Currently, 80 traboules are open, while the city has over 500 in total. These hidden passages, often tucked away behind the doors of residential buildings, sometimes conceal true architectural wonders, but they remain exclusive to the locals. However, their tourist potential is enormous. The city of Lyon's plan is to expand access to traboules to better distribute the flow of visitors and avoid congestion in popular traboules, like those on Rue Saint-Jean.
Financial Compensation for Homeowners
“We want to direct tourist flows to other areas beyond the trio of Bellecour-Vieux Lyon-Fourvière,” explains Valentin Lungenstrass, deputy for responsible tourism, in comments relayed by Lyon Capitale.
/em>. To achieve this, the city is focusing on short-term conventions and traboules which allow property owners to receive financial compensation in exchange for opening their passageways. This could also help the people of Lyon to better understand their own history by discovering less-frequented traboules in neighborhoods like Croix-Rousse or Presqu'île.
500 traboules spread across Vieux-Lyon, Croix-Rousse, and the Presqu'île
The potential is immense, with over 200 traboules in Vieux-Lyon, 160 on the slopes of Croix-Rousse, and 130 on the Presqu'île. However, since 2010, only about ten additional traboules have opened to the public through agreements. The co-owners, often concerned about their peace and quiet, are installing digicodes, making access to the traboules increasingly challenging.
The city needs to convince these property owners to open their doors to give the traboules the place they deserve in Lyon's tourist landscape.
Source: Lyon Capitale