No. 01 · Where to stay
Vieux Lyon
Largest Renaissance quarter in Europe, full of traboules
A UNESCO-listed warren of cobbled lanes, pastel facades, and hidden traboules — covered passageways that cut through buildings between streets.
Read more →France
France's gastronomic capital between two rivers
Roman ruins on one hill, a Renaissance old town on the other, and the rivers Saône and Rhône in between — Lyon hides its best meals in bouchons down narrow traboules.
When to go
May–June and September–October for mild weather; early December for the Fête des Lumières.
Getting around
The Metro (4 lines) plus funiculars to Fourvière cover the city; central Lyon is walkable.
Don't miss
The top places to start with if you only have a day or two — the essentials before you go deeper.
No. 01 · Where to stay
Largest Renaissance quarter in Europe, full of traboules
A UNESCO-listed warren of cobbled lanes, pastel facades, and hidden traboules — covered passageways that cut through buildings between streets.
Read more →No. 02 · Landmark
Hilltop basilica with a panorama across all of Lyon
A 19th-century white basilica on the Fourvière hill, blending Romanesque and Byzantine — and the best free viewpoint over the city and the Alps on a clear day.
Read more →No. 03 · Where to stay
Lyon's elegant shopping and café peninsula
The flat tongue of land between the Saône and Rhône — grand 19th-century squares, the Opéra, and rue Mercière's lit-up restaurant terraces.
Read more →4 hand-picked
A curated mix of landmarks, neighborhoods, and museums worth your time in Lyon, France — grouped by type below.
Landmark
Hilltop basilica with a panorama across all of Lyon
Attraction
Indoor market shrine to Lyonnais cuisine
Where to stay
Largest Renaissance quarter in Europe, full of traboules
Where to stay
Lyon's elegant shopping and café peninsula