After being in Lyon for more than a month now, I have seen the complex interactions between the city and the people living there. Lyon is the third largest city in France (behind Paris and Marseille) with a population of more than 500,000 people. While each person has their own unique experience with the city, certain traditions and aspects of the envrionment bond all inhabitants as Lyonnais (People of Lyon).
Coming from New York, I originally believed Lyon would be very similar to the Big Apple. This is not at all the case. While Lyon is a city, it feels like more similar to a large town. The sidewalks are never busy and even the "central" parts of the city feel communal and quaint. Lyon (and much of Europe) is very traditional because of its long history. While the United States as we know it is only about 200 years old, France (and, in turn, Lyon) has been around for a couple thousand years - its history even includes the Roman Empire!
