Leon from ancient Roman ruins to ultra modern museums this city has it all let's take a look Leon is situated on the conference of two of France's greatest rivers the Rome and the Somme it's either the second or third largest city in France depending on where you draw the line the city proper is about half a million people but this goes up to over two million when including the metropolitan area the history of the city dates back to ancient times it was once the capital of the Gauls during the Roman era and also the birthplace of two Roman emperors in medieval times Leon changed hands a few times before eventually coming under French control in the 14th century during the Renaissance the city blossomed due to the silk trade also became a key literary city and was home to many important writers Leon is now a thriving and modern city renowned for its food and culture and it's also the UNESCO World Heritage Site so let's take a look at the top 10 reasons why you should visit this fascinating

city and a quick note to say at a difficult time clicking only 10 places so if you disagree with my choices be sure to let me know why in the comments let's start in Leon's finest public square class bell call which sits roughly between two great rivers it is the third largest square in France and the biggest pedestrian only square in Europe in the center of the Sude Square is a statue of Louis the 14th the square is surrounded by elephants 19th century buildings it's a really great location to hang out and watch all the people but from the north side there are also amazing views of full-via hill a short walk from the square is a river sown where you can take in more wonderful views of the city across the river is a cathedral sention Baptist building started in about 1180 and was mostly completed by 1476 yet took a long time to build stuff back in those days the building is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture on the inside magnificent nave is almost entirely Gothic with its

pointed arches and revolted ceiling as well as amazing stained glass windows the cathedral is home to the famous Leon Astronomical clock one of the oldest in Europe once you're done looking around the cathedral be sure to spend some time exploring the old town nearby here you can wander around historic streets and explore secret passages and courtyards as well as interesting museums and lots of good places to eat here are some highlights my next destination is a basilica of Notre Dame d'Afréria which sits just above the cathedral on for the air hill you can reach this church by riding the muntular railway all the way up but this can get very very overcrowded so you can skip cues by hiking up the hill it steeped and takes about 15 to 20 minutes at the top is the magnificent and usually very old-browder church it was built between 1872 and 1896 and is a mixture of architectural styles it is lavishly decorated inside and outside although busy it's still worth going inside to admire the amazing

nave which is one of the most splendidly decorated spaces I've ever visited almost every part of it is covered in amazing glittering ornamentation details and frescoes it's quite dazzling while you're here don't get to visit the lower church directly underneath the main building just outside the church is a viewing area with amazing views over the city a short walk from the basilica are some amazing Roman roots here you'll find an extensive free-to-enter park with two ancient Roman theaters as well as the Lugdonon Museum which requires a small fee that trust me it's worth it and I recommend going in there before exploring the ruins below the museum was opened in 1975 houses an extensive collection of Roman artifacts from around the old Roman city of Lugdonon and also surrounding areas spread over multiple floors you can see ancient sculptures, weapons and everyday objects as well as really neat preserved mosaic floors such as this one known as the circus games mosaic which dates from the

second century the building itself is also quite exceptional almost designed by Bernard Zéfus around a long spiral concrete ramp that leads nicely down through the collection and then out into the open air roads this extensive site has two theaters including the Grand Theatre which dates back to 15 BC and could originally hold about 10,000 people and it still gets used sometimes today the theaters are built into the sides of the hill and from the top you can also get these great views over them with a city skyline in a distance here's also a great location to stop the Watchless sunset also on 4-year hill a short walk from the Roman ruins is a garden curiosity this small park is the best place to see views over the city of Leon and being a little further out as much less crowded than the more famous view point by the Basilica so I recommend coming here to watch the sun go down and see all the city lights come on it's really cool we're taking a look at the heading back down and across the

river we find one of the best art galleries and crafts the museum of Bynacht museum is located on the place to tarot this grand open space is where we're looking around before entering the gallery as it contains the stunning 17th century town hall as well as the impressive birthday fountain the museum occupies a form of fondance and contains one of the greatest collections of art in Europe perhaps most spectacular space is the sculpture hall which is inside the former Abbey's church museum really really has everything pulled away from ancient Egyptian artifacts many evil masterpieces and famous impressionist paintings you'll need to spend a few hours here at least to see everything so here is a small selection of the highlights for the final three locations you'll need to make use of Leon's extensive and handy public transportation network to get around I'm sure all that sight seeing maybe hungry rights good thing Leon is famous for food near the main train station as the layout of Leon

this huge covered market was built in 1971 and is full of tasty food and restaurants just outside as a large modern round car park on top there is a roof garden some great views over the city especially of the modern skyline nearby there was some bars up here that they went open when I visited winter maybe it's just too cold okay to the north of the city center is Leon's biggest park the park delitete door or park of the golden head this place is huge covering 117 hectares the park was open in 1857 and a spree of charge inside the park you'll find many things firstly the Botanic Gardens which contains about 15,000 plants as well as these impressive old greenhouses which include many tropical species also in the park is a free to enter zoo this zoo houses animals more over the world the highlight being the African flame where you can see large mammals including some wonderful giraffes our final location is a comprehensive museum which is situated where the two Mikey Rivers converge this

unique looking modern building was opened in 2014 his deconstructivist design said to resemble a crystal cloud stainless steel and glass not sure what that means but the exterior of the building is fascinating to look at so it's worth spending a little time to walk around and have a look especially by walking down to the tip of the peninsula where you can see both rivers joining together the museum contains an extensive collection centered around nature science art and history with many floors to explore the highlight for me was the dinosaur skeletons but there's a bunch of other cool stuff as well the building itself is also fun to explore with a large h3m for winding ramps and stairways you can also get onto the roof for some nice views over the city that's it for my Leon Top 10 don't forget to let me know if I missed anything important and if you don't mind please do like and subscribe thank you very much for watching have splendid day one day one day