Although only recently recognized for its value, it would be impossible to discuss Lyon's history today without mentioning its industrial heritage , thanks to which the city prospered continuously for several centuries. Lyon's industry, initially driven by the silk sector , encompassing everything from silk production to the manufacture of looms, expanded and diversified into new branches, primarily chemicals , metallurgy , mechanics , and of course , automobiles . The major industrial districts at the beginning of the 19th century were Brotteaux , Guillotière , Croix-Rousse , and Perrache.

Throughout the century, new industries sought to establish themselves primarily in the Guillotière district, thus doubling the number of working-class residents. The Brotteaux district, undergoing rapid residential development, was gradually deindustrialized and taken over by the "new rich," who were none other than the industrialists themselves. At the end of the 19th century, industrial zones expanded beyond the city limits, as the center had become too small for large firms like Gillet (textiles and chemicals), which relocated to Villeurbanne , and Perret-Olivier (chemicals), which established itself in Vénissieux.