Ninety seconds on Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Between the dark, quiet crypt and the blue and gold church stacked on top of it, you walk through two churches in one building, each with its own mood.
The lower church, the crypt, is dedicated to Saint Joseph and is the same size as the church above it. Its architect, Pierre Bossan, meant it as the way in, so that you crossed the darker, quieter space first.
In the crypt, look at the figures around the statue of Saint Joseph: the seven deadly sins shown as animals, pride a peacock, sloth a tortoise, envy a snake. Around the walls stand eleven statues of the Virgin, sent from sanctuaries around the world.
A red marble staircase with a double turn, the Stairs of Wisdom, climbs to the upper church. There the colour is blue, the Virgin's colour, with gold all round. Six mosaics of 50 square metres run along the side walls: Mary and the Church on the left, Mary and France on the right.
Look at the stone: white Carrara marble, pink granite from northern Italy and blue marble from Savoy. At the altar, Mary is shown breaking the chains of Adam and Eve and leading them out of Hell.
Lyon paid for the building by public subscription and saw it consecrated in 1896, and the city now counts it as its emblem. Its four corner towers, each 48 metres high, stand for the cardinal virtues.
Allow ten minutes on the terrace for the city laid out below. Inside, take the crypt before the red marble stairs to the upper church.
Both churches are free and need no booking. Silence is asked, dress should suit a working church, and photographs are allowed without flash.
Mass is said several times a day, at 7:30am, 11am and 5:30pm on weekdays, so keep to the side aisles while a service is on. Look in on the Chapel of the Virgin as well: it is also free, and open from 7am to 7pm.
Two guided visits are worth knowing. The discovery visit spends an hour inside on the mosaics, sculpture and stained glass, which you can also see on your own.
The rooftop visit (visite insolite) takes you onto the roofs: 1h30, at most 18 people, through the Grande Tribune, the architects' room and the roof timbers to the Saint-Michel terrace and the top of the Observatory tower. It climbs 345 steps and is not advised if you suffer from vertigo or a heart condition.
Meet at the wooden door at the top of the basilica steps. Book online up to 10 minutes before the start, or buy at the glass welcome pavilion on the esplanade if places remain.
Leave plenty of time before a rooftop visit. It starts on the dot, latecomers cannot join the group, and the funicular queues on busy days.
Take water up with you, because the tower and galleries get hot. If the weather closes the roofs, the visit switches to a route through the basilica interior. Do not come expecting the basilica's treasury, which is not on display.
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