La Croix Rousse (Lyon)

France / Rhone-Alpes / Lyon
 neighbourhood, draw only border
La Croix Rousse, "the red cross" named for a traveler's "crossroads" cross formerly nearby, is a famous and beautiful Lyonnais neighborhood: home to the Canuts, silkworkers / weavers who in 1834 launched a notorious Luddite-style revolution against the industry which employed them -- an early Labor History example of outsourcing and cottage industry and industrial action.

The neighborhood nestles at the top of a steep hill, providing fine views of Lyon and the Saône and Rhône rivers below, and of the Alps in the distance. The main street and square, "Boulevard de la Croix Rousse" and "Place de la Croix Rousse", host a nearly constant year-round cycle of social activities, from weekly markets to annual fairs to auto shows and urban moto-cross events.

The neighborhood includes two sections, the "Plateau" on the hilltop, and the "Pentes" or steep hillsides leading up, on which tall buildings perch and tiny streets are interspersed with steep stairs.

fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canuts
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyon
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Croix-Rousse
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   45°46'40"N   4°49'33"E

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This article was last modified 12 years ago