Lyon in 2 days
Fourvière before the museum opens, the long traboule after lunch, the market hall before 2.30 and the Confluences until 6.30 — two days by the hour.
- How long
- 2–3
- Tickets
- Lugdunum €4, the Confluences €12
- Shut on Mondays
- Lugdunum
A two-day plan for Lyon runs from the top down: a funicular up to Fourvière, then another funicular and your feet down to the river. Three times set the order — the Lugdunum museum opens at 11 on weekdays, the restaurants at Les Halles serve lunch until 2.30, and the Confluences closes at 6.30 — and so does one day, Monday, when both museums are shut.
Fourvière, Lugdunum and Vieux Lyon
The F2 funicular from Vieux Lyon station up to Fourvière, on an ordinary city transport ticket. The basilica and the esplanade first.
Downhill on foot to the Roman theatres. They open at 7 and cost nothing, so you walk the ruins while the museum is still closed.
The Lugdunum museum, dug into the slope above the theatres: €4, an hour. It opens at 11 on weekdays and at 10 at weekends — then the whole day moves an hour earlier.
The F1 funicular from Minimes – Théâtres Romains back down to Vieux Lyon.
The long traboule: in at 54, rue Saint-Jean, out at 27, rue du Bœuf, through four courtyards and four buildings. Residents use it every day as a short cut between the quarter's two main streets, so don't stop on the stairs.
Across the Saône to the Presqu'île, along the quay to the Fresque des Lyonnais and the Place des Terreaux.
A bouchon, booked the day before.
The Croix-Rousse, the market hall and the confluence
Metro C to Hénon, then five minutes on foot to the Mur des Canuts on Boulevard des Canuts.
The Cour des Voraces: in at 9, place Colbert, out at 14 bis, montée Saint-Sébastien. The six-storey staircase is on the outside, in the courtyard; people live in the building.
Les Halles Paul Bocuse, 102, cours Lafayette (metro Place Guichard). The restaurants serve lunch from 11.30 to 2.30, while the oyster counters stay open until 10 pm; on Sundays the hall closes at 1 and the restaurants at 3.30.
Tram T1 from Mairie du 3e to the Musée des Confluences: €12, free for under-18s and students up to 25. It is open until 6.30, and until 10 on the first Thursday of the month.
Behind the museum, on foot to the confluence itself of the Rhône and the Saône, then back up the Rhône towards the centre.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which day should you not start Lyon on?
Monday. The Lugdunum museum, the Confluences and the Institut Lumière are shut, so Monday is left for places in the open.
Do the Roman theatres on Fourvière charge for entry?
No. They open 7 am to 9 pm from May to September and 7 am to 7 pm the rest of the year; only the Lugdunum museum above them charges.
Until when can you have lunch at Les Halles Paul Bocuse?
The restaurants in the hall serve from 11.30 to 2.30, until 3.30 on Sundays. The hall is open until 7.30 pm, and until 1 on Sundays; the oyster counters until 10 pm, 4 pm on Sundays.
Ready for Lyon?
Where to next
Lyon beyond Vieux Lyon: seven addresses, from the Mur des Canuts to a pebble garden
→A 1,200-square-metre wall, a revolutionaries' staircase, a garden a mason built from pebbles and the shed of…
Provence · 200 km
→The lavender flowers for six weeks; the region works all year
How well does Lyon suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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