We explored the Croix-Rousse neighborhood, located on a steep hill to the north of the center of Lyon. The streets are steep and are interspersed with stairways to allow people to easily walk up and down the hills in their neighborhood. We took the bus to the top of the hill and walked back down some of the stairs.
Starting in the 16th century and continuing into the 19th century Lyon was the capital of the European silk trade, and Croix-Rousse became a major silk weaving center. Many of the buildings in Croix-Rousse have 12-foot ceilings to accommodate the silk looms. Now Croix-Rousse has become a favorite neighborhood for young adults, kind of “hipster central” for Lyon.
Around 1800 Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented a mechanized loom that used punch cards much like the early computers used more than a century later. The Jacquard loom revolutionized the silk industry and contributed to the prosperity of Lyon during the 19th century. There is a statue of Jacquard in the central square in Croix-Rousse. There was a pigeon sitting on his head during our visit.
The weather in Lyon during early April was hit-or-miss with some relatively nice (but cool) days and others with rain and wind. It was fairly nice on the day we visited Croix-Rousse so we sat outside at a cafe for lunch. As part of the cafe there was a man shucking oysters at an outdoor table, providing oysters to the cafe patrons as well as to anyone who walked by. Oysters are common on menus in Lyon and seem to be a preferred treat for the locals.
