Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (France)
Lyon is France’s great food city and one of its most rewarding to explore, a place where two rivers, two hills and two thousand years of history fold into a city small enough to walk.
The Rhône and the Saône meet at its southern tip, where the futuristic Musée des Confluences rises from the water; between them runs the Presqu’île with its grand squares, and across the Saône the Renaissance lanes of Vieux Lyon climb towards the white Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. The old town hides the traboules, secret passageways that cut through courtyards and stairwells, while the Croix-Rousse hill remembers the silk weavers who made the city rich. And then there is the food: the bouchons serving quenelles and saucisson brioché, the market hall named after Paul Bocuse, and the Beaujolais and Rhône vineyards on the doorstep. Every December the Fête des Lumières fills the city with light. This guide books the museums, cruises and passes worth booking, flags closing days and the festival crowds, explains when the Lyon City Card pays off and matches you to the right hotel, from a palace in the old Hôtel-Dieu to a school-themed boutique in Vieux Lyon and a lively design hotel on the left bank.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
The white basilica on Fourvière hill that watches over Lyon, free to enter, with a dazzling mosaic interior, a crypt, a museum of sacred art and the city’s classic panorama from the esplanade, reached in minutes by funicular from Vieux Lyon.
Vieux Lyon and the Traboules
The Renaissance old town on the banks of the Saône, part of Lyon’s UNESCO World Heritage site, where hidden traboules lead through courtyards, spiral staircases and galleries from one cobbled street to the next.
Musée Cinéma et Miniature
A two-in-one museum in a Renaissance house on the Rue Saint-Jean, with more than 1,000 original film props, costumes, animatronics and special-effects pieces, and a floor of over 1,000 hyper-realistic miniature scenes at one-twelfth scale.
Aquarium du Grand Lyon
Lyon’s aquarium at La Mulatière, just south of the meeting of the rivers, home to marine and freshwater species from around the world, including several kinds of shark, open every day of the week.
Lyon’s spectacular science and society museum, a cloud of glass and steel at the point where the Rhône meets the Saône, with dinosaurs, meteorites, mummies and world cultures drawn from a collection of more than two million objects.
FreeThe white basilica on Fourvière hill that watches over Lyon, free to enter, with a dazzling mosaic interior, a crypt, a museum of sacred art and the city’s classic panorama from the esplanade, reached in minutes by funicular from Vieux Lyon.
FreeThe Renaissance old town on the banks of the Saône, part of Lyon’s UNESCO World Heritage site, where hidden traboules lead through courtyards, spiral staircases and galleries from one cobbled street to the next.
A one-hour guided cruise with Les Bateaux Lyonnais from the quay near Place Bellecour, gliding past Vieux Lyon, Fourvière and the bridges of the Saône with live commentary in English and French.
A two-and-a-half-hour evening cruise aboard Les Bateaux Lyonnais’ restaurant boat Hermès I, with a three-course dinner, live commentary and the illuminated facades of Lyon sliding past the windows.
Lyon’s official sightseeing pass, valid for 24 to 96 hours, with free entry to 27 museums, unlimited metro, tram, bus and funicular travel, a guided tour, a Fourvière rooftop tour and a river cruise.
Lyon’s celebrated covered food market, named after the legendary chef Paul Bocuse, where around 56 merchants sell cheeses, charcuterie, oysters, pralines and pastries, and the best way to eat is at the counters.
A two-in-one museum in a Renaissance house on the Rue Saint-Jean, with more than 1,000 original film props, costumes, animatronics and special-effects pieces, and a floor of over 1,000 hyper-realistic miniature scenes at one-twelfth scale.
Lyon’s aquarium at La Mulatière, just south of the meeting of the rivers, home to marine and freshwater species from around the world, including several kinds of shark, open every day of the week.
A virtual reality venue in the Confluence district where 45-minute headset expeditions take you inside the Great Pyramid, through the siege of medieval Carcassonne or to an evening with the Impressionists in 1874 Paris.
An easy day trip from Lyon to Bourg-en-Bresse for a masterpiece of late Gothic art: the church and three cloisters Margaret of Austria built in the early 16th century as a monument to her love for her husband.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Presqu’île (Hôtel-Dieu, Rhône riverside)
Lyon’s landmark luxury hotel inside the restored 18th-century Grand Hôtel-Dieu on the banks of the Rhône, with rooms around historic courtyards, the spectacular Le Dôme bar beneath the great dome, the Epona restaurant and a spa.
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$$$Presqu’île (Place Bellecour)
A classic grand hotel on Place Bellecour since 1912, with 72 rooms and suites, Yannick Alléno’s Pavyllon restaurant, a lounge overlooking the square and the whole of the Presqu’île on the doorstep.
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$$$Vieux Lyon (Saint-Paul)
A witty four-star boutique hotel on Place Saint-Paul in Vieux Lyon, decorated on a back-to-school theme with vintage furniture and all-white rooms, some with balconies or terraces looking over the old town.
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$$Rive Gauche (6th, Pont Lafayette)
A smart four-star hotel on the left bank of the Rhône opposite the Pont Lafayette, now marketed as OKKO Hotels Lyon Centre, with 85 compact rooms and a 24-hour Club lounge with snacks and drinks.
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$$7th Arrondissement (Jean Macé)
A playful, good-value design hotel conceived with Philippe Starck in the 7th arrondissement, with 156 rooms, a buzzing restaurant and bar with a terrace, and the metro at Jean Macé for quick hops to the centre.
Check rates →The practical primer for a first visit to Lyon: what to book ahead, closing days and the Fête des Lumières, getting around on foot, by metro and funicular, and where Fourvière, Vieux Lyon, the Confluences and the food fit into two or three days.
How to choose your base in Lyon, from a five-star palace in the old Hôtel-Dieu to a classic hotel on Place Bellecour, a school-themed boutique in Vieux Lyon, a design hotel on the Rhône and a lively budget pick in the 7th.
