Rue Saint-Jean and the traboules

Rue Saint-Jean runs the length of Vieux Lyon in ochre, rose and pale yellow, five and six storeys of Renaissance facade with mullioned windows and iron signs. It is pedestrian, it is narrow, and because the buildings are tall it holds soft, even shade for hours after sunrise — which makes it one of the most forgiving portrait streets in France. Work north from the cathedral square: doorways, arcades, the small squares off to the sides where a fountain gives you something to sit on.

The traboules are the reason people come. A few dozen of these covered passages are open to visitors during the day, each marked with a small plaque, and they cut from the street through a building into a courtyard — spiral stone stairs, galleries, a shaft of light from above. The Cour des Voraces, up in Croix-Rousse, has the famous open staircase of seven flights. They are the entrance halls of people's homes, so the rules are simple: quiet voices, no flash, nothing blocking the passage, and out before residents come home for the evening.

Go early. Before nine the cathedral square is empty and the street is yours; by late morning in season it is a moving queue of tour groups, and by evening it is restaurant terraces end to end.