Getting There By Air:Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport (LYS)
Tel: 0826 800 826
or (04) 2600 7007.
Website:
www.lyon.aeroport.frLyon-St-Exupéry Airport (formerly known as Lyon-Satolas) is located 25km (15.5 miles) to the east of Lyon city center.
Facilities include ATMs, a post office, travel agency, infirmary, snack bars, restaurants, a newsagent, pharmacy, duty-free shops in all departure lounges and two hotels: Hôtel Sofitel
(tel:(04) 7223 3800;
website:
www.accorhotels.com) and Hôtel Kyriad
(tel: (04) 7223 9090; website:
www.kyriad.com). There are also several car hire companies. All car hire offices are situated on a specific car park opposite Terminal One.
The Business Center (tel: (04) 7222 8374) provides office facilities and rooms, which are available for hire by the hour or day.
The cheapest way to reach the city center is the
Satobus coach (tel: (04) 7268 7217; website:
www.satobus.com) which operates Monday to Sunday 0600-2340 (journey time - 45 minutes). Taxis are also available at the airport.
Taxi Lyon Saint Exupéry (tel: (04) 3728 5555; website:
www.taxi-lyon-st-exupery.com) is a reliable company.
Getting There By Road:Lyon is located in the heart of a dense network of motorways, which are designated by the letter ‘A’ and a corresponding number, including the A6, A7, A42 and A43. Tolls are charged on most French motorways. National roads bear the prefix ‘N’ and minor roads are classed as ‘D’ (
départementales) roads.
The minimum legal driving age is 18. Seat belts must be worn by all front and rear-seat passengers. A national driving license, the car’s registration documents and a red warning triangle must be on hand at all times or the driver is liable to be fined. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving by either using beam deflectors or tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences such as speeding. The speed limit in urban areas is 50kph (31mph), 90kph (56mph) on main roads and 130kph (81mph) on the motorways. The maximum legal alcohol limit while driving is 0.05%.
Road and route information is provided by
Société des Autoroutes Rhône-Alpes (tel: (04) 7214 2091) and
Autoroute du Soleil ASF (tel: (04) 9032 9005).
Emergency breakdown service: Automobile Club (tel: 0800 080 001).
Main routes to Lyon are the A6 from Paris, the A7 from Marseille, the A43 from Geneva and the A48 from Grenoble.
Coach services: The coach station is situated at Lyon Perrache railway station, 10 cours de Verdun. Its facilities include cafes, restaurants, ATMs and a bureau de change. Within the Rhône-Alpes area, the main operator is
Transports en Commun Lyonnais (
TCL)
(tel: 0820 427 000;
website:
http://www.tcl.fr/).
Eurolines (tel: (04) 7256 9530; website:
http://www.eurolines.com/) provides links throughout Europe.
Getting There By Rail:The city has two main railways stations - Lyon Part-Dieu, place Beraudier, and Lyon Perrache, 10 cours de Verdun. Both stations have a cafe, snack bar, ATM, newsagent, tourist information office and a bus link to Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport.
SNCF (tel: 0805 700 805
or 903 635, in France only; website:
www.sncf.fr) is the national rail service provider. The French TGV network is highly developed, branching out in three main directions - southeast (Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean), Atlantic and north.
National rail enquiries should be directed to the SNCF
Ligne Vocale hotline (tel: 903 635), which provides timetable and service information for all domestic and cross-border rail services. The line is available 24 hours daily.
Rail services: A high-speed
TGV (
Train Grande Vitesse) leaves Lyon for Paris almost every half an hour (journey time - 2 hours), providing 30 services between the cities per day. Direct connections are also available to and from Geneva (journey time - 2 hours), Turin (journey time - 4 hours), Montpellier (journey time - 2 hours), Marseille (journey time - 2 hours) and Nantes (journey time - 7 hours).
Getting Around:
Public TransportTransports en Commun Lyonnais (
TCL) (tel: 0820 427 000; website:
www.tcl.fr), operates the
bus,
the tramway and
Metro systems. The central bus station is based at Lyon Perrache railway station.
The Metro network in Lyon is excellent - clean and easy to use, with four different lines (A, B, C and D) and 40 stations. Bus and Metro services operate 0500-2400.
A single ticket gives access to all bus, tramway and Metro lines for one hour from the time of validation, which can be done in the machine on the bus or at the Metro station. Connections can be made for other lines or buses but return journeys on the same line are prohibited. Books of 10 tickets (
carnet) can also be bought prior to boarding. Tickets are available for purchase from automatic ticket machines in Metro stations, from the bus drivers and from TCL offices and many newsagents.
The
Liberté Ticket pass allows access to the whole TCL network for one day.
TaxisProviders include
Taxis Lyonnais (tel: (04) 7826 8181),
Taxis Radio (tel: (04) 7210 8686),
Allo Taxi (tel: (04) 7828 2323) and
Télétaxi (tel: (04) 7828 1314). It is also possible for travelers to hail taxis in the street or from taxi ranks. Drivers do not expect tips.
Driving in the CityThe center of Lyon is best explored on foot. Nevertheless, driving in Lyon is not as bad as it is in some other French cities, although the tunnels are best avoided during rush hour.
Lyon has a large number of parking facilities available to motorists, although these tend to fill up quite quickly. Some central parking meters are available, with a limit of two hours. Parking in the Presqu’île area is available at the Hôtel de Ville, places des Terreaux, Tolozan, des Cordeliers, de la République, des Célestins, Antonin Poncet, quai St Antoine et Perrache. There are also parking facilities at both railway stations, as well as in Old Lyon at the St-Jean car park, on quai Romain Rolland.
Lyon Parc Auto (LPA), 2 place des Cordeliers (tel: (04) 7241 6525; website:
www.lpa.fr), runs 19 car parks in total and provides more information for motorists.
Car HireService providers include
ADA (tel: (04) 7837 9393; website:
www.ada.fr),
Avis (tel: 0802 050 505; website:
www.avis.com),
Budget (tel: (04) 7222 7474; website:
www.budget.com),
Citer (tel: 0800 051 011; website:
www.citer.com),
Europcar (tel: 0825 009 900; website:
www.europcar.com),
Hertz (tel: (04) 7222 5886
or 0825 006 969; website:
www.hertz.com) and
Thrifty (tel: (04) 7235 1237; website:
www.thrifty.com).
The minimum age for hiring a car is 18, although this may vary according to the company. Insurance is required, as is a national driving license.
Bicycle HireAll-terrain and mountain bikes (VTT) can be hired from
Loisirs VTT, Le Bourg in Pollionnay (tel: (04) 7848 1545). Bikes and scooters are available at
Holiday Bikes, 56 rue Servient (tel: (04) 7860 1110; website:
www.holiday-bikes.com).
Vélo’V hires bikes from strategic points over the city. When you’re done you can drop your bike at any of their hire stations, 24 hours a day (tel: 0800 083 568; website:
www.velov.grandlyon.com).
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