The cathedral is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Lyon. Begun in 1180 on the ruins of a 6th-century church, it was completed in 1476.

Despite its long construction time, it has a relatively consistent architectural style.

In 1998, the building, along with other historic sites in the center of Lyon, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The cathedral was founded by Saint Pothinus and Saint Irenaeus, the first two bishops of Lyon.

The cathedral is also known as a “Primatiale” because in 1079 the Pope granted to the archbishop of Lyon the title of Primate of All the Gauls with the legal supremacy over the principal archbishops of the kingdom.

It is located in the heart of the old town (Vieux Lyon) and it backs up to the Saône river, with a large plaza in front of it and a metro stop nearby providing easy access to and from the city center.

Patiens of Lyon, who was bishop around 450 AD, built a new cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen. Later, in the seventh century, a baptistery dedicated to Saint John was constructed as an accessory building to the church.

The Church of St. Croix was also near. This location later became the site of the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste. In 1245, the cathedral hosted the First Council of Lyon.

In 1819 J. M. W. Turner sketched a study of the cathedral as seen from the heights of the Fourvière Hill.[5] Edgar Degas used the cathedral for the setting of his painting “Ceremony of Ordination at Lyon Cathedral.”