Gratte-Ciel is technically in Villeurbanne, but it belongs in a Lyon-area itinerary for travellers interested in urbanism and twentieth-century architecture. Built in the interwar years, the district created a new civic centre with stepped residential towers, public buildings, and a strong municipal identity.
It is best explored on foot around Avenue Henri-Barbusse and the town hall axis. The appeal is not one building but the ensemble: a working city centre that still carries the optimism and social ambition of 1930s modern planning.