Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Lyon

Dominating Lyon from the hill of Fourvière, on the presumed site of the ancient Roman forum of Trajan, the basilica was built from 1872 to the plans of the architect Pierre Bossan, in a spectacular neo-Byzantine style, at a final cost exceeding 10 million francs in 1896. It succeeded a medieval chapel dedicated first to Thomas Becket and then to the Virgin, a place of Marian devotion for the people of Lyon since the Middle Ages. The gilded statue of the Virgin was inaugurated on 8 December 1852, the day that gave birth to the Fête des Lumières, the Festival of Lights, when the inhabitants spontaneously lit up their windows. Listed as a historic monument in 2014 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it belongs to the Fourvière Commission and not to the diocese.

Getting there : Listed as a historic monument on 25 March 2014; a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the historic site of Lyon (1998); free admission, funicular from Vieux Lyon.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound