A Ferris wheel was set up in Place Bellecour during the Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières) in Lyon – the Europa Rad. We waited until dusk before getting on the wheel because we wanted to catch a bit of natural light along with the decorative lights.
Here’s a short clip of the views from the top to the bottom and then going back up. The video is 51 seconds long, so the wheel was turning at approximately 1 cycle per minute. It was a gentle ride – a bit short though.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=606HEAXXXkE?rel=0&w=510&h=287]
Southwest corner of Place Bellecour.
Looking west with the Basilica de Fourvière and metal tower in the background.
Also visible are the banks of the river Rhone. Les Trois Domes at the Sofitel where we had lunch earlier (see post here) is just visible near the top right hand corner.
The domes that gave rise to the name of the restaurant are located on the Northeast corner.
This is an “uptown” view looking towards the city center. To me, Place Bellecour is the equivalent of Union Square in NYC. We were near the top which was about 55 meters above ground.
One of the main streets – Rue Edouard-Herriot starts here (lower right hand side) – the “5th ave” of Lyon.
Hotel-Royal at the Southeast corner of Place Bellecour.
Place Antonin Poncet
The Europa Rad claims to be the biggest transportable Ferris wheel with open and swiveling gondolas.
We seem to be starting a tradition of getting on a Ferris wheel wherever we see one – in 2012 we had already been on a Ferris wheel – the Riesenrad in Vienna – see my post about the Viennese wheel here.