The church of Saint-Georges beside the Saône, with Fourvière Basilica on top of the hill and a suspension footbridge
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Lyon in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 8.5 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days is just the right amount of time to understand why Lyon calls itself France's food capital and to see far more than its old town. This plan takes it easy: one walking route a day, unhurried museum afternoons, the Confluence, the birthplace of cinema in Monplaisir, a morning at the market and the legends of Fourvière saved for your last evening.

Day 1The Presqu'île and its park

Start around nine at Bellecour with 'The Best of Lyon: from Bellecour up to the Croix-Rousse': Place des Jacobins, the Fresque des Lyonnais, the Opera House and the view from the top of the Grande-Côte. Come down for a pike quenelle in Nantua sauce. In the afternoon, visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts, across from the Bartholdi Fountain, then stroll along the Rhône quays to the Parc de la Tête d'Or and end the day by the lake. Tonight, dinner is your choice, anywhere on the Presqu'île.

  1. Morning

    The Best of Lyon: from Bellecour up to the Croix-Rousse

    Mixed · 3 km · 2 h

    1. Place BellecourOne of the largest squares in Europe, with a king on horseback, a poet-aviator and a memorial to the Resistance.
    2. Place des JacobinsA convent square turned elegant drawing room, with a fountain honouring four Lyon artists.
    3. Fresque des LyonnaisA painted façade where Lyon's most famous people lean out of the windows: from Blandina to the Lumière brothers.
    4. Place des Terreaux and the Bartholdi FountainAn old moat turned stage for civic power, with a fountain that Bordeaux didn't want.
    5. Lyon Opera HouseAn 1831 theatre with a glass vault on top: Jean Nouvel's bold stroke.
    6. Montée de la Grande-CôteThe slope the canuts marched down in 1831 ends at one of the best viewpoints in Lyon.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Pike quenelle with Nantua sauce at Café Comptoir Abel. 25 rue Guynemer, Lyon

  3. Afternoon

    Musée des Beaux-Arts

    Housed in a 17th-century Benedictine abbey on Place des Terreaux, it's one of France's great museums: Egyptian antiquities, paintings from Rubens to Monet and Picasso, and a cloister garden that's free to enter. It usually closes on Tuesdays.

    Directions

    Parc de la Tête d'Or

    Lyon's great park, opened in 1857 beside the Rhône: more than a hundred hectares with a lake, a rose garden, botanical glasshouses and a free zoo. It's where locals jog, row and picnic. From the Terreaux it's about half an hour on foot along the quays.

    Directions

Day 2Twenty centuries and a museum of the future

Take the funicular up early to the Roman theatres for 'From Lugdunum to the Canuts': Saint-Jean Cathedral, the Loge du Change, the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls and the stairway of the Cour des Voraces. Head down to Vieux Lyon for a tablier de sapeur lunch. In the afternoon, go south through the Presqu'île: first the Musée des Tissus near Bellecour, then the tram to the Musée des Confluences, on the tip where the Rhône and the Saône meet. Stay for the sunset from its viewing terrace.

  1. Morning

    From Lugdunum to the Canuts: 2,000 Years of Lyon on Foot

    History · 3.2 km · 2 h 30 min

    1. Roman Theatres of FourvièreThe seats of Lugdunum, the city Rome turned into the capital of the Gauls.
    2. Saint-Jean CathedralThe primatial church of the Gauls, where two councils met, a pope was crowned and Henri IV was married.
    3. Place du Change and the Loge du ChangeThe square where Italian bankers moved half of Europe's money during the Renaissance fairs.
    4. Hôtel de la Couronne, Printing MuseumThe old town hall that now tells how Lyon became one of Europe's book capitals.
    5. Amphitheatre of the Three GaulsWhere the sixty Gaulish peoples gathered and where, historians believe, the martyrs of 177 died.
    6. Cour des VoracesA six-storey staircase in the heart of the canut district, home of the silk weavers who rose up in 1831.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Tablier de sapeur at Les Lyonnais. 19 rue de la Bombarde, Lyon

  3. Afternoon

    Musée des Tissus

    Lyon was Europe's silk capital, and this museum proves it with textiles from almost every era, from ancient Egypt to the great Lyon workshops. It's in a mansion near Bellecour and has been under renovation for years, so check which galleries are open.

    Directions

    Musée des Confluences

    A cloud of glass and steel that opened in 2014 where the two rivers meet. It blends natural science and anthropology: dinosaurs, meteorites, mummies and objects from all over the world. Take tram T1 from Perrache. Usually closed on Mondays.

    Directions

Day 3Market, cinema and legends

Begin the morning at the Halles Paul Bocuse, when the stalls are full and the air smells of coffee and cheese. From Part-Dieu, the metro takes you to Monplaisir for the Institut Lumière, where cinema was born. Head back to the centre for a saucisson brioché lunch and rest for a while by the Saône. At dusk, go up to Fourvière for 'Candles, Martyrs and Puppets': the vow of 1643 outside the basilica, the Gourguillon, the Longue Traboule and L'Homme de la Roche. Dinner: andouillette and a 'pot' of Beaujolais.

  1. Morning

    Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse

    The covered food hall at Part-Dieu, with around fifty stalls of cheesemongers, charcutiers, pastry makers and oyster sellers. Since 2006 it has carried the name of the city's most famous chef. Go in the morning, when it's at its liveliest. Usually closed on Mondays.

    Directions

    Institut Lumière

    In Monplaisir, the Lumière family villa and, next door, the shed where in 1895 the brothers filmed 'Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory', the first film in history. The museum displays the Cinématographe and early autochromes. Metro D, Monplaisir-Lumière stop.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Saucisson brioché at Café du Jura. 25 rue Tupin, Lyon

  3. Early evening

    Candles, Martyrs and Puppets: the Legends of Lyon

    Mysteries & legends · 2.3 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. Basilica of Notre-Dame de FourvièreA vow against the plague, a golden Virgin and candles in the windows: the origin of the Festival of Lights.
    2. Montée du GourguillonLyon's oldest slope, where legend sends the martyrs' blood flowing and history sent a pope tumbling.
    3. Place de la Trinité and GuignolThe backdrop of Guignol, the puppet born speaking up for the silk weavers.
    4. The Longue TrabouleA passage through four buildings: the longest traboule in Vieux Lyon and one of its best-kept secrets.
    5. L'Homme de la RocheA German banker turned lay saint: the 'good German' who, Lyon says, paid for poor girls to marry.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Andouillette and cervelle de canut at Le Casse Museau. 2 rue Chavanne, Lyon

The map

Lyon in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Lyon in 3 days

  • Get the Lyon City Card if you'll visit three or more museums: it usually covers the museums in this plan, public transport, the funiculars and a boat trip on the Saône. Check current prices and go for the three-day pass.
  • Plan around closing days: Lugdunum, the Confluences, the Institut Lumière and the Halles usually close on Mondays, the Beaux-Arts on Tuesdays. If you arrive on a Monday, spend it on the walking route and the squares, and save the museums for later.
  • Spring and autumn are the best seasons. In summer the Rhône riverbanks fill with outdoor bars, but the hills get hot. If you're coming around 8 December for the Festival of Lights, book your accommodation months in advance.

Questions

Lyon in 3 days: your questions

What day trips can you take from Lyon?

The favourites are Pérouges, a walled medieval village less than an hour away and famous for its galette; the vineyards and golden-stone villages of Beaujolais to the north; and Annecy and its lake, about two hours by train. Any of them can replace the afternoon of day 2.

When is the Lyon Festival of Lights?

It's held around 8 December and usually runs for four nights. It grew out of the 1643 vow to the Virgin of Fourvière and the candles locals set in their windows in 1852. Expect light installations across the city, big crowds and full hotels, so plan well ahead.

What else is there if I have spare time?

The Musée Cinéma et Miniature in Vieux Lyon, with film sets and props; a show at the Guignol puppet theatre; a boat trip on the Saône; or a tour of the Fourvière tower and rooftops, which usually needs booking. Check times and dates before you go.

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