Fourvière esplanade

Beside the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière, a stone esplanade hangs over the edge of the hill and hands you Lyon entire: the Saône curling below, the Presqu'île between the two rivers, the tower blocks of Part-Dieu beyond, and on a clear winter day the Alps and Mont Blanc on the skyline. It is the establishing shot of any Lyon session, and it costs nothing but a funicular ticket from Vieux Lyon — three minutes, and it saves your subjects a long climb in good shoes.

The light is a late-afternoon and blue-hour proposition. The sun sets behind the hill, which means from about an hour before sunset the whole city in front of you is lit warm while you stand in shade — flattering, even light on faces with an enormous backdrop. Stay through blue hour: the bridges and quays come on one after another and the sky holds colour for another twenty minutes. Mornings are backlit and hazy from the valley, so they are for the basilica's own facade rather than the view.

Watch the wall: the parapet is at chest height, so wide frames want a step back or a slightly higher stance to keep it out of the bottom of the picture. And the esplanade is a genuine tourist stop — plan on sharing it, and keep the tight frames for the corners at either end.