Traboule passageways
An exceptional heritage resource to visit, revisit and preserve
"There are two things in a building: its usage and its beauty. Its usage belongs to the owner, its beauty belongs to everyone." Victor HUGO. Perhaps you have visited or heard about the "traboules" of Lyon. But do you know the meaning of the word? And have you ever "trabouled" through Vieux Lyon or the slopes of the Croix-Rousse? This page will tell you all about the famous hidden passageways and the City's efforts to preserve them, thanks to the Department of Urban Planning and in cooperation with other partners and associations.
"Traboule" - a typically Lyon word
Amable Audin, historian and archeologist, explained that the word "traboule" comes from "trans-ambulare," meaning literally "to pass through", hence the verb "trabouler" and the noun "traboule". For René Dejean, graphic artist and professor, the name "evokes both a shortcut and the idea of intimate knowledge of the city. The traboule can be defined as a pedestrian passageway, often in a narrow space, which starts as an entryway and crosses through one or more buildings and courtyards, connecting one street to another". The first traboules are thought to date back to the 4th century, when the inhabitants of Lugdunum, in search of easier access to water, moved down Fourvière hill, settling alongside the Saône river. The traboules were created as shortcuts to the Saône. Later, when drinking wells were dug in the courtyards of buildings, it was no longer necessary to go to the river. But the shared drinking well in the center of the building acted as an ideal meeting place and, according to René Dejean, "greatly contributed to the ongoing importance of the early traboules". In the following centuries, the design of the Roman patio with its galleries and central drinking well, was often imitated in the many Renaissance constructions.
