Administration
Lyon is the capital of the Rhône-Alpes région, the préfecture of the Rhône département, and the capital of 14 cantons, covering 1 commune, and with a total population of 480,660.
Like Paris and Marseille, the city of Lyon is divided into a number of municipal arrondissements, each of which is identified by a number and has its own council and town hall. Five arrondissements were originally created in 1852, when three neighbouring communes (La Croix-Rousse, La Guillotière, and Vaise) were annexed by Lyon. Between 1867 and 1959, the 3rd arrondissement (which originally covered the whole of the Left Bank of the Rhône) was split three times, creating a new arrondissement in each case. Then, in 1963, the commune of Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe was annexed to Lyon's 5th arrondissement. A year later, in 1964, the 5th was split to create Lyon's 9th – and, to date, final – arrondissement. Within each arrondissement, there are a number of recognisable quartiers or neighbourhoods:
- 1st arrondissement : Slopes of La Croix-Rousse, Terreaux, Martinière/St-Vincent
- 2nd arrondissement : Cordeliers, Bellecour, Ainay, Perrache, Confluent
- 3rd arrondissement : Guillotière (north), Préfecture, Part-Dieu, Villette, Dauphiné/Sans Souci, Montchat, Grange Blanche (north), Monplaisir (north)
- 4th arrondissement : Plateau de la Croix-Rousse, Serin
- 5th arrondissement : Vieux Lyon (Saint-Paul, Saint-Jean, Saint-Georges), Saint-Just, Saint-Irénée, Fourvière, Point du Jour, Ménival, Battières, Champvert (south)
- 6th arrondissement : Brotteaux, Bellecombe, Parc de la Tête d'Or, Cité Internationale
- 7th arrondissement : Guillotière (south), Jean Macé, Gerland
- 8th arrondissement : Monplaisir (south), Bachut, États-Unis, Grand Trou/Moulin à Vent, Grange Blanche (south), Laënnec, Mermoz, Monplaisir-la-Plaine
- 9th arrondissement : Vaise, Duchère, Rochecardon, St-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe, Gorge de Loup, Observance, Champvert (north)
Geographically, Lyon's two main rivers, the Saône and the Rhône, divide the arrondissements into three groups:
- To the west of the Saône, the 5th arrondissement covers the old city (Vieux Lyon), Fourvière hill and the plateau beyond. The 9th 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 are the 2nd, 1st and 4th arrondissements. The 2nd includes most of the city centre, including Bellecour and Perrache railway station, and reaches as far as the confluence of the two rivers. The 1st is directly to the north of the 2nd and covers part of the city centre (including the Hôtel de Ville) and the slopes of La Croix-Rousse. To the north of the Boulevard is the 4th arrondissement, which covers the Plateau of La Croix-Rousse, up to its boundary with the commune of Caluire-et-Cuire.
- To the east of the Rhône, are the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements.
The Urban Community of Lyon, also known as Greater Lyon is the intercommunal structure gathering the city and some of its suburbs. The Urban Community encompasses only the core of the metropolitan area of Lyon.
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