Lyon (all images)

Lyon, the second largest city in France, lies at the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers in central-eastern Rhone-Alpes region. Lyon was founded on the Fourviere hill as the Roman colony of Lugdunum in 43 BC. Later it became the capital of the Burgundian kingdom and finally came under French control in the 14th century. Nowadays the Lyon region is an economic powerhouse of European stature and is France's second-largest business capital after Paris. Lyon is known as the French capital of gastronomy, due in part to its surroundings, which include two of France's best known wine-growing regions, the Beaujolais and the Côtes du Rhône. The old city of Lyon has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998.