Arrondissements of Lyon

The nine arrondissements of Lyon are the administrative divisions of the city. Unlike the spiral pattern of the arrondissements of Paris, or the meandering pattern of those in Marseille, the layout in Lyon is more idiosyncratic. This is for historical reasons: following the annexation of the communes of La Guillotière, La Croix-Rousse and Vaise in 1852, the newly enlarged city was divided into 5 arrondissements, which originally spiralled out anticlockwise from the "Hôtel de Ville" (Town Hall); however, as the city's population expanded, it became necessary to split certain arrondissements, giving rise to today's seemingly random pattern.

Arrondissements of Lyon in 1852

*1^st arrondissement: as today (Terreaux, Martinière/St-Vincent, Pentes de la Croix-Rousse)
*2^nd arrondissement: as today (Cordeliers, Bellecour, Ainay, Perrache, Confluent)
*3^rd arrondissement: former commune of La Guillotière (all of the Left Bank of the Rhône)
*4^th arrondissement: as today (former commune of La Croix-Rousse)
*5^th arrondissement: all of the Right Bank of the Saône (including Fourvière and the former commune of Vaise)

As the 19^th century progressed, the area known then as Les Broteaux (sic) started to be developed by Morand and consequently the population of this part of the 3^rd arrondissement began to increase rapidly. In 1867, the decision was taken to split the 3^rd arrondissement in two, and a 6^th arrondissement was created north of Cours Lafayette.

In 1894, the 6^th arrondissement was expanded to include all of the Parc de la Tête d'Or, which until then had been split between Lyon and Villeurbanne.

As the turn of the century approached, the southern parts of the 3^rd arrondissement also began to experience considerable development. By 1912, the population had increased so much that a decision was once again taken to split the 3rd arrondissement; a 7^th arrondissement was created south of Cours des Brosses (today Cours Gambetta/Cours Albert Thomas/Avenue Rockefeller).

The development of Monplaisir and the surrounding area throughout the 20^th century led to a further split, in 1959, when an 8^th arrondissement was created to the east of the Lyon–Marseille railway line.

Four years later, Lyon's last annexation took place: in 1963, the commune of St-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe was incorporated into the 5^th arrondissement. However, one year later, the decision was taken to split what had become a sprawling and populous arrondissement into two: in 1964, the 9^th arrondissement came into being. The seemingly arbitrary boundary (along Avenue Barthélemy Buyer and across Fourvière to join the banks of the Saône north of St-Paul), which does not follow the historical limit between Lyon and Vaise (which lay further north), was probably drawn for convenience's sake prior to the completion of the Champvert neighbourhood, which is now split between the 5^th and the 9^th arrondissements.

Arrondissements of Lyon since 1964

*1^st arrondissement: Presqu'île north (Terreaux, Martinière/St-Vincent), Pentes de la Croix-Rousse
*2^nd arrondissement: Presqu'île south (Cordeliers, Bellecour, Ainay, Perrache, Confluent)
*3^rd arrondissement: Préfecture, Guillotière north, Part-Dieu, Villette, Sans Souci/Dauphiné, Montchat, Grange Blanche north
*4^th arrondissement: Plateau de la Croix-Rousse, Serin
*5^th arrondissement: Vieux Lyon (St-Paul, St-Jean, St-Georges), Fourvière, St-Just, St-Irénée, Point du Jour, Ménival, Battières, Champvert south
*6^th arrondissement: Brotteaux, Bellecombe, Parc de la Tête d'Or, Cité Internationale
*7^th arrondissement: Guillotière south, Jean Macé, Gerland
*8^th arrondissement: Monplaisir, Monplaisir La Plaine, États-Unis, Bachut, Grand Trou/Moulin à Vent, Mermoz, Laënnec, Grange Blanche south
*9^th arrondissement: Vaise, Gorge de Loup, Observance, Duchère (Balmont, Château, Plateau, Sauvegarde), Rochecardon, St-Rambert-l'Île Barbe

Geographically, Lyon's two main rivers, the Saône and the Rhône, divide the arrondissements into three groups:
*To the west of the Saône, the 5^th arrondissement covers the old city ("Vieux Lyon"), Fourvière hill and the plateau beyond. The 9^th is immediately to the north, and stretches from Gorge de Loup, through Vaise to the neighbouring suburbs of Écully, Champagne-au-Mont-d'Or, Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or, Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or and Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or.
*Between the two rivers, on the "Presqu'île" (Peninsula) are the 2^nd, 1^st and 4^th arrondissements. The 2^nd includes most of the city centre, including Place Bellecour and Perrache railway station, and reaches as far as the confluence of the two rivers. The 1^st is directly to the north of the 2^nd and covers part of the city centre (including the Hôtel de Ville) and the slopes ("pentes") of the Croix-Rousse, up to Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse. To the north of the Boulevard is the 4^th arrondissement, which covers the Plateau of the Croix-Rousse, up to its boundary with Cuire in the commune of Caluire-et-Cuire.
*To the east of the Rhône, are the 3^rd, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th arrondissements.

The future – further arrondissements for Lyon?"'

Although the neighbouring town of Villeurbanne is sometimes referred to as Lyon's "10^th arrondissement", the likelihood of it ever being incorporated into the city is remote. Villeurbanne resisted annexation in 1852 (only ceding its section of the Parc de la Tête d'Or in 1894 in exchange for a considerable payment from its larger neighbour), and now has a sufficiently strong identity and sufficiently high population – 134,000 (2005 estimate), making it France's most populous suburban commune – for the prospect of annexation to be all but dead. Indeed, most of the benefits that being part of Lyon might bring for Villeurbanne are already provided by the Grand Lyon urban community (intercommunality structure).