Hotels near Le Mur des Canuts and Fresque des Lyonnais

Lyon has more than 150 painted murals across the city, a public art tradition dating from the 1980s. Two are worth seeking out. Le Mur des Canuts, at the corner of Boulevard des Canuts and Rue Denfert-Rochereau in Croix-Rousse, is Europe's largest trompe-l'oeil fresco at 1,200 square metres, painted in 1987 and updated every ten years to age the depicted residents and add contemporary details; the current version shows a bustling Croix-Rousse street scene complete with steps, shops and passers-by, all painted onto a flat wall. Down on Presqu'île at 2 Rue de la Martinière, the Fresque des Lyonnais covers a six-storey building with life-sized portraits of 30 famous Lyon-born figures including the Lumière brothers (inventors of cinema), chef Paul Bocuse, writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Emperor Claudius. Both are free to view outdoors at any hour. Metro Line C to Croix-Rousse station reaches Le Mur des Canuts in a five-minute walk; the Fresque des Lyonnais is near Hôtel de Ville station.

Pro Tip: Both frescoes photograph best from directly across the street with a wide lens - the trompe-l'oeil effect flattens if you shoot at an angle. Late afternoon light hits Le Mur des Canuts from the west and brings out the illusion of depth in the painted staircase; morning is better for the Fresque des Lyonnais, which faces south.