Lyon Presqu'Ile, Plan de Visite

From the Gallo-Roman period and up until the XVIII century the Peninsula was limited in the south by the rue des Remparts d'Ainay and the rue Bourgelat and in the north by the Terreaux. Today, within the boundaries of the World Heritage site, from north to south, the Peninsula includes the districts of the Terreaux, Saint-Nizier, Cordeliers, Grolée, Jacobins, Bellecour, Ainay and Perrache. This sector of Lyons contains some of the most interesting architecture from the XVIII to the XIX centuries.

At the Renaissance, at the beginning of the XV century, and thanks to its fairs, Lyons progressively took on its European importance. The Italians, masters of new payment means (exchange letters), vitalised economic exchanges and activities of the city thus making it a cosmopolite centre which attracted large numbers of German and Spanish people.

From 1743 onwards, as a result of Barthélémy Buyer, the printing industry began to develop which also contributed to the Peninsula’s dynamics; in 1500 there were 50 printers in Lyons. In the XVI century the silk industry took off: on the Peninsula, at Saint-Georges on the right-hand banks of the Saône and then later on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse. This was the period known as the great textile age, the "Grande Fabrique", which lasted until 1880.