Lyon is one of Europe's most layered cities for travelers who like to walk through history.

Start on Fourvière hill, where the Romans founded the city in 43 BCE. The Basilica of Fourvière features mosaics, marble, and a panoramic esplanade, and the Roman theaters of Lugdunum sit a short walk away, with a museum built into the hillside beside them.

Come down into Vieux-Lyon for Renaissance courtyards, traboules, and Saint-Jean Cathedral with its astronomical clock. Cross to the Presqu'île for Place des Terreaux and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Fourvière, Vieux-Lyon, the Presqu'île, and the Croix-Rousse slopes were listed by UNESCO in 1998.

Lyon works well for families because public transport is easy, the center is walkable, and there is plenty of green space.

Parc de la Tête d'Or covers 105 hectares and holds a 17-hectare lake with pedalos in summer, a botanical garden, a rose garden, and a zoo where zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and lions share an African savanna enclosure.

The Musée des Confluences is a strong rainy-day choice, with dinosaurs, a mammoth, Egyptian mummies, and samurai armor, and its entrance hall and terrace are open without a ticket. Children usually enjoy the funicular ride up Fourvière hill, and the traboules make a good treasure hunt through Vieux-Lyon.

Evenings in Lyon can be grand or easygoing. The Opéra de Lyon stands opposite the Hôtel de Ville under a dome redesigned by Jean Nouvel, and in summer the Nuits de Fourvière festival has staged music, dance, opera, and circus in the Roman theaters since 1946.

In spring, Nuits Sonores brings electronic music across the city. The Rhône riverbanks fill with terraces on long evenings. Around 8 December, the Festival of Lights turns the whole city into an installation.