Best Things to Do in Lyon, France

Best Places to Visit in Lyon, Lyon Attractions, and More

This article is about the best things to do in Lyon, France, so you know what to visit. From what to see in Lyon to the city’s top attractions and a couple of day trip ideas, this Lyon things-to-do list has it all!

Lyon is one of the most beautiful cities in France. The capital city of the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region is also one of France’s oldest cities, founded around 2,000 years ago. The city center is basically a UNESCO World Heritage Site, filled with Roman ruins, historic districts, and a Renaissance Old Town.

Located at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône Rivers, Lyon has the perfect size to explore on foot, with interesting museums, public spaces, and beautiful architecture. And if this wasn’t enough, Lyon is known as one of the culinary centers of the world, and the cuisine is simply spectacular!

I like to call Lyon “my second home,” and I visit it regularly. The pictures below correspond to different visits at different times of the year, so you will see Lyon’s four seasons in one single post! Keep reading to discover my suggestions for things to do in Lyon for an unforgettable holiday.

What to Do in Lyon, the City of Lights

Lyon is one of the best weekend getaways from Paris by train and a must-stop during any road trip from Paris to Nice.

So, what to do in Lyon? This Lyon things-to-do list includes the best places to visit in Lyon, tourist attractions, and some ideas for a day trip. If you are in a hurry, here’s a quick summary:

1. Visit Notre Dame de Fourbière
2. Learn about Roman Lugdunum
3. Vieux-Lyon (Old Lyon)
4. Explore the Hidden Traboules
5. Explore the Presqu’Ile
6. La Croix-Rousse
7. Admire Lyon’s Frescos and Murals
8. Take an E-bike Guided Tour
9. Musée Lumière: a Must of Lyon
10. Relax at Parc de la Tête d’Or
11. Visit Lyon’s Musée des Confluences
12. Enjoy Lyon’s Local Food
13. Winter Wonder at the Fête des Lumières (Lyon’s Light Festival)
14. Explore the Wine Regions near Lyon
15. Take a Day Trip from Lyon

How Many Days in Lyon? Spend two days in Lyon to cover the best places to visit in Lyon and get a good taste of what the city has to offer. Spend more time if you want to explore the city’s surroundings on day trips.

1. Visit Notre Dame de Fourbière

Exploring the history and architecture of Notre Dame de Fourbière is one of the best things to do in Lyon. This Minor Basilica was built between 1872 and 1884, and it sits on top of Fourbière Hill in Lyon’s Fifth District.

The Basilica is magnificent from the outside, but the inside is something else, filled with stained glass images, beautiful mosaics, and interesting crypts. The hike up the hill to the Basilica is well worth doing, particularly if you do it in the early morning or evening to see the Old Town at sunset or sunrise. There’s also a funicular that connects Lyon’s Old Town with Fourbière Hill from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

After the visit, don’t miss the fantastic panorama from the esplanade behind the Basilica. Locals say that if you can see the Mont Blanc on the horizon, it will rain soon. And it is true!

Address: 8 Place de Fourbière, Lyon. Opens every day, from 7 a.m. to 9 pm (Sunday to Wednesday) and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Thursday to Saturday).

2. Learn about Roman Lugdunum

Lyon was a flourishing Roman city under the name of Lugdunum. It was founded in 43 BC on Fourbière Hill, at the confluence of the Saône and Rhône Rivers, and was one of Gaul’s most important Roman cities during the first centuries AC.

Today, archaeological excavations have exposed two important Roman sites: a theater and an odeon, both part of the Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theaters.

Don’t miss the Lugdunum Museum and Roman Theaters during your Lyon sightseeing. The Museum presents all the aspects of public and private life in Lugdunum: urban layout, municipal administration, the army, currency, religions, circus games, and trade.

If you want to know more about Lyon’s Gaul and Roman history, you can also visit the area with this audio-guided walking tour at your own pace.

Address: 17 Rue Cleberg, Lyon. Opens from Saturday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from Wednesday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3. Vieux-Lyon (Old Lyon)

Vieux-Lyon is Lyon’s Old Town, and it’s one of the largest Renaissance areas in all of Europe. It is located on a narrow stretch of land between the Fourbière Hill and the Saône River, which constrained Old Lyon to grow vertically.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Lyon was home to a thriving silk industry, and the city was full of wealthy people. You can see the city’s wealth when you visit Vieux-Lyon, with its exquisite old houses in the Italian and French Renaissance styles.

LA RENAISSANCE DU VIEUX-LYON: In the 1960s, some neighbors of Old Lyon formally opposed the project of Mayor Louis Pradel, who planned to raze part of the area, then considered unhealthy, to build an expressway there. La Renaissance du Vieux-Lyon association was born. The association bought and restored one of the most iconic buildings in Vieux Lyon and invited André Malraux, then the Minister of Culture, to visit. Thanks to the association’s strong mobilization and the decision by André Malraux (1962) to create the first French protected area in Lyon, Old Lyon was saved. Subsequently, the association endeavored to revive Old Lyon, restore it with the help of the inhabitants, and introduce it to tourists.

Wandering around the Old Town is one of the best things to do in Lyon. Old Lyon is divided into three neighborhoods around its three main religious buildings – Saint-Jean, Saint-Georges, and Saint-Paul – just make sure that you linger in the Quartier Saint-Jean, where you’ll find the Cathedral of Saint-Jean Baptiste and most of the Old Lyon sights.

This part of the city is also filled with interesting museums like the MAM-Musée des Arts de la Marionette, the MHL-Musée de l’Histoire de Lyon (both museums located at 1 Place de la Marionette), and the Musée des Automates de Lyon (1 Place du Petit Collège).

TIP: To get the most out of Old Lyon, take this top-rated Lyon walking tour with an expert guide.

4. Explore the Hidden Traboules

The traboules of Lyon are one of the main Lyon attractions. Traboules are secret walkways through the buildings that communicate two different streets. They were used as shortcuts to move quickly from the Saône River – where the boats with merchandise arrived – to the city center.

Because of their secret nature, some of them were the landmarks of the 19th-century Canut Revolts. In the 20th century, the traboules were also used by the resistance fighting against occupying German forces during the Second World War. 

The traboules always have (at least) two different accesses from two different streets, an inner courtyard to get more natural light, and a staircase with galleries that gives access to two different buildings.

There are around 400 traboules in the city, and most of them are located in Vieux-Lyon. Around 40 of them are open to visitors during certain hours, as long as you don’t disturb the neighbors. Lyon’s Tourism Office has a map of the traboules which are open for visitors. For the best experience, however, discover the city’s network of traboules with this walking tour by an expert guide.

5. Explore the Presqu’Ile

La Presqu’Ile is one of the more interesting places to visit in Lyon. It’s a tiny area between the Rhône and Saône rivers made in the 18th century to connect this island with Lyon’s mainland.

This is the city’s busiest and most interesting part, filled with pretty shops and cultural buildings like the Opera House and the City Hall. At night, it has a good concentration of restaurants and bars, ideal for casual dining in the summer (but not only).

Whether you enjoy shopping, bar hopping, or cultural attractions, you’ll love this part of the city!

6. La Croix-Rousse

Located on the city’s second hill of the same name, La Croix-Rousse is an interesting neighborhood to visit during your Lyon sightseeing. The area is filled with 18th-century architecture and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

The Croix-Rousse is known as “the Hill that Works,” as opposed to the Fourvière Hill, “the Hill that Prays.” In the 19th century, the Croix-Rousse was Lyon’s silk district, home to 30,000 canuts (the name given to silk workers in Lyon) who made the city a major textile center in Europe.

Take a stroll (or even better, book this guided walking tour) to discover the soul of this district, where past and present mingle, and the buildings are specially designed to house the looms between traboules and stairs. While you’re there, you can enjoy the neighborhood’s local charm, its cafés, shops, and street art, and then enjoy the views of Lyon from the plateau at the top.

7. Admire Lyon’s Frescos and Murals

More than a hundred frescos cover the walls of Lyon and retrace its history. If you don’t have time to see them all, here are two great frescoes you don’t want to miss:

La Fresque des Canuts, the biggest mural in Europe, depicts the Croix Rousse district. Location: At the corner of Boulevard des Canuts and Rue Denfert Rochereau, Lyon 4 – Metro C stop Hénon.

La Fresque des Lyonnais (Famous Faces of Lyon Fresco), which depicts Lyon’s famous characters. Location: 2 Rue de la Martinière, Lyon 1 – Metro A or C stop Hôtel de Ville.

I visited both murals during the Croix Rousse guided walking tour. The guide’s explanations were definitely very useful to appreciate them.

8. Take an E-bike Guided Tour

This guided e-bike tour is an excellent introduction to the city of Lyon. In three hours or so, we visited the main tourist attractions on two wheels, from the banks of the Saône River to the Parc de la Tête d’Or.

The bonus was having a local guide with us, who helped us navigate through the city and entertained us with the history of the city and its main landmarks.

After a break with some wine, cheese, and cold cuts, we climbed up to Fourbière Hill (very easy with an e-bike!), where we visited the Basilica, the Roman Theater (from outside) and admired the incredible vistas over the Old Town.

For me, this guided e-bike tour was one of the best things to do in Lyon, and I highly recommend it! – Click here to book this guided e-bike tour of Lyon

9. Musée Lumière: a Must of Lyon

If you only have time to visit one museum in Lyon, head to the Musée Lumière in the 8th District. Lyon was the birthplace of cinema thanks to the genius of the Lumière Brothers.

Inspired by Thomas Edison’s peepshow Kinetoscope in Paris, father Antoine – a portrait painter turned photographer who owned a small business in photographic plates – encouraged his sons to devise an apparatus that could take and project moving pictures on a screen. Within only a few months, the Lumière brothers manufactured a successful prototype of the Cinématographe, which was patented in 1895.

On the site on which cinematography was born, the Musée Lumière presents the story of the Lumière Brothers and their inventions thanks to projections, interactive features, and unique objects such as the very first Cinématographe.

After visiting the museum, which is located in Antoine Lumière’s house, head to the Hangar du Premier Film, where the first film La Sortie des Usines Lumière (Leaving the Lumière Factories) was shot in 1895.

Address: 25 Rue du Premier Film, Lyon 8. Opens from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

10. Relax at Parc de la Tête d’Or

Strolling around this beautiful park is one of the most relaxing things to do in Lyon, France. The Parc de la Tête d’Or is one of the largest urban parks in the country and boasts a lot to do. While you’re there, check out the botanical garden, which contains over 20,000 plant varieties.

There’s also a zoo in the park that kids love and an international rose garden that’s absolutely stunning in the spring. Our e-bike tour guide told us that the Town Council has decided not to replace the animals after their death, so the zoo will disappear one day. But giraffes seem to be very happy here, with an extremely high reproduction rate!

Address: Boulevard des Belges, Lyon. Opens every day from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

11. Visit Lyon’s Musée des Confluences

The Musée des Confluences is a Lyon must-see. Located in the Second District of Lyon, at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône rivers, the Musée des Confluences is a science center and anthropology museum.

The museum’s building is an attraction in itself, set up in the heart of a monumental structure between crystal and cloud. Inside, you’ll find collections of natural science and Earth science, as well as art and crafts exhibitions. You’ll learn about everything from the Big Bang theory to the history of the universe and the birth of life within it. 

Whether you have kids or just enjoy learning more about the world, you’ll love this museum – Click here to buy your tickets

Address: 86 Quai Perrache, Lyon 2. Opens from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

12. Enjoy Lyon’s Local Food

France is known for its delicious food, so when people say that Lyon is the best place in the country to eat, then you know that the cuisine must be really good!

Lyon is France’s gastronomical capital. It’s where young chefs learn their trade, and you can be the lucky recipient of all this experimentation.

So, tasting the local food is one of the best things to do in Lyon, and no matter where you eat, you’ll find that the food in Lyon is pretty amazing!

To learn more about what Lyon has to offer from a culinary point of view, try this Lyon Old Town Food Tour with a local guide, which explores the Old Town from a gourmet’s perspective, combining cultural discovery and local flavors. If you are vegan, you can also explore Lyon through its local food with this Vegan Food Tour of Lyon in the Croix Rousse neighborhood.

For lunch or dinner, make sure that you visit one of the local bouchons, which are typical restaurants of Old Lyon where you can eat specialties like the tablier de sapron, quenelles (kind of dumplings), Lyonnaise salad, and canut brain. Everything is generally served very copiously and washed down with a glass of Beaujolais or Côtes-du-Rhône.

13. Winter Wonder at the Fête des Lumières (Lyon’s Light Festival)

If you are considering visiting Lyon in winter, then make it around the time of the Fête des Lumières. Lyon’s Light Festival is a popular event and is held every year around December 8th to honor Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The festival lasts four days, and during it, the locals place candles on the outsides of their windows, and the city’s main monuments are beautifully illuminated in a spectacular light display. During the festival, there are also other activities involving light, including the light show at the Place des Terreaux.

The Fête des Lumières is one of the must-see winter festivals in France, that’s why I recommend Lyon as one of the best places to visit in France in the wintertime. During these four days, Lyon receives 50% of its annual visitors, so I recommend booking transportation and accommodation as early as August!

Things to Do Near Lyon

There are many beautiful places to visit near Lyon. Below are my favorite options for a day out. For more options, check out this list of best day trips from Lyon.

14. Explore the Wine Regions near Lyon

Lyon wine tours are very popular among visitors and usually include the visit of a couple of wineries and some tastings, plus the possibility to buy as many bottles of great wine as you want directly from the producers.

This Beaujolais wine tour explores the Beaujolais wine region and comes with a couple of tastings. Famous for its Beaujolais Nouveau, the region is also dotted with charming golden stone villages. Actually, this area of Southern Beaujolais is nicknamed Vallée des Pierres Dorées because of these golden stones.  

Wine tours to the Northern Rhône Valley wine region are also popular. The distance to cover during this tour is longer, so tours usually last a full day, with a break for lunch (usually not included in the tour price).

The Rhône Valley produces some of the most renowned wines in France, most notably its full-bodied reds. This tried and tested Northern Rhône Valley wine tour mostly explores wineries in the Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie appellations and comes with many tastings (compared to wine tours in other regions in France). Be sure to eat a proper meal during the tour and get ready for the snores of your travel mates on the way back!

TIP: If you have a car, there are many wineries in the area that offer tours with tastings in French and English. They are usually small businesses, so be sure to book in advance so they can make the necessary arrangements to welcome you.

15. Take a Day Trip from Lyon

Take the time to see the medieval town of Pérouges, known for its medieval walls, rural countryside, and beautiful old town.

A little bit further, the alpine city of Annecy is also beautiful to visit. With its canals, cobblestone streets, colorful houses, and medieval castle, the Annecy is serene and picture-perfect.

A visit to the amazingly creative city of Saint-Etienne is another of the top things to do near Lyon. A former industrial city, Saint-Etienne, was declared a “City of Design” by UNESCO, and it is the perfect destination if you are into design and unique museums.

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