Place des Terreaux

This broad public square anchors the Presqu'île district between the Rhône and Saône rivers and has served as Lyon's civic heart for centuries. Its centrepiece is a monumental nineteenth-century fountain by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, depicting a chariot driven by an allegory of the rivers rushing toward the sea. The square is framed by the ornate facade of the city hall and the fine-arts museum, giving it a grand theatrical scale. In the evening its ground-level water jets and lighting turn the paving into a gathering place.