The oldest church in Lyon, the Abbaye Saint-Martin d'Ainay was built in the 11th century on the site of a 4th-century Roman temple. The Abbey church originally belonged to a Benedictine abbey founded in the 6th century.
A wonderful example of Romanesque architecture, the church contains four classical columns, a 12th-century mosaic pavement in the choir, and 19th-century gilded paintings by the Lyon artist Hippolyte Flandrin.
