France's gastronomic capital, with a Renaissance old town, hidden traboules, two rivers and bouchon bistros.
Lyon works best as a 2-day city break. Lyon is France's food capital, a city that takes eating more seriously than almost anywhere else in the country and backs it up with its bouchon bistros and the long legacy of the chef Paul Bocuse. Its UNESCO-listed Renaissance old town, Vieux Lyon, is laced with hidden traboule passages that cut through courtyards under the white Fourviere basilica on its hill. Between the Rhone and the Saone runs the elegant Presqu'ile peninsula, the shopping and cafe heart of the city, while the steep Croix-Rousse hill above it still carries the memory of its silk-weaving canuts. In December the four-day Fete des Lumieres turns the whole place into a light show, and the city is only a two-hour TGV from Paris. This guide splits two or three days so you get Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, the Presqu'ile and Croix-Rousse, the food and a day trip without wasting time.
Ideal stay
2 days
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Mid budget
105 EUR/day
Airport
Lyon-Saint Exupery airport sits about 25km east of the centre
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Renaissance courtyard five-star · Vieux Lyon
The landmark luxury hotel spans four Renaissance houses around glass-roofed courtyards in the heart of Vieux Lyon, with a spa and a fine restaurant. It is the address for a special-occasion stay in the old town.
from ~300 EUR/night
Check prices
Couples€€Quirky old-town boutique · Vieux Lyon
A white schoolroom-themed boutique in Vieux Lyon, playful without being gimmicky, with bright minimalist rooms. Its terrace looks over the rooftops to the Fourviere basilica on the hill.
from ~140 EUR/night
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First visit€€Grand hotel on Bellecour · Presqu'ile
A classic grand hotel right on Place Bellecour in the heart of the Presqu'ile, walkable to both rivers and the old town. It is a comfortable, central base for a first visit to the city.
from ~160 EUR/night
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Budget€Central design hostel · Presqu'ile
A design hostel with its own cafe on the Presqu'ile near Cordeliers, offering both dorms and private rooms. It puts you minutes from the centre on a tight budget.
from ~30 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Lyon began as Roman Lugdunum, founded in 43 BC on the Fourviere hill and made the capital of the Three Gauls, the administrative heart of Roman Gaul. In the Renaissance it grew rich as a banking and printing centre at the crossroads of European trade fairs, and from the 18th century it became the world capital of silk weaving, worked by the canuts of the Croix-Rousse whose revolts marked the 1830s. It was here that the Lumiere brothers shot the first films and gave birth to cinema in 1895, and during the Second World War the city was a stronghold of the French Resistance. Today Lyon is France's gastronomic capital and a UNESCO World Heritage city, its Renaissance old town and traboules preserved intact.
Lyon is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days is enough for the core of Lyon. The centre is compact and walkable, so Vieux Lyon and its traboules, the hilltop basilica and Roman theatres of Fourviere, the Presqu'ile with Place Bellecour, the Croix-Rousse silk hill and the Musee des Confluences all fit without a rush.
See the itinerary →
3
days
Three days is the comfortable amount for Lyon: the same walkable core as the two-day trip, plus a relaxed final day for the big park, a day trip or simply more food. Days one and two take Vieux Lyon and the traboules, the Fourviere hill with its basilica and Roman theatres, the Presqu'ile, the Croix-Rousse silk hill and the Musee des Confluences at an easy pace.
See the itinerary →
Lyon has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Vieux Lyon
First visit
Vieux Lyon is the Renaissance old town at the foot of the Fourviere hill, a run of cobbled lanes, pastel facades and hidden traboules that thread through courtyards between the streets.
Presqu'ile
First visit
The Presqu'ile is the narrow peninsula between the Rhone and the Saone, the elegant commercial heart of Lyon with the huge Place Bellecour, the main shopping streets, the Terreaux quarter and the opera.
Croix-Rousse
Local life
Croix-Rousse is the old silk-weavers' hill rising north of the Presqu'ile, a villagey, bohemian quarter of tall canut workshops, its own traboules, a daily market and honest bistros.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Lyon on a budget: same trip, around 55 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
2 days is the sweet spot for Lyon. The centre is compact and walkable, so Vieux Lyon and its traboules, the hilltop basilica and Roman theatres of Fourviere, the Presqu'ile with Place Bellecour, the Croix-Rousse silk hill and the Musee des Confluences all fit without a rush
The best months are May, June, September. Think twice about January: Deep winter with highs near 7C, the odd freezing fog off the rivers and short daylight. It is the quietest and cheapest month, good for the museums and long bouchon lunches, but many terraces are shut and the weather is grey.
Lyon sits around the European average. Plan roughly 55 EUR per day on a tight budget, 105 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 200 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Vieux Lyon is the safest first-visit base. Vieux Lyon is the Renaissance old town at the foot of the Fourviere hill, a run of cobbled lanes, pastel facades and hidden traboules that thread through courtyards between the streets. It is the most atmospheric base in the city, packed with bouchon bistros, the cathedral and the funicular up to the basilica. Stay here on a first, short trip when you want the postcard Lyon on your doorstep and do not mind the crowds and the prices.
Yes. Lyon has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Lyon-Saint Exupery airport sits about 25km east of the centre, and the simplest way in is the Rhonexpress tram, which runs from the terminal to Part-Dieu station in about 30 minutes. It is quick but pricey at around 16 EUR one way, so buy online in advance for a small discount. From Part-Dieu the metro or a tram reaches the middle of town in about 10 minutes on a standard TCL ticket. Some TGV trains stop directly at the airport station, handy if you are arriving by rail from Paris or the south. A taxi from the airport to the centre runs roughly 50 to 60 EUR and takes about 35 minutes outside the rush hour.
Lyon-Saint Exupery airport sits about 25km east of the centre, and the simplest way in is the Rhonexpress tram, which runs from the terminal to Part-Dieu station in about 30 minutes. It is quick but pricey at around 16 EUR one way, so buy online in advance for a small discount. From Part-Dieu the metro or a tram reaches the middle of town in about 10 minutes on a standard TCL ticket. Some TGV trains stop directly at the airport station, handy if you are arriving by rail from Paris or the south. A taxi from the airport to the centre runs roughly 50 to 60 EUR and takes about 35 minutes outside the rush hour. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Lyon is best known for Bouchon bistros, Vieux Lyon traboules, Fourviere basilica, Fete des Lumieres, Two rivers, Silk and the canuts. Lyon began as Roman Lugdunum, founded in 43 BC on the Fourviere hill and made the capital of the Three Gauls, the administrative heart of Roman Gaul.