Place des Terreaux is the ceremonial heart of Lyon — a large square at the north end of the Presqu'île flanked by the imposing 17th-century Hôtel de Ville (town hall) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The square's centrepiece is the Fontaine Bartholdi, a colossal bronze allegory of a chariot drawn by four horses, created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (who also designed the Statue of Liberty) and originally intended for Bordeaux. The story of how it ended up in Lyon instead involves municipal politics, a cancelled order, and the characteristic Lyonnais tendency to take what is available and make it work.
The square comes alive in the evenings when the restaurants and bars on its perimeter fill up. It is also the starting point for many of the neon light installations that Lyon deploys during the Fête des Lumières in December — one of the most spectacular light festivals in the world.