Our major target in Fourvieve are the Roman ruins and the nearby museum. We really want to see what remains of the major Roman city of Lugdunum that flourished here for centuries. Even same famous Roman emperors were born here like Claudius and Caracalla. We start with the museum to hide from the heat and it is quite impressive even from the entrance with multiple amphorae lining the entrance.
There are some beautiful frescoes and pottery to look at as we start descending down the central ramp from floor to floor.
The first floor is focused a bit more on prehistoric times showing objects found from the Gallic period. There are swords, jewelry and even a model of a banqueting pit containing the remains of ritual feasts.
There is a list with must see objects in the museum and we make it a priority to see all of them if at all possible. Most are quite interesting and special like the bronze chariot, which somehow survived the centuries quite well, and the back part of a horse statue which is all that is left.
There are other less interesting, but historically important, artifacts like the transcript of a speech of Emperor Claudius in front of the Senate and multiple beautifully carved sarcophagi.
The museum has a relatively smart structure. While it is spread across multiple floors you can move from one to the other via a central ramp, no stairs necessary. Of course there is also an elevator if needed, especially when returning from the bottom back to the top.
There is also a relatively complete bronze statue of another emperor but the real attraction in this section are the many mosaics found in Lyon. We are surprised at how many there are really and some are quite nicely exhibited with a viewport situated above them to see it from a bird’s eye view.
And on we go to the next level following the ramp downwards. There are less tourists than we expected here which makes this for a more fun visit than we expected.
This is the level of mosaics both ancient and more modern ones, in fact the floor of one of the rooms is all a giant recreated mosaic, quite impressive.
Some other interesting artifacts are a wall painting from an old villa which we really like as it allows us to see how the old Roman houses looked. Also there are some ship remains, not a lot but still interesting.
Further down is a Lego area, a bit weird but fun, and the jewelry exhibit with pieces that could still pass as new even now.
And then at the bottom is an exhibit with glass objects and it is time to return to the top to visit the actual ruins.
Interestingly while the museum is with paid entrance the ruins can be visited for free. As we are visiting them they seem to be prepared for a performance later, the theater is still used even now, quite a surprise.
There are great views from here but unfortunately it is quite hot so we try to avoid staying in the sun for too long even while exploring the ruins with little shade.
The second theater is more interesting, there will be no performance here at least for now so it looks even more authentic. And then it is time to return back to the funicular and to Vieux Lyon to see the Film and Miniature Museum, our last major stop for the day.
