Few realize that the Montée Saint-Laurent in Lyon is more than just a steep path. It is a journey through time. This narrow charming road winds up the hill. It offers glimpses into Lyon’s layered past.
The Montée Saint-Laurent begins near a bend in the Montée de Choulans. It ends in Lyon. It continues into La Mulatière and Sainte Foy. The road becomes the Rue des Fontanières. These “fontanières” are curious moss-covered structures. Water trickles from the retaining walls.
Imagine walking along the Montée Saint-Laurent long ago. This was a key route. It connected to the Roman road to Narbonne. It is a very old path.
The church of Saint Laurent used to stand at the bottom of Choulans. The Montée Saint-Laurent began there. This church was one of Lyon’s oldest. It was founded in the 5th or 6th century. A second Saint Laurent church existed too. It stood where Place Gerson is now. Both churches are now destroyed.
During the last ice age glacial deposits covered the Sainte Foy hillside. This area around the Montée Saint-Laurent has witnessed dramatic changes.
In 1474 a private hospital opened here. It cared for plague victims. Around 1500 the city took over the hospital. During the plague of 1577 the hospital was outside the city. The sick and dying went to the Saint Laurent hospital. In 1614 it became a place to confine the poor. They were trained and sent to the colonies.
Look around you as we walk this route. At number 9, the Maison Saint Laurent looks like a small castle. It has a slate roof. It sits next to two concrete blocks. Across the street on the north side is a large stone wall. Parts of buildings stick out. A crane builds the next part of the Don Bosco high school. The wood and metal additions won an architectural prize. The school garden has metal artworks sticking out from the north wall.
Further along the Montée Saint-Laurent is narrower. Stone walls and pretty house facades line the street. Number 21 is a small pink castle with two turrets.
As you approach Rue des Trois Artichauts houses are solid. They stand on wide bases. At number 31 the beautiful house has a studded door. Above it is the motto “au petit paradis” to the little paradise.
After Rue des Trois Artichauts the Montée Saint-Laurent passes the large retaining wall of Avenue Debrousse. A wide staircase cuts through it. The second wall has been reinforced many times. All sorts of stones and bricks show its long history.
The Montée Saint-Laurent reaches a flat area. It curves south. Numbers 36 has two pretty houses. They have green shutters.
The last part is less attractive. A large concrete wall holds the hill. Across from it the small wall at number 47 has a view of the city. From Part Dieu to the Genas control tower in the distance. You can also see houses on the Montée Saint-Laurent and the Perrache bridges.
Dominique Meynis lived at number 10 from 1843. He was a figure in social Catholicism. At number 26 the Congregation of the Holy Family settled in 1857.
Today the Maison Saint Laurent at number 9 belongs to an association for Catholic university students. Not to be confused with the private Villa Saint Laurent. It houses the Historical Cities association. They create websites about Lyon’s heritage.
The Don Bosco high school at number 12 followed a school founded by the Salesian Sisters in 1926.
The Montée Saint-Laurent is more than a street. It’s a path through time. It is a journey through Lyon’s history. It connects us to the people who walked here before us. They shaped this city.