The Longue Traboule

In front of you is the entrance to the longest traboule in Vieux Lyon. Push the door: the passage crosses four buildings and several courtyards in a row before coming out at number 27 Rue du Bœuf, on the parallel street.

1Streets that run through houses

A traboule is a private passage cutting through one or more buildings to link two streets. Lyon has around five hundred: more than two hundred in Vieux Lyon, many on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse and on the Presqu'île. In this district of streets running parallel to the Saône, they were a way to reach the river without long detours. Many are private; some are open to the public thanks to agreements between the city and the owners.

The word itself is a small puzzle. It has been said to come from the Latin trans ambulare, 'to walk through', but linguists doubt it; the phrase 'allée qui traboule' first appears in writing in 1875.

2Passages of the Resistance

During the Second World War, the traboules, dark and unknown to outsiders, helped Resistance fighters slip away from German patrols. That gave rise to a whole mythology of secret passages, tunnels and hiding places under the city, which often goes well beyond what is actually known.

It is also often said that weavers used the traboules to carry silk out of the rain; it is a much-repeated image, more linked to the Croix-Rousse than to this district.

3What to look for

• The stone vaults of the corridors.
• The arched galleries around the courtyards.
• The spiral staircases in towers, typical of the Lyon Renaissance.

Remember that people live here: keep your voice down.