/neighborhoods), and we live in the 3rd Arrondisement.  Each one has its own city hall and mayor.  As mentioned earlier, weddings must take place here to be legal, and we had to squeeze through a wedding party and guests to get in the front door.  The building is fairly new and was constructed in 1891.
Here's a picture of the council chamber with the mayor's desk in the background:

Our next stop was the Prefecture du Rhone (Rhone County Hall).  We have walked around and by this building many, many times.  The building is very imposing!  It was built from 1883-1890 at a cost of about 4,500,000 francs (685,000 euros).  It is surrounded by impressive grounds containing lovely gardens and statues.  And, it is guarded 24/7.  What could be more enticing?

Here's a shot of the exterior taken from across the street:



The inside of the building is also impressive!  Here are some shots I took of the Grand Staircase:

And, here is The Grand Salon

There are also frescos, stained glass, and many, many beautiful paintings.  One room was set up to show a sort of orientation presentation to help visitors understand and appreciate what they would see.  We were definitely glad we got a chance to tour the building and spent a good deal of time there.

Next stop was Bourse or Chambre de Commerce de Lyon.   It's also an impressive building.  Here's the exterior:

It's still called the Bourse because its first life was hosting the stock exchange. The bell is still there, and the names of cities around the world with exchanges remain in the decorations around the main room.  Here's New York:

And here is a shot I took of the old trading floor which is now used for displays, shows, etc. - note the beautiful arches and windows above:

At this point we were ready for some crepes and wine and a leisurely walk back to our apartment.

Tomorrow..L'Hotel de Ville et Memorial Montluc

PS-As we were leaving the Prefecture, we saw a nun in full habit (not unusual in Lyon).  But, what WAS unusual is that she was riding a razor scooter!