Lyon City Guide
Between the Rhône and the Saône hides France's largest Renaissance quarter, laced with traboules, the silk weavers' passageways. Above it the Fourvière basilica, below it Roman theatres from Lugdunum, and the market hall of the country's unofficial food capital. Two ready-made day routes begin at Place Bellecour.
Our walking tours of Lyon
Ready-made routes from the station guide you through Lyon, to the right spots from the very first step, with no planning needed.
Presqu'île, Vieux Lyon & Fourvière
Day one starts on Place Bellecour, one of Europe's largest squares, and crosses the Saône into the Renaissance quarter of Vieux Lyon with its traboules. The funicular carries you up to the Fourvière basilica and its view over the whole city, then on to the Roman theatres of Lugdunum. Back down, the day ends on Place des Terreaux and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts.
Market hall, Croix-Rousse & Confluence
Day two starts with food in the Les Halles Paul Bocuse market hall, with cheese, charcuterie and oysters straight at the counter. Then it's up to Croix-Rousse, the silk weavers' hill, with its own traboules and the vast Mur des Canuts mural. To finish, the city's modern tip, the Musée des Confluences between the Rhône and the Saône, with the Parc de la Tête d'Or as an optional extra.
Going out & nightlife
Le Sucre · Rue Sainte-Catherine (Presqu'île) · Daniel et Denise (Croix-Rousse) · Opéra National de Lyon
Practical information for Lyon
Public transport
Operator. The TCL network (Transports en Commun Lyonnais) is operated on behalf of Sytral Mobilités, the transport authority of the Métropole de Lyon, and covers metro, tram, bus, trambus, two funiculars up to Fourvière, and the river shuttle Navigône on the Saône. The airport express train Rhônexpress between Lyon-Saint Exupéry and Part-Dieu station is run by a separate operator and is not part of the TCL fare system, so a separate ticket is needed.
Network. Four metro lines, trams, buses and two funiculars up to Fourvière.
Modes of transport. Metro · Tram · Bus · Trambus · Funicular · River shuttle (Navigône)
Operating hours. On its fare and network pages, TCL gives no blanket figures for the first and last services on the metro, tram and bus network as a whole, times vary by line and can be checked using the timetable calculator on tcl.fr. The only officially documented exception is the weekend arrangement, see night service.
Night service. TCL extends operation of its four metro lines until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights. In addition, from September to June the Pleine Lune night bus lines run with four departures per night from the city centre at 1.20am, 2.30am, 3.40am and 4.50am, on the nights from Thursday to Friday, Friday to Saturday, and Saturday to Sunday. From 10pm, passengers on bus lines, except trambus lines, can ask to get off between two official stops, TCL calls this descente à la demande. On these extended nights, the park-and-ride car parks at several metro terminals also stay open until 3am instead of 1am, for example at Vaise, Gorge de Loup, Parilly, Gare de Vénissieux, Oullins, Cuire and Laurent Bonnevay.
Buying tickets. TCL sells tickets through machines at stops, directly from the driver when boarding the bus, online via the website and app, at sales outlets, and via the rechargeable TCL-Karte and Carte Oùra cards. For zones 4 and 5, a single ticket can also be bought by SMS, by texting the keyword Z45 to the number 93069, the ticket costs €1.60. It is generally not possible to buy a ticket for just one zone, the chosen ticket must cover all the zones travelled through.
App and payment. For purchases by smartphone, TCL offers the E-ticket app, which lets you load and validate single tickets and other fare products directly. The network also accepts contactless payment by debit or credit card directly at the validator on board, no ticket purchase is needed beforehand.
Which ticket. Zones 1 and 2 cover the whole city of Lyon, including Vieux Lyon, Presqu'île, Part-Dieu, Fourvière and Croix-Rousse, and are enough for a 2- to 3-day stay in the centre. A single ticket costs from €1.60, a carnet of 10 rides from €14 (€1.40 per ride). Among the time-based passes, the 24h pass starts at €5.30, the 48h pass at €10 and the 72h pass at €13.80, each with unlimited rides. Worked out, the 24h pass pays off from the fourth ride on the same day (€5.30 divided by €1.60 gives 3.3), the 72h pass costs less than nine single tickets (€13.80 divided by €1.60 gives 8.6). For groups of 2 to 5 people there's the Tribu pass for one day from €5.30 total. Anyone who also wants to visit museums and sights can go for the Lyon City Card, which combines TCL rides with around 40 sights, €32 for 24 hours, €44 for 48 hours, €56 for 72 hours and €68 for 96 hours. The Rhônexpress airport train isn't included in any of these tickets and is paid for separately.
Fare zones. Zones 1 and 2 cover the whole city of Lyon, from Vieux Lyon through the Presqu'île to Part-Dieu, Fourvière and Croix-Rousse. If you're not heading out into the surrounding area, you don't need any further zones. The Rhônexpress to the airport operates outside this fare system.
Tip. The funicular counts as an ordinary ride and saves the steep climb.
Links
- TCL – Titres et tarifs
- TCL – Voyager la nuit
- TCL – Plans PDF du réseau
- Rhônexpress – Billets & Tarifs
- Network map
Getting there
Main station
Location. The main long-distance station; the second is Perrache at the south end of the peninsula.
Long-distance trains. Lyon Part-Dieu is the most important long-distance station outside Paris. TGV INOUI and OUIGO serve the major French routes from here, with documented destinations including Paris Gare de Lyon, Paris Nord, Marseille Saint-Charles, Montpellier, Lille, Rennes and Marne-la-Vallée Chessy for Disneyland Paris. SNCF's international TGV routes calling at Part-Dieu run from Frankfurt am Main to Marseille, from Luxembourg to Marseille and to Montpellier, and from Brussels-Midi to Marseille and to Perpignan. In summer, the seasonal Marseille to Lausanne service via Bellegarde-Geneva is added. The Italian operator Trenitalia also stops at Part-Dieu with its Frecciarossa, both on the Paris-Lyon route and on the Paris-Milan line via Chambéry, Modane, Turin and Milano Centrale. The high-speed train takes around two hours to Paris.
Opening hours. Lyon Part-Dieu isn't open around the clock. The station hall opens daily at 4.50am and closes at 12.45am, the same on public holidays. All long-distance services fall within this window. Access to the platform closes 5 minutes before departure, so allow some buffer.
Airports
Into the city. 30 minutes on the Rhônexpress to Part-Dieu station
Frequency. Every 15 minutes, running continuously from 4.25am to midnight, 7 days a week. Single ticket from €16 online or €17.10 at the machine, return from €28 online, free under 12.
Local quirks
- Traboules. Hidden passageways cut straight through the blocks of houses in the old town. Many are accessible if you find the doors.
- River shuttle Navigône. TCL runs a ferry line called Navigône on the Saône, which is part of the regular public transport service. A ticket costs €3 one way or €5 for a same-day return.
- Getting off between stops. From 10pm, TCL bus passengers, except on trambus lines, can ask to get off between two official stops if they wish. TCL calls this descente à la demande, a safety service for the night.
Good to know
- Currency
- EUR €
- Emergency number
- 112
- Plug type
- C · E
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
- Driving
- right
Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, outside towns 80 km/h, motorway 130 km/h (110 km/h in rain)
A limit of 80 km/h has applied on rural roads without a central divider since 2018. Some départements have raised it back to 90 km/h by decision of the Conseil départemental, marked by dedicated signs at the start of the stretch. In rain, the motorway speed drops to 110 km/h, while within built-up areas it stays unchanged at 50 km/h.
Tipping. Service is included by law. If you were happy, leave a few euros, nothing more.
Tolls. Most motorways are tolled. Take a ticket, pay on exit, cards accepted everywhere.
Access restrictions. Many cities have low emission zones. You need a Crit'Air sticker, ordered online in advance and delivered by post. Without one you risk a fine.