La Croix-Rousse is the old silk-weavers' district and spreads up the steep slopes of the hill above the northern end of the Presqu'île. It's still a working-class area, but barely a couple of dozen people operate the modern high-speed computerized looms that are kept in business by the restoration and maintenance of France's palaces and châteaux. You can watch traditional looms in mesmerizing action at La Maison des Canuts at 10-12 rue d'Ivry, north of place de la Croix-Rousse (Mon-Fri 8.30am-noon & 2-6.30pm, Sat 8.30am-noon & 2-6pm; 20F/¬3.05; Mº Croix-Rousse), and

 

some rare and beautiful cloths, including silk, damask and brocade, produced by this ancient home-weavers' co-operative.

The streets running down from boulevard de la Croix-Rousse - as well as many across the river in Vieux Lyon - are intersected by alleyways and tunnelled passages known as traboules . The original purpose of these was to provide shelter from the weather for the silk-weavers as they moved their delicate pieces of work from one part of the manufacturing process to another. Normally hidden by plain doors, they are impossible to distinguish from normal entryways; hence they proved an indispensable escape network for prewar gangsters, wartime Resistance fighters and, more recently, for political activists, who used them to thwart police efforts to prevent protests during the official visit of the Chinese ambassador in 2000. Try going up past the right of St-Polycarpe on rue Réné-Leynaud above place Terreaux, then take the traboule opposite 36 rue Burdeau, go right around place Chardonnet , through 55 rue des Tables-Claudiennes, opposite 29 rue Imbert-Colomès and up the stairs into 14bis, across three more courtyards, and you should come out at place Colbert .

Officially the traboules of La Croix-Rousse and Vieux-Lyon are public thoroughfares during daylight hours - the tourist office distributes a free map of the traboules of the old town - though you may find some closed today for security reasons, especially as the area is gradually being gentrified. The long climb up the Montée de la Grande Côte , however, still gives an idea of what the quartier was like in the sixteenth century, when the traboules were first built. Take a look at the pretty place Sathonay at the bottom, where a public garden and a lively local café are overlooked by Croix-Rousse Mairie, and, if you have enough energy left, come down by the rue Joséphin-Soulary , which looks more like a lane in a country village and will bring you down a long flight of steps to the pont Winston-Churchill.