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Environment

Lyon has always been at the crossroads of commerce, culture and civilizations, but this rare status, convenient for its development, is nothing but the consequence of its geographic position. That is another point of view from which Lyon can be considered a crossroad: this is where the Rhone meets the Saône and also where the region belonging to the North Sea meets the one belonging to the Atlantic.

Colline de Fourvière (Fourvière Hill) is the great-grandmother of Lyon, as this is where the Romans have founded old Lugdunum. Having dominated the city for over 2000 years, it is more of a lineup above the Saône, with a difference in height up to 120 meters. Croix-Rousse (Red Cross) is another hill whose history has merged with that of Lyon. Separated from the Fourvière (whose name comes from “Forum Vetus”, that is “old forum”) by Quai Pierre Scize, this second hill sheltered the districts where the Canutes, ancient workmen in the clothing industry, used to live.