The short version
- Lyon is two hours from Paris Gare de Lyon by TGV, with 32 trains a day from 6:20 and the last one back from Part-Dieu at 21:04. Most go to Part-Dieu; some OUIGO trains stop at Saint-Exupéry or Perrache, so check the station.
- Our Lyon Day Trip meets you at Part-Dieu off the 7:30 TGV: two hours by pedicab through the Presqu’île and Old Lyon, a bouchon lunch with wine, a two-and-a-half-hour walk through the traboules and up to Fourvière and the Roman theaters, free time, and the TGV home around 7 p.m., $420 per person.
- The traboules, the covered passages through the Renaissance courtyards of Vieux Lyon, are free and open 7:00 to 19:00 every day. About 50 of some 500 are open to the public, people live in them, and you need to know which doors.
- The basilica of Fourvière opens 7:00 to 20:00. The Roman theaters below it are free, open 7:00 to 19:00 in winter and to 21:00 in summer, and the Lugdunum museum beside them is €4, or €7 during an exhibition, closed Monday. The Rosary gardens on the hillside are closed for works.
- A metro ticket is €2.10 and a 24-hour pass €7.10. The funicular up to Fourvière takes any zone-1 ticket, or €3.70 for a same-day return. The Lyon City Card, from €26.90 for 24 hours, covers transit, 22 museums, a guided walk and a river cruise.
- The Fête des Lumières runs December 5 to 8, 2026, free. The tourist office pavilion on Place Bellecour closed after damage on October 17; its staff are at Le Rectangle on the same square, 9:00 to 18:00.
What to see
Vieux Lyon is the Renaissance quarter at the foot of the hill, three parallel streets, rue Saint-Jean, rue du Bœuf and rue Juiverie, with the traboules threading between them. The Longue Traboule runs from 54 rue Saint-Jean to 27 rue du Bœuf through four courtyards. Residents live above; the city asks you to keep your voice down and let crowds pass.
Fourvière, the basilica built between 1872 and 1896, stands on the hill above, reached by the F2 funicular from the Vieux Lyon metro station. A rooftop tour, an hour and a half, costs €14, with English tours on summer weekends. The F1 funicular from the same station stops at the Roman theaters, the Grand Théâtre and the Odéon, where Lugdunum’s museum is built into the slope.
The Presqu’île between the two rivers is the flat center: Place Bellecour with Louis XIV on horseback, the rue de la République north to Terreaux, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in the old abbey on the square, €8, closed Tuesday, with its 20th-century rooms closed for now. At the tip, the Musée des Confluences, €12, closed Monday outside the school holidays, is 20 minutes from Part-Dieu by metro B and tram T1.
Croix-Rousse, the silk-weavers’ hill north of Terreaux on metro C, keeps the Maison des Canuts, where Jacquard looms run at 11:00 and 15:30 from Tuesday to Saturday, €3, and a food market on the boulevard every morning except Monday.
For food, the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse near Part-Dieu hold 55 traders, Monday to Saturday 7:30 to 19:30 and Sunday mornings, and the Saint-Antoine market lines the Saône quay every morning but Monday. The Musée des Tissus, the silk museum, is closed for renovation.
Getting there and around
TGVs leave Paris Gare de Lyon for Lyon Part-Dieu about every half hour, two hours each way. Part-Dieu is on metro B; for Bellecour and Vieux Lyon change to metro D at Saxe-Gambetta, about 20 minutes in all. From the airport, the Rhônexpress tram reaches Part-Dieu in 30 minutes, €15.20.
A single ticket is €2.10, valid an hour, or €2.40 from a bus driver; 24 hours is €7.10 and 48 hours €13.20. The Presqu’île is flat and Vieux Lyon is 10 minutes across the Pont Bonaparte from Bellecour; the two hills, Fourvière and Croix-Rousse, are a funicular or metro C ride.
The pieces are spread out: the old town below, the basilica and theaters above it, the museums at the tip of the peninsula, the Halles by the station. Our day strings them in order, with the pedicab for the distances and the funicular for the hill, and the lunch table already booked.
The tour runs every day of the year except national holidays, eight guests at most. If you want to stay on, we can book your rail one way and you come back another day.
When to go
April to June and September to October are the comfortable months. Summer brings hot, sticky spells, and winter is grey with the odd snowfall.
The Fête des Lumières lights the city on the evenings of December 5 to 8, 2026, free, and fills the hotels. In June and July the Nuits de Fourvière festival stages music and theater in the Roman theaters.
Plan around the closed days: Lugdunum and the Confluences on Monday, the Beaux-Arts on Tuesday, the Maison des Canuts on Sunday and Monday. The Roman theaters close at 19:00 from October to April.
In some past autumns the Fourvière funicular closed for a few weeks of maintenance, with the Saint-Just line and a bus as the stand-ins. Check tcl.fr for your date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lyon a day trip from Paris?
Yes. The TGV takes about two hours, the first leaves Gare de Lyon at 6:20 and the last one back leaves Part-Dieu at 21:04. Our day runs on the 7:30 train out and a train home around 7 p.m., with the city, lunch and the hill in between.
Are the traboules free?
Yes. The passages open to the public are free from 7:00 to 19:00 every day under an agreement with the residents. About 50 of some 500 are open, and they look like any other door, so start with the Longue Traboule at 54 rue Saint-Jean or go with someone who knows them.
How do you get up to Fourvière?
Take the F2 funicular from the Vieux Lyon metro station straight to the basilica; any metro ticket covers it, or buy the €3.70 same-day return. The F1 funicular from the same station stops at the Roman theaters. The Rosary gardens path down the hill is closed for works.
What should I eat in Lyon?
In a bouchon: salade lyonnaise with its poached egg and bacon, quenelle de brochet in crayfish sauce, saucisson brioché, and for the brave, andouillette or the breaded tripe called tablier de sapeur. Finish with cervelle de canut, the herbed fresh cheese, or the pink praline tart, and drink Beaujolais from the 46-centiliter pot.
Is there a tour from Paris?
Yes. Our Lyon Day Trip meets you at Part-Dieu station off the 7:30 TGV for a two-hour pedicab tour, a bouchon lunch with wine, a guided walk through the traboules, Fourvière by funicular and the Roman theaters, and free time before the train home, $420 per person plus rail, eight guests at most, daily except national holidays.
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