Lyon on $45, $140 or $420 a day
France's third city and its capital of food, where the Rhône and the Saône meet below the hill of Fourvière. Roman theatres, a Renaissance quarter threaded with covered passages and the silk workers' hill of the Croix-Rousse are all within walking distance, and the bouchons still serve the cooking of the mères lyonnaises.
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Plan by budget
One city, three ways to travel it.
How much does Lyon cost per day? Budget travellers get by on about $45 a day, mid-range trips run around $140, and luxury starts near $420 — accommodation, food, transport and activities included. That makes Lyon the 38th most expensive of 110 cities for a mid-range trip (see all 110 ranked).
Daily budget · Budget
Lyon eats well for little. Bouchons serve a lunch menu for about €20–25, the Fourvière basilica, the Roman theatres, the traboules and the zoo in the Parc de la Tête d'Or cost nothing, and the funicular up the hill runs on an ordinary transit ticket.
Where your money goes
How to Get There
What to Do
Three hours of tastings on the silk workers' hill: praluline, charcuterie and regional cheeses
Get tickets on Tiqets →Two and a half hours on a Dutch bike past the Hôtel-Dieu, the cathedral and La Confluence
Get tickets on Tiqets →Science and anthropology museum in a steel-and-glass cloud where the two rivers meet
Map ↗ Get tickets on Tiqets →Where to Stay
Hostel with a bar and restaurant in La Guillotière, halfway between Part-Dieu and Perrache stations
Map ↗Hostel and coffee shop on rue d'Alsace-Lorraine at the foot of the Croix-Rousse slopes, by Croix-Paquet metro
Map ↗Simple three-star beside the Célestins theatre, two minutes from Place Bellecour
Map ↗Where to Eat
Charcuterie stall in the covered market: rosette, Jésus sausage and saucisson brioché
Map ↗Lunch-only bouchon on Rue du Palais Grillet: hot sausage and praline tart
Map ↗Family bouchon since 1937, lunch only on weekdays: tablier de sapeur and saucisson brioché
Map ↗Bouchon since 1872: hot sausage with potatoes, quenelle gratin and calf's kidneys in mustard
Map ↗Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Fourvière and the old town
The funicular up to Fourvière Basilica, then down through the Roman theatres of Fourvière.
Walk the Vieux Lyon traboules between Rue Saint-Jean and Rue du Bœuf.
The set menu at Le Café des Fédérations.
The silk workers' hill
The market on the Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse, then the Mur des Canuts.
Lunch at Chez Hugon on a weekday, then down the slopes by the Cour des Voraces.
Charcuterie from the Halles eaten on the Rhône quays at sunset.
Parks and squares
Parc de la Tête d'Or, its greenhouses and its zoo.
The cloister garden of the fine arts museum and the Bartholdi fountain on Place des Terreaux.
Cheap eats and bars in La Guillotière.
Eat your bouchon meal at lunch, when the set menus are cheapest. The market on the Boulevard de la Croix-Rousse runs every morning but Monday. Buy charcuterie at the Halles and picnic on the Rhône quays at sunset.
Daily budget · Mid-range
Mid-range Lyon is a hotel on the Presqu'île or in Vieux Lyon, a bouchon dinner every night, the Musée des Confluences and the fine arts museum, a cruise on the Saône and a guided tasting walk on the Croix-Rousse.
Where your money goes
How to Get There
What to Do
Three hours of tastings on the silk workers' hill: praluline, charcuterie and regional cheeses
Get tickets on Tiqets →Science and anthropology museum in a steel-and-glass cloud where the two rivers meet
Map ↗ Get tickets on Tiqets →An hour on the Saône with a live guide, from the quay by the Palais de Justice footbridge
Get tickets on Tiqets →Where to Stay
156 rooms in the 7th arrondissement, with a busy restaurant and a terrace in summer
Map ↗Schoolroom-themed hotel on Place Saint-Paul in Vieux Lyon, some rooms with balconies
Map ↗Eighty rooms on the Presqu'île between the opera house and the fine arts museum, with a spa
Map ↗Where to Eat
Weekday bouchon on the edge of the Croix-Rousse slopes: macaroni gratin and chicken with vinegar
Map ↗Vast brasserie by Perrache station since 1836, known for choucroute and beer brewed on site
Map ↗Bouchon opened in 1928 near the Saône: cardoon gratin with bone marrow and pike quenelle
Map ↗Joseph Viola's bouchon by the cathedral: pike quenelle in Nantua sauce and his champion pâté en croûte
Map ↗Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Where the rivers meet
The Musée des Confluences at opening.
Lunch at Café Comptoir Abel, then the Saône sightseeing cruise from the Quai des Célestins.
Pike quenelle at Daniel et Denise Saint-Jean.
Art and the hill
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon on Place des Terreaux.
The Croix-Rousse food tour from Place de la Croix-Rousse.
Choucroute and house beer at Brasserie Georges.
Roman Vienne
Train south to Vienne for its Roman temple and theatre.
Back for an afternoon among the stalls of the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse.
Macaroni gratin at Le Bouchon des Filles.
Book bouchons for dinner, especially from Thursday to Saturday. The Lyon City Card covers public transport and most museums. Look for the Bouchons Lyonnais plaque of Gnafron, the puppet with a glass of wine, on the traditional ones.
Daily budget · Luxury
Luxury Lyon is a room in the old Hôtel-Dieu or a Renaissance palace in Vieux Lyon, lunch at Paul Bocuse's inn at Collonges, two-star dinners in the city, a dinner cruise on the Saône and a driver into the Beaujolais.
Where your money goes
How to Get There
What to Do
Two and a half hours on a Dutch bike past the Hôtel-Dieu, the cathedral and La Confluence
Get tickets on Tiqets →Three courses aboard the Hermès restaurant boat, two and a half hours past the lit-up quays
Get tickets on Tiqets →An evening of charcuterie, cheese, quenelle and wine with a guide, from Place Saint-Jean
Map ↗ Get tickets on Tiqets →Where to Stay
Rooms in the 17th- and 18th-century wings of the old Hôtel-Dieu hospital, under Soufflot's dome on the Rhône
Map ↗A former convent on the Fourvière hill with a pool and terraces over the city, reopened in 2026 after renovation
Map ↗Renaissance houses round a glass-roofed courtyard in Vieux Lyon, reopened in 2025 with a Roman-bath spa
Map ↗Where to Eat
Two stars in the 6th arrondissement: precise, light French cooking by a Japanese chef
Map ↗Two stars under Mathieu Viannay in Eugénie Brazier's old dining rooms; Bresse chicken demi-deuil
Map ↗Christophe Roure's two-star table in the 6th, inventive and seasonal
Map ↗Two Michelin stars at the inn in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or: truffle soup V.G.E. and Bocuse's classics
Map ↗Sample 3-Day Itinerary
Old Lyon in style
A private guide through Vieux Lyon's traboules and the cathedral's astronomical clock.
Lunch at La Mère Brazier.
The Saône dinner cruise aboard the Hermès.
Bocuse
Oysters and Mère Richard's cheeses at Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse.
The Lyon guided bike tour past the Hôtel-Dieu, the cathedral and La Confluence.
Dinner at Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or.
Beaujolais
A driver into the Beaujolais for tastings in Fleurie and Morgon.
Lunch among the vineyards and back by the villages of the Saône.
The Vieux Lyon sunset food tour from Place Saint-Jean.
Restaurant Paul Bocuse is about 15 minutes north by car at Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or; book weeks ahead. La Mère Brazier is where Eugénie Brazier won three stars in 1933, and Mathieu Viannay holds two there today. For the Fête des Lumières, book a room with a view of Fourvière a year ahead.
About Lyon
When to go, and what it's like on the ground.
Best time to visit
May–June and September–October for terrace weather; early December for the Fête des Lumières (book months ahead). August is hot, and many bouchons close for the holidays.
Semi-continental: warm, often stormy summers (daily means 22–23°C, highs near 30°C) and cold, grey winters (4–5°C). Rain falls in every month, most in May and October.
- January: 4°C average high, 8 rain days, low crowds
- February: 5°C average high, 8 rain days, low crowds
- March: 9°C average high, 8 rain days, low crowds
- April: 12°C average high, 9 rain days, moderate crowds
- May: 16°C average high, 10 rain days, moderate crowds
- June: 20°C average high, 9 rain days, high season
- July: 23°C average high, 8 rain days, high season
- August: 22°C average high, 7 rain days, moderate crowds
- September: 18°C average high, 7 rain days, moderate crowds
- October: 14°C average high, 10 rain days, moderate crowds
- November: 8°C average high, 9 rain days, low crowds
- December: 5°C average high, 9 rain days, high season
Getting around
Getting around Lyon
Four metro lines, trams and two funiculars up Fourvière share one TCL ticket, and Vélo'v bikes are everywhere. The Rhônexpress tram reaches Saint-Exupéry airport in about 30 minutes, and TGVs reach Paris in two hours.
A travel eSIM gets you online the moment you land in France — data plans start at $4 — no roaming bill, no queue for a local SIM, and nothing to swap in and out of your phone. Install it before you fly.
On foot
Walking routes in Lyon.
The cathedral's astronomical clock, the funicular to the basilica, the Roman theatres and the Renaissance lanes below.
Bellecour, the old hospital, the fine arts museum and the climb to the silk workers' hill.
Where to stay
Lyon, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Vieux Lyon
The old town on the right bank of the Saône below Fourvière: Saint-Jean, Saint-Georges and Saint-Paul. Central, with the funiculars at the door; busy by day and touristy along Rue Saint-Jean.
Best for mid-rangePresqu'île
The peninsula between the rivers, from Perrache to the Terreaux: Bellecour, the opera, the Hôtel-Dieu and the best shopping. The most central place to stay, with grand hotels and the metro on every corner.
Best for luxuryCroix-Rousse
The plateau and slopes north of the Presqu'île, where the canuts wove silk. A morning market on the boulevard, small bars and traboules; the slopes are steep.
Best for budgetBrotteaux
The 6th arrondissement's 19th-century avenues beside the Parc de la Tête d'Or, home to several of the city's starred restaurants. Quiet and smart, a metro ride from the old town.
Best for luxuryConfluence
The former docks at the tip of the Presqu'île, rebuilt with coloured office blocks, a shopping centre and the Musée des Confluences. Modern hotels and riverside walks; quiet at night.
Best for mid-rangeLa Guillotière
Across the Rhône from the centre: North African and Asian grocers, cheap restaurants and student bars. Good-value hostels, though some streets are rough late at night.
Best for budgetLocal etiquette
Dos & Don'ts
Do
- Say "bonjour" whenever you walk into a shop, bar or bouchon
- Book bouchons for dinner, and arrive hungry: portions are large
- Order a pot, the 46 cl Lyon bottle of house wine
- Keep your voice down in traboules; people live there
- Ride the funicular up Fourvière and walk down
- Book months ahead for the Fête des Lumières in early December
Don't
- Judge bouchons by the touts on Rue Saint-Jean
- Expect dinner much before 7:30pm
- Leave a large tip; service is already included
- Expect most shops to open on Sunday
- Drive into the Presqu'île; parking is scarce and slow
- Plan a bouchon dinner in August without checking; many close for the holidays
Useful phrases
Say it like a local.
Beyond the city
Day trips worth the journey.
Pérouges
A walled medieval village of cobbles and timber houses; eat the sugared galette de Pérouges.
Vienne
A Roman temple, a Roman theatre that hosts a jazz festival each summer, and Saint-Maurice cathedral.
Beaujolais villages
Golden-stone villages and the ten cru vineyards in the hills north of the city.
Annecy
A lake town of canals below the Alps, with an old prison on an island in the river.
Parc des Oiseaux
A large bird park among the ponds of the Dombes plateau.
Where to eat
Must-try dishes.
Quenelle de brochet
A light pike dumpling baked in Nantua crayfish sauce until it puffs up.
Saucisson brioché
A Lyon pork sausage baked inside brioche and served warm in slices.
Tablier de sapeur
Tripe marinated in white wine, breaded and fried, with gribiche sauce.
Cervelle de canut
Fresh cheese beaten with herbs, shallot, oil and vinegar: the silk workers' spread.
Salade lyonnaise
Frisée with bacon lardons, croutons and a poached egg.
Tarte à la praline
A pastry tart filled with crushed pink pralines melted with cream.
Bugnes
Thin fried pastries dusted with sugar, made around Carnival.
Travel insurance
Do I need travel insurance for France?
Travel insurance is strongly recommended for any trip to Lyon. Safety is rated Generally safe. Pickpockets work the metro, Part-Dieu station and the shopping streets of the Presqu'île, and parts of La Guillotière feel rough late at night. — even in safe destinations, unexpected medical emergencies or trip cancellations can be costly. Make sure your policy covers emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, trip cancellation, and emergency evacuation.
Visa note: Schengen area — visa-free for 90 days for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports; ETIAS pre-authorisation applies from its rollout.. Some countries require proof of travel insurance as part of the visa application.
Good to know
FAQ: Lyon travel questions
Is Lyon safe to visit?
Generally safe. Pickpockets work the metro, Part-Dieu station and the shopping streets of the Presqu'île, and parts of La Guillotière feel rough late at night.
When is the best time to visit Lyon?
May–June and September–October for terrace weather; early December for the Fête des Lumières (book months ahead). August is hot, and many bouchons close for the holidays. Semi-continental: warm, often stormy summers (daily means 22–23°C, highs near 30°C) and cold, grey winters (4–5°C). Rain falls in every month, most in May and October.
How much does a trip to Lyon cost per day?
- Budget $45–$80 / day
- Mid-range $140–$240 / day
- Luxury $420–$850 / day
Do I need a visa to visit France?
Schengen area — visa-free for 90 days for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports; ETIAS pre-authorisation applies from its rollout.
How do I get around Lyon?
Four metro lines, trams and two funiculars up Fourvière share one TCL ticket, and Vélo'v bikes are everywhere. The Rhônexpress tram reaches Saint-Exupéry airport in about 30 minutes, and TGVs reach Paris in two hours. Lyon has a metro system. Taxi base fare ~$4. Day pass ~$8.
Is tipping expected in Lyon?
Service is included in French bills, so tipping is optional: round up or leave a euro or two for good service at a bouchon, and up to 10% at a grand table.
What currency is used in France?
The local currency is EUR, and the official language is French.
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