Lyon Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Old Lyon district, France
Lyon Cathedral is a religious building in the Old Town that blends Romanesque and Gothic styles across its structure. The front facade features sculptural details, carved stone decorations, and three large entrance doors.
Begun around 1175, the cathedral was shaped by three successive archbishops: Guichard de Pontigny planned a Romanesque church, Jean Belles-mains began the Gothic transformation, and Renaud de Forez gave it its present form. Construction lasted until about 1480. Damaged in the Wars of Religion in 1562 and during the 1793 siege of Lyon, it was restored in the 19th century.
The cathedral kept the Lyon rite, a local form of the Catholic liturgy, for centuries because its canons were attached to it; partly for this reason it was the last French cathedral to receive an organ, in 1841. Each December the Festival of Lights projects a choreographed display onto the facade, a custom traced to candles placed in windows on 8 December 1643.
The cathedral stands on Place Saint-Jean in Vieux Lyon, a short walk from the Saône quays and served by the Vieux Lyon metro stop. The west facade faces the square, so start there before walking the 80-metre interior toward the Romanesque apse. The astronomical clock and the Bourbon chapel sit inside; allow time to find them.
The 14th-century astronomical clock was restored in 2021. It long served the Lyon rite, a local Catholic liturgy whose canons kept the cathedral the last French cathedral to acquire an organ, in 1841.
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