Gare du Lyon

Paris-Gare-de-Lyon is one of the six large mainline railway termini in the French capital. The first station here opened in 1847 but it was built completely new in 1899 in time for the World Exposition of 1900, with 13 platforms. As when it opened, it is the terminus of the railway from Paris to Lyon and Marseilles and also an important metro interchange. It was designed by Marius Toudoire in a French ‘Belle Epoque’ style with many allegorical carvings decorating the façade. A long mural in the ticket office by Jean-Baptiste Olive shows the main destinations from the terminus. The building has at its corner a 67-meters high clock-tower, which is one of the landmarks of Paris. The buffet restaurant of the station (now called ‘Le Train Bleu’) was also opened in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition. It has several dining rooms with gilded ceilings, chandeliers and wall-paintings of places served by the railway.