The Romans certainly knew a plum location when they saw one, and two millennia after they founded Lugdunum in 43BC, the southern French city of Lyon still packs a picturesque punch. With steep hills overlooking the confluence of two major rivers, the site ticked every box for a Roman town planner, and today Lyon is a favourite with river cruisers and city break fans alike.
Lugdunum gradually expanded into Lyon, spreading onto the peninsula (Presqu’île) between the Saône, which winds south from Burgundy and the Vosges, and the Rhône as it meanders in from the Alps and Lake Geneva.
Every age brought its own architectural
