Traboules of Lyon
Traboules of Lyon features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Lyon. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Lyon Lyon guide
About Traboules of Lyon
Lyon's unique covered passageways threading through the interiors of buildings, used by silk workers to transport fabric, by Resistance fighters to evade the Gestapo, and today a must-see curiosity of Vieux-Lyon.
A traboule (from the Latin transambulare, to walk through) is a covered passageway that cuts through the interior of a building or a series of buildings, connecting one street to another. Lyon has over 315 officially registered traboules, more than any other city in the world, and they are among its most distinctive features. They were originally built in the medieval and Renaissance periods to allow inhabitants to move through the city quickly, essential in the days before modern street lighting when narrow alleyways were dangerous at night. They became particularly associated with the silk weavers of Croix-Rousse and Vieux-Lyon, who used them to carry bolts of delicate silk fabric from workshops to merchants without exposing it to rain or damaging sunlight. During the German occupation of Lyon in 1942-44, the traboules became the city's most vital wartime asset: the Resistance used them systematically to evade German and Milice patrols, who could be shaken by simply passing through a series of traboules. Jean Moulin himself, Lyon's great Resistance leader, used this network to move through the city undetected. Today, many traboules remain private (accessible only with a door code), but dozens are open to the public in Vieux-Lyon.
Did you know? Lyon has over 315 officially registered traboules, more than any other city in the world. Many more exist but are unregistered. The total network, if walked end-to-end, would stretch for kilometres.
How long is a visit to Traboules of Lyon?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Traboules of Lyon. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Traboules of Lyon worth your time?
Traboules of Lyon is among the 25 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Lyon, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Lyon
Hear the story of Traboules of Lyon
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