Best things to do in Lyon, France: Top Lyon Attractions you have to see!

Wondering what to do in Lyon, France? Here are the best things to do in Lyon & the top attractions you need to include in your french itinerary.

Looking for places to see in Lyon you should’t miss? When I visited the city, I was shocked, maybe because it wasn’t in my plans and I wasn’t expecting to find so many things to do in Lyon, France.

Located at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône River, it is the third most populated city of France, after Paris and Marseille. It is a destination that offers history, culture, street art and cuisine, which turns it into an ideal option to visit on a weekend.

In this article, I’m going to tell you what you must see in Lyon so that you can make the most of your days in this beautiful French city.

How many days to visit Lyon?

Ideally, you should dedicate two full days, that is, 2 or 3 nights. This will give you enough time to wander the city calmly and visit the most important spots of Lyon. That’s why I believe it’s an ideal destination for a weekend.

Can you visit Lyon in one day? I mean, you can, but you’ll have to start really early and finish late, and cancel visits to museums and other landmarks.

In my case, Lyon was a stop between my trip to French Provence and my next destination, Alsace.

Accommodation

The best thing to do is to stay close to the historic center and every place you want to visit, since it is perfectly possible to visit on foot if you are well located.

I stayed at Hotel du Simplon. It is very well located, near the train station and 10 minutes away on foot from the historic center, with very friendly staff that stored my luggage (since I arrived before the check-in time), and if you travel by vehicle, it offers parking 300 meters away for a very cheap extra cost. Very good quality-price relation.

Other options in the area that I recommend you to check out are the Vaubecour, or even better located is the Bayard Bellecour, in Bellecour park, which is one of the main places to see in Lyon.

🚖 Book here a private transfer from Lyon Airport to your hotel.

When to visit Lyon?

Any time of the year is fine to visit this city. The weather in Summer is hot and it is usually when the city is less crowded, with an average temperature that oscillates between minimum 17 and maximum 28°C. In Winter, the coldest month is usually January, when the average temperature goes from 1 to 6°C.

But beyond the weather, there are two ideal times of the year to get to know Lyon.

One is in the Festival of Lights in Lyon, Fête des lumières, that takes place on the 8th of December every year and lasts four days. There, the locals light the windows of their houses with candles and it is said that the city has an amazing atmosphere. You can read about the origin of this festival in Wikipedia.

The other one is on Christmas in Lyon, with its christmassy markets, decoration and ambiance. I had the chance to see it for myself and it is really charming.

As you may have noticed, these two celebrations are held close to each other (since the Christmas decoration starts a month before Christmas), so if you plan the trip to the city correctly, you can enjoy both celebrations. This turns Lyon into an excellent European destination to go to in December.

How to get around the city?

➤ You can walk around the city just fine (as long as the hotel you chose is well located, like the ones I mentioned before).

➤ Besides, in case you need it, the city has a great public transport system, with tram lines, metro and two funiculars that you can take to visit one of the must-see hills in Lyon.

One option to consider if you don’t have enough time or don’t want to walk a lot or go up hills is to buy the ticket to the tourist bus that lasts a day; it includes an audioguide in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Portuguese, and has stops in the most important places to see in Lyon, even the ones that are furthest away.

🚍 Book the tourist bus ticket here!

➤ Another alternative that can be very useful to save money if you plan on visiting several museums or take a trip on a boat around the city is the Lyon City Card, since apart from including the ticket to many places, trips and discounts, it also includes unlimited transport in the city.

You can buy in advance the traditional card or a special one with which you can use the tram that goes to the airport of Lyon (book it here!).

🎫 Buy the Lyon City Card here.

➤ Lastly, if you are looking for a different experience in Lyon, then there’s a tuk tuk tour that takes you to the main spots and it offers two possible paths, or you can also make another trip by electric bike with a guide. They are without a doubt fun things to do in Lyon.

🛺 Book the tuk tuk tour here.

🚴🏿‍♀️Book the electric bike tour here. 

💯 If you are traveling in a group, then you should hire a private tour of 2, 4 or 6 hours, and that will save you a lot of money.

Best things to do in Lyon, France. The Must-Dos!

The historic center of Lyon is split into 4 neighborhoods that were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.

Each of these neighborhoods has its own style and they house most of the must-see places in Lyon.

These historic neighborhoods are:

• Vieux Lyon.
• Presqu’île.
• Fourvière.
• Croix-Rousse.

A good idea would be to visit the important places in Lyon neighborhood by neighborhood to keep an order.

Something that surprised me about the city is that I found it pretty peaceful and not as touristy as I pictured it, considering everything it has to offer.

💯 I recommend you to book this free walking tour that takes you around the best attractions in Lyon or to hire a private guided tour for the day you arrive, so that you make the best of your visit.

What to see in Vieux Lyon

Vieux Lyon, located at the riverbank of the Saône River, is one of the most picturesque neighborhoods of Lyon, with medieval and renaissance styled buildings, dominated by Fourvière Hill.

It is an ideal area to just get lost in its streets.

Lyon Cathedral

Saint Jean Baptiste Cathedral is the most crucial thing to see in Lyon in the old neighborhood. This romantic and gothic styled building took 300 years to build, from 1180 to 1480.

I suggest you to visit its interior, not only to observe the stained glass (some of them date to the 14th century, like the rose window in the center), but also to admire the Lyon astronomical clock that marks the date and positions of the moon, the sun and the Earth, but bearing in mind that it does so based on the beliefs of the 16th century, when it was built: that the Sun revolved around the Earth.

Plus, you may even be lucky and see some figures of the watch that move in some moments of the day.

🎟  The entrance is free.

Things to see in Lyon: Presqu’île

In the center of Lyon you can see Presqu’île, and like its French name indicates, it is a long peninsula surrounded by the Rhone and the Saône rivers.

You can access it through different bridges and footbridges that cross the river. It is an area with the most elegant and contemporary buildings that reminded me a bit of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Here, you cannot miss the Passage de l’Argue, a passage with stores that connects two streets.

Place Bellecour, a Lyon attraction

Taking up over 5 hectares, Place Bellecour is a great esplanade that is considered to be the largest pedestrian square of Europe. From here you can go to the two most important commercial streets of Lyon, Rue de la Republique and Victor Hugo.

There are two statues that characterize this square: that of Louis XIV in the center and in a corner that of the writer of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who was born in Lyon in 1900.

In all honesty, the square didn’t strike me as something special, but the cloudless views to the Fourvière Hill with the Basilica (which I’m going to discuss later) were breathtaking, and there is also a big wheel or Ferris wheel that lights up at night (although apparently that only happens during the Winter months).

Also, I was told that an ice skating rink is placed there, but it wasn’t inaugurated when I visited the city.

Place des Terreaux

This pedestrian square is surrounded by some of the most striking buildings of Lyon, such as the historical Hotel de Ville, that is the Lyon City Hall, and the Museum of Fine Arts (I’ll later talk about the museums).

Also, here you can see the Bartholdi fountain, built in the 19th century by the same person that built New York’s Statue of Liberty.

Opera of Lyon

Located in the back of the City Hall, the building of the Opera is one of the most eye-catching of the city, since even though it was built in 1831, 30 years ago it was remodeled, changing its style.

With the Lyon City Card, you have discounts for shows at the Opera.

Fourvière, one of the neighborhoods you can’t miss

Fourvière hill is an area that houses some of the most standout places to see in Lyon. In fact, you’ll see the main site, the Basilica, the whole time you walk around Vieux Lyon.

To reach this neighborhood there are stairs and also a funicular that goes up from Vieux Lyon. A good idea is to go up in the funicular and go down on foot. If you buy the Lyon City Card, then you’ll have it included since it’s part of the city transport (and the card has unlimited transport).

The Basilica of Notre-Dame of Fourvière, a must-see in Lyon

This basilica was built between 1872 and 1896, and apart from having a quite particular style, you can see it from everywhere given its location (from the Bellecour square you can see it pretty well). It’s one of the best Lyon attractions!

Besides, the views to the city from the esplanade of the exterior are fantastic.

The funicular leaves you at the door, and the same goes with the tourist bus.

🎟  The entrance is free.

Near the Basilica there’s a small 85 meter high Eiffel Tower, except the distances! But since you’ve already reached the top, you can head to see the Tour métallique de Fourvière, a distinctive spot of Lyon.

Ancient Theater of Fourvière (Gallo-Roman Amphitheater)

The good thing about walking down from the Fourvière hill is that on that trip you can visit one of the most important places Lyon has to offer: the Gallo-Roman Theater and the Odeon.

I have a particular weakness for Roman ruins, and to be honest I was pretty surprised to know there were ruins in Lyon because I simply had no idea (since Lyon wasn’t in my traveling plans). That’s because the city was originally founded by Romans in 43 BC in the Fourvière hill under the name of Lugdunum, which means hill of the light or of the raven.

In fact, it was declared the capital of the 3 Galias and was one of the most important cities of Europe for 300 years. You can read the history of Lyon here.

In this area of the city, you can visit the ancient theater, the Odeon and the Lugdunum Museum.

The theater has a capacity for 10000 people and it’s currently used for concerts and events, mainly during the Summer.

🎟  Tickets: The theater is free of charge. The museum is free with the Lyon City Card, but otherwise it costs between 4 and 7 euros, depending if there’s an exhibition.

Croix Rousse, a must-see in Lyon

Since the XVI century, Lyon has been considered the silk capital of the world, and it was in Croix Rousse, located at the north of Presqu’île, where the factories were and thousands of workers who had come to work to Lyon in said industry lived.

Today, it has been remodeled and replaced with houses, and it’s a bohemian neighborhood with street art, perfect for walking around (though being at the hill, it could get tiring.)

What you should definitely do to get to know this neighborhood full with hidden corners is through a guided tour around this area or there’s also a specific audio tour of this neighborhood which takes you to murals, passageways and you get to know the history behind Croix Rousse.

More Must-Do Lyon Activities

A fun attraction in Lyon is to seek out murals

Whenever I visit a new city, I always look up if there are any famous murals, since I’m a street art fan and it says a lot about the culture of the place.

There are some cities, such as Brussels or Valparaíso, whose murals are out of this world and are an absolute must-see. The same applies to Lyon, since they are one of the best murals I’ve ever seen!

Even though there are over 150 murals in Lyon, I pinpoint some of them which you can’t skip, since they show real life scenes of the city and of their most famous inhabitants.

I’ll list below the ones that you must see in Lyon because, apart from being beautiful, they are close to the other Lyon attractions:

• Le Mur des Canuts: the most famous of them all. I swear that when I first saw this mural of over 1200 m2 high, I couldn’t believe it was an enormous mural. Canut means silk worker, and this mural is in the Croix-Rousse neighborhood, where they used to live. It shows a day in the life of this neighborhood, and it’s so realistic that it amazes. Unmissable.
• Fresque des Lyonnais: the wall of the lions is another mural of Lyon that you can’t miss. In 800 m2, it shows famous people born in Lyon, 25 historical ones and 6 contemporary ones, such as the Lumière brothers, or the Little Prince and Antoine de St-Exupéry. The tourist bus stops at this mural.
• Bibliothèque de la Cité: a beautiful library of 400 m2 with phrases from many writers from Lyon and the region.

💯 The audio tour of Croix Rousse will take you around some of the most interesting murals, apart from the traboules, that we’ll see next in the things to do in Lyon.

Discovering the Traboules, a unique thing to do in Lyon

If there’s something that truly characterizes Lyon is its Traboules.

What about the Traboules? It is a covered pedestrian passage that connects the interior patios of different buildings, in such a way that one can access through a street and leave at the other side of the block going through it.

Some are more direct and others a bit more labyrinthine, going up and down stairs, some are spiral, but I can assure you that once you get into one, you’ll want to search for more, because not all of them are easy to find and it looks like one is getting in them through secret sites.

During the second World War, they were used by the resistance to get together without being seen.

A good way to discover the traboules of Lyon is by going on a private guided tour that specifically goes to these passageways, and they will also tell you interesting facts. I really recommend it!

It is said that there are over 400 traboules in Lyon, most of them in the neighborhoods of Vieux Lyon and Croix Rousse, though only 10% of them are open to the public. Obviously, one can’t visit all of them, but the most interesting ones I recommend are:

• Tour Rose: the pink tower located on rue du Boeuf 16 in Vieux Lyon, it is the most famous traboule of Lyon. With renaissance architecture, from the street you can’t even imagine what’s inside. It is one of the most visited places to see in Lyon.
• Cour des Voraces: also known as Maison de la République, is another one of the typical traboules to find due to its 6 storey free flight stair that can be seen from the interior patio. It’s on Place Colbert 9.
• La Longue Traboule: the longest traboule of the city, which can be reached by going through five patios, connects the 54 rue Saint-Jean with the 27 rue du Boeuf.
• Passage Thiaffait: it ends in a stair.
• Hotel Bullioud: on 5 rue Juiverie.
• Passage des imprimeurs: on 26 Quai Saint-Antoine, half is covered, the other is not.

💯 Book here a guided tour to know the best traboules in Lyon.

The best views in Lyon’s viewpoints

One of the activities I enjoy the most in the cities close to hills is to look for the best views. There are some viewpoints in Lyon that offer a pretty panoramic view of the city.

The ones I liked the most and recommend visiting are:

• The esplanade next to the Basilica of Fourvière or the green space with trails of Jardin du Rosaire, very close to the basilica.
• Jardin de la Grande-Côte: the best way to access this viewpoint in Croixe Rousse, located in one of the highest points of Lyon, is by walking down the pedestrian street Montée de la Grande-Côte.
• Place Rouville: the viewpoint itself is not nice, but you get great views of the city and Fourvière hill.

Museums, plenty of options to visit in Lyon

There are many museums to see in Lyon, each with very diverse themes.

Some of the most interesting in my opinion are:

• Fine Arts Museum of Lyon, with 70 rooms it is one of the most important museums of Europe.
• Musée des Confluences, in this amazing museum with incredible and modern design you’ll not only see dinosaurs, but you’ll also come across the most famous mammoth of Choulans. You can book the tickets here. It’s a bit far away, but the tourist bus leaves you at the door.
• Lugdunum: the Roman museum and theater I mentioned before.
• Mini World Lyon, a miniature city, perfect if you are traveling with kids.
• Museum Lumière, located at the family mansion of the Lumière brothers, several of their inventions, apart from the origins of cinema and photography, are showcased.
• Contemporary Art Museum.
• Gadagne, it includes two museums, the museum of Lyon ‘s history and the other dedicated to marionettes, also ideal to visit with kids.
• the Miniature and Cinema Museum, another perfect option if you travel with kids or for the cinematographic world lovers.

🎫 These museums charge a ticket, and if you’re visiting several of them, it’s more convenient to get the Lyon City Card since it includes the ticket to all these museums (and many more) free of charge, apart from a boat ride on the river, the funicular to go up the Fourvière and unlimited transport around the city, and it also includes discounts.

Walking by the rivers and crossing bridges

Walking by the Rhone and Saône rivers is one of the best things to do in Lyon since from this area and crossing some of their bridges, you can take the best pictures of Lyon.

The bridges with the most stunning views over the Saône river are:

• Pont Bonaparte: you can see the buildings of Vieux Lyon, including the back part of the cathedral, with the Fourvière hill and the basilica in the background.
• Pont Alphonse Juin: with similar views to the previous one, but on certain days there’s a fruit and vegetable market, apart from a stair to get to the level of the river.

Over the Rhone river, I recommend:

• Pont de la Guillotière: a broad bridge where you can see Hôtel-Dieu, a great palace-like building founded in the 12th century and used as a hospital. Today, there’s the luxurious 5 star InterContinental Hotel.

Apart from the bridges, there’re some footbridges I personally liked better because they are pedestrian, so crossing the river through these seemed much more calm, since one can walk looking to the river from side to side and comparing the views:

• Saint George Footbridge.
• Justice Palace Footbridge.
• Saint Vincent Footbridge.
• School Footbridge.

And since we are by the river, we’ll go to the next stop on the best things to do in Lyon.

Taking a boat ride, one of the top Lyon attractions

In every city with navigable rivers, I recommend taking a boat ride. The views from the river makes you see the city from different angles and they are always recommendable. And Lyon is no exception.

There are different boat ride options:

• Panoramic trip with many departure times. (➥ Book it here! )
• Boat ride with a 3-course dinner. (➥ Book it here! )
• Boat ride with lunch. (➥ Book it here! )

The dinner option is a great romantic plan to do in Lyon. You should bear in mind that you can also take a free boat ride if you’d previously bought the Lyon City Card.

Eating in a bouchon, unique thing to do in Lyon

A bouchon is a typical Lyon restaurant where you can try traditional food, so it’s something you should definitely visit in Lyon, and taste!

They are usually simple and familiar, with the classical checkered tablecloth and in general they have good prices.

When you’re walking around the area of Vieux Lyon, you’ll see many of them with the sign of Bouchon. Logically, the ones in this area are a bit more pricey, since they are in Lyon’s tourist hotspot.

And what typical Lyon’s food should I try in a bouchon? There are many options, but, personally, I really liked the onion soup (delicious) and the lyonnaise salad, which has lettuce, bacon and egg.

🥗 A good way to better know Lyon’s food cuisine is to take this gastronomic tour that includes more than 10 samples so you can try the typical food of the city.

Visiting the markets

In Lyon, you can visit different markets for both food and handicrafts and other products.

Some of them are worth visiting to see local products, since they are close to other tourist spots in Lyon, which are:

• Marché alimentaire Saint-Antoine Célestins: by the Saône River, in the are of the Alphonse Juin bridge. It has a great variety of products.
• Arts and crafts market: by the Saône River, in the opposite bank of the previous market. It opens on Sunday mornings.
• Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse: a must-see place in Lyon, since it’s the most gourmet market where you can not only buy products but also eat.

Resting in Tête d’Or Park

After doing everything Lyon has to offer, a great way to take a break from all the walking is to head to Tête d’Or Park, which means gold head, and with its 105 hectares it’s the green lung of the city and one of the biggest parks of France.

It’s a perfect alternative, even for a picnic, especially if you’re traveling in Spring or Summer.

Plus, the park has a large lake, a botanical garden and the greenhouse that reminded me a bit of the Crystal Palace of Parque del Retiro in Madrid.

🚴‍♂️ Would you like to know the best of Lyon by electric bike? This tour takes you to visit this park as well.

Things to do around Lyon

If you have more time to spend in Lyon, there are some interesting options to enjoy the city’s outskirts:

• Visit vineyards and wineries with wine tasting (➥ Book it here!)
• Get to know Beaujolais with a wine tour (➥ Book it here!)
• Discover Vienne, a beautiful riverside city with Roman remains (➥ Book it here!)

Map – Best things to do in Lyon, France

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I hope this Lyon travel guide was useful to plan your trip. Do you have other tips for best things to do in Lyon, France, that I missed? Let me know in the comments!