A Cruise on the River Saône

We know we’ve mentioned AVF, the organization we have joined that exists to welcome newcomers to Lyon and other cities in France.  But, we can’t emphasize enough how much we have enjoyed being a part of it and how much we recommend it to anyone coming to France for a year or more.  Our latest excursion with the AVF Lyon-Rhône chapter was an event for those of us who have joined in this past year; it was a cruise on the river Saône.

The weather turned out to be perfect for an afternoon cruise – a few scattered showers in the morning followed by a sunny, but pleasantly cool, afternoon.  So, around 4:30, 75-100 of us gathered at the boarding spot of  the Navig’inter on quai Rambaud.

We cruised by so many historic buildings and landmarks that it is hard to remember and list them all.  But, here are some of them:

·         The Quarantine Quay - site of a 15^th century hospital where beggars and plague victims were quarantined outside of the city
·         The Church of Saint-George-built in 19^th century with a spire that was the tallest tower in the area at 67 m, or ~220 ft, in 1847
·         The Grand Synagogue of Lyon-an official historic monument dating back to 1864
·         The Cathedral Saint-Jean-1180-1480 – the marriage of Henry IV (as in “Paris is worth a mass”) and Marie de Medici was blessed here with great ceremony in 1600
·         The Lyon Academy of Music- the building once housed the world’s first veterinary school (1795) and had originally been a convent
·         The 16th century Fort Saint-Jean – built as a checkpoint to protect the city from invasion and smugglers; now houses the National School of Public Finances
·         The architect Tony Garnier’s houses - 3 single-story, gray houses constructed with reinforced concrete (the guide said one was for him, one for his wife, and one for his mistress, but we are never sure how much of this stuff to believe).  (For a look at some of his less "contoversial" work see posting Nov 5^th .)
·         The Île Barbe – Favored by Charlemagne (he built a library here) and once site of a powerful abbey (see our posting May 3^rd).

Here are some of the photos we took during the cruise:

There are lots of barges on the river - some are used for pleasure cruises and some are working.

Cathedral St Jean from the river.  (That's Fourvière hill and the basilica in the background.)

Some of the many apartment houses along the river.  (There are businesses on the ground floor.)

People soaking up some sun on the quay.  Apartments of various styles on the shore.

Going under one bridge with the next one coming soon.

A lovely home with a great view.

Fort St Jean - impressive, isn't it?

As a bonus, were fortunate to arrive at just the right time to watch crews from several  local rowing clubs compete.  Two shells took an early lead and were obviously strong rivals. (We have heard Lyon has produced some world-class rowers.)

The race is on!

Anna and our boat after the cruise.  (It was a bit breezy on the river-hence the light jacket.)

We returned to the dock around 6:00.  The event was not only a pleasant cruise along the river, but it enabled us to learn more about Lyon and get a different visual perspective on landmarks we are used to seeing on land.  A lovely Saturday afternoon!