Fourvière

Fourvière (French pronunciation: [fuʁvjɛʁ]) is a city district of Lyon, France, a hill immediately west of the old part of the town, rising from the river Saône.

The inauguration of the golden statue of the Virgin Mary on the north-west tower is the origin of the famous 8 December Festival of Lights, when the citizens of Lyon display candles (lumignons) at their windows.

Fourvière hill is home to the La Tour Métallique, one of Lyon's most easily recognizable landmarks, which was privately built by the land-owners to rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Of the five lines once in existence, only the two routes on the Fourvière hill remain in operation, with the rest of the network now either closed, converted to road vehicle use, or integrated within the Lyon underground system.

The hill is very fragile in places due to springs, underground streams, ancient tunnels and aqueducts, which have caused several subsidences in the past.