Lyon

Clicca qui per la versione Italiana

Lyon is nestled in the hills of Fourvière and the Croix-Rousse. The capital of the Rhone-Alpes region offers an unusual journey through time and cultures, with its old town declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, its narrow streets and traboules (passageways inside houses to move from one street other), its lively riverfront, the large squares of the Presqu'île. The night be amazed by the charm of over 200 sites, beautifully illuminated.

What to see

The Roman theaters

The Théâtres Romains de Fourviere sits atop the homonymous hill overlooking Lyon, from where you can admire one of the most beautiful views of the city. Together with two other ancient structures, the theater is part of an archeological complex UNESCO.
The work, built between the seventeenth and fifteenth centuries BC by order of Emperor Augustus, he was able to accommodate up to 4,700 spectators. In the second century, to the time of Emperor Hadrian, the structure was further expanded. With the passage of time, the theater was slowly abandoned until falling into disrepair. During the twentieth century, as a result of an important work of excavation, it was decided to renovate the entire complex. Today the theater hosts concerts, ballet, opera performances and other cultural events.

The old town

The "Old Town" is the historic heart of Lyon, the largest Renaissance district of Europe.
After years of decline, the "Old Lyon" has been fully restored and is now protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. On the Peninsula (Presqu'ile) formed in the centuries between the Rhone and Saone rivers winding alleys, small squares, secret passages (Traboules) three large churches (St Jean, St. Paul and St. George), old artisan shops.


The Basilica of Fourvière

I think it's worth taking the funicular and arrive at this beautiful basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the church is full of mosaics and stained glass windows that make it very suggestive. Under the church there is another even more collecting church. It's an emotion to live and for others is a very beautiful example of baroque art, also from here you can enjoy a breathtaking view over the city. 





The district of the Croix-Rousse

La Croix-Rousse is a very lively district of Lyon, which contains an important part of the history of this city, its past, its great development and its international reputation resulting from industry of silk weaving and luxurious fabrics.
 But there's more, and this is the reason why for many years I wanted to come in Lyon, Lyon is the home of the famous inventor J.M. Jacquard, who invented precisely the so-called frame Jacquard, which revolutionized the world of weaving, greatly improving the productivity and quality of the process. The Jacquard memory is dedicated a statue, in the Croix-Rousse Square.

Weekend in Colmar - Alsace

Clicca qui per la versione Italiana

Colmar is remarkable for the elegance of its houses to "timbered" (typical houses with half-timbered walls), which can be seen in particular in the city center. Have fun identifying symbols on their facades hidden among wooden plots!

What to see:

Little Venice and the Old Town

Another treasure to be discovered: the Little Venice. It is a charming maze of small canals, crossed by flat-bottomed boats available for tourists, as a whole of half-timbered houses, the geraniums, the insignia and warm colors.
Back on dry land, do not miss the Gothic and Renaissance jewels of the old city. The Collegiate Church of San Martino, with its beautiful terraces to appreciate in the summer, the Dominican Church, Maison Pfister, or even the Maison des Têtes, surely one of the most beautiful buildings in Colmar. Behind its 111 sculptures, lies one of the best tables in town.

The Museum Unterlinden, Bartholdi and the Toy Museum

Every year, thousands of visitors queue up to admire the altarpiece of Issenheim of Untelinden Museum. It is a group of eight monumental panels painted by Mathias Grünewald, reason why this work is an extraordinary jewel of the Rhine.
But Colmar is also the birthplace of the famous Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi: the author of the Statue of Liberty in New York. His house, now a museum, is open to the public. Drawings, models, photographs ... so many witnesses works dell'appassionate fate of this sculptor over the top.



For smaller, Colmar has even more surprises, like the Toy Museum. Set in a former cinema, it houses a collection of 1,100 toys, from the rarest to the most popular among your children.

Kitchen

Colmar is the perfect city for gourmands! Near the old customs there are many Winstub, which 
awaits you with open arms, offering you their menu of authentic Alsatian flavors. But try also other environments, for example, the Restaurant of the theater or chez JY'S, one of stellate tables that adorn the Alsatian gastronomic firmament.

Marseille

Clicca qui per la versione Italiana


Capital of the south and proud to have inspired the French national anthem, Marseille was crowned the capital of culture in 2013. It has a lively character, it is a multiethnic city, and has the reputation of being (with Paris) one of the cities with the highest crime rate . In my opinion I do not consider it so dangerous because I turned along with a friend walking and using the means of transport and did not happen anything special.


WHAT TO SEE:

Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde

Those visiting Marseille, must necessarily see this Basilica in neo-Byzantine style. In addition there  
is a train leaving from the port into the old center of Marseille and up to a hill where exactly is the Basilica.

The hill gives 360-degree panoramas of the city. The church tower is topped by a golden statue of 9.7m height of the Virgin Mary on a pedestal 12 meters high.

The Vieux - Port and MuCEM

The Vieux - Port is the heart of Marseille and has a large oriental market, always full of people. To provide shade there is the famous "Ombrière" the architect Norman Foster, as a large horizontal mirror. The harbor is surrounded by many restaurants, cafes and bars.


The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (Musée des civilizations de l'Europe et de
la Méditerranée, abbreviated MuCEM) is dedicated to the preservation, study, presentation and mediation of heritage anthropological related to the European and Mediterranean. I found a pretty interesting museum. The property is large modern structure, strictly black, which juts out into the sea next to the Fort Saint-Jean, and one can see passing on the coastal road.

Palais Longchamp
Beautiful building, designed and built to celebrate the construction of the Marseille Channel created to facilitate the transport of water into the city, inside the Longchamp park. The building has two staircases to the sides and within these is a pond whose water comes from a waterfall that originates inside the open gallery. Now it contains the Museum of Natural History on the one hand and the Museum of Fine Arts on the other. A beautiful building much visited.

Plage de la Pointe Rouge

Plage de la Pointe Rouge in Marseille is the largest sandy beach in Marseille. It situated behind
artificial beaches of Prado, in the west of the beach you can enjoy water sports such as windsurfing and kitesurfing and motorways. Near to this beach you can find many restaurants, bars, pubs.