Lyon, France — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Flights to Lyon from the UK include a mix or low-cost and scheduled airlines, including British Airways, Air France, easyJet and bmi.
Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport (LYS)
Tel: 0826 800 826 or (04) 2600 7007.
Website: www.lyon.aeroport.fr
Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport is located 25km (15.5 miles) to the east of Lyon city center.
Airport facilities
Facilities include ATMs, a post office, a tourist information center, a bureau de change, snack bars, restaurants, a newsagent, a pharmacy, duty-free shops and two hotels: Hôtel Sofitel (www.accorhotels.com) and Hôtel Kyriad (www.kyriad.com). Wi-Fi is available throughout the airport. The Business Center (tel: (04) 7222 8374) provides office facilities and rooms available for hire by the hour or day. There are also several car hire companies whose offices are situated opposite Terminal 1.
Transport to the city
The daily, regular Satobus coach (tel: (04) 7268 7217; www.satobus.com) is the cheapest way to reach the city center (journey time - 45 minutes). Taxis are also available at the airport. Taxis Lyonnais (tel: (04) 3728 5555) is a reliable company.
The Gare de Lyon St Exupéry TGV is connected to the airport by a moving sidewalk. Several high-speed train services depart from here for Paris and a number of cities in the region daily.
Approximate flight times to Lyon
From London to Lyon is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 35 minutes.
Getting There By Road
Lyon is located in the heart of a dense network of motorways where tolls are charged. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum legal driving age is 18. The speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in urban areas, 90kph (56mph) on main roads and 130kph (81mph) on motorways. 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. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offenses such as speeding. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving by either using beam deflectors or tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. Road and route information is provided by Société des Autoroutes Rhône-Alpes (AREA) (tel: 0826 887 272; www.aprr.fr) and Autoroute du Sud de la France (ASF) (tel: (04) 9032 9005; www.asf.fr).
Emergency breakdown services
Automobile Club (tel: 0800 080 001).
Routes to the city
Main routes to Lyon are the A6 motorway 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 cafés, 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; www.tcl.fr). Eurolines (tel: (04) 7256 9530; www.eurolines.com) provides links throughout Europe.
Getting There By Rail
The French TGV network (high-speed trains) is highly developed, branching out in three main directions - southeast (Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean), Atlantic and north. Lyon Part-Dieu, place Beraudier, and Lyon Perrache, 10 cours de Verdun, are the two main railway stations in Lyon's city center. Both have a café, snack bar, ATM, newsagent, tourist information office and a bus link to Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport.
Rail Operators
SNCF (tel: 3635; www.sncf.fr) is the national rail service provider running the effective TGV network (high-speed trains). A TGV leaves Lyon Part-Dieu for Paris almost every half an hour (journey time - 2 hours), providing frequent services between the two cities. Direct connections are also available to and from other cities, including Marseille (1 hour 40 minutes), Geneva (2 hours), Lille (3 hours), Brussels (4 hours) and Nice (4 hours 25 minutes).
Getting Around in Lyon, France
Public Transport
Transports en Commun Lyonnais (TCL) (tel: 0820 427 000; www.tcl.fr), operates the bus, tramway and Metro systems, as well as Lyon's two funiculaires.
The Metro network in Lyon is excellent - clean and easy to use, with four different lines (A, B, C and D) and 40 stations. The central bus station is based at Lyon Perrache railway station.
A single ticket gives access to all public transports for one hour, including connections but not return journeys. Single tickets and books of 10 tickets (carnet) can be bought from automatic ticket machines in Metro stations, bus drivers, TCL offices and newsagents. The Liberté Ticket pass allows access to the whole TCL network for one day.
Taxis
Providers include Taxis Lyonnais (tel: (04) 3728 5555), Taxis Radio (tel: (04) 7210 8686) and Allo Taxi (tel: (04) 7828 2323). It is also possible for travelers to hail taxis in the street or from taxi ranks. Drivers do not expect tips.
Driving in the City
The 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 parking facilities in the Presqu'île area, at both railway stations and in Old Lyon.
Car Hire
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. Service providers include ADA (tel: (04) 7837 9393; www.ada.fr), Avis (tel: 0802 050 505; www.avis.fr), Europcar (tel: 0825 009 900; www.europcar.com) and Sixt (tel: (04) 7222 7272; www.sixt.fr).
Bicycle Hire
All-terrain and mountain bikes (VTT) can be hired from Loisirs VTT, Le Bourg in Pollionnay in the west of the city or at 88 quai Pierre Scize in the center (tel: (04) 7848 1545 or 7839 3939; www.loisirs-vtt.fr). 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; www.velov.grandlyon.com).
