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Site contents

All the pages of lyon.best, by theme.

Planning your trip

Metro and tram map (in French): lines A to D and T1 to T7.
Getting to Lyon by train, plane or car: Part-Dieu or Perrache, Lyon–Saint-Exupéry airport, motorways: how to reach Lyon and its city centre, with indicative journey times.
Lyon's climate: weather and seasons: More than 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, cool winters, hot summers, the bise and the vent du Midi: Lyon's climate and when to go.
Finding your way around Lyon: the main districts: Presqu'île, Old Lyon, Fourvière, Croix-Rousse, the left bank of the Rhône: understand how Lyon is laid out and find your bearings easily.
Practical information for your stay in Lyon: Tourist office, emergency numbers, lost property, safety and insurance: practical information for your stay in Lyon.

Lugdunum, the Rome of the Gauls: Founded in 43 BC, Lugdunum was the capital of the Three Gauls. Founding, ancient port, the martyrs of 177 and the Claudian Table: Lyon's Roman history.
Old Lyon and its traboules: Old Lyon, France's first protected heritage district (1964): Renaissance façades, Italian bankers and the traboules, with visiting tips.
Silk and the canuts: From Louis XI to Jacquard, silk made Lyon rich. Who were the canuts? The 1831 and 1834 revolts and where to visit.
Lyon, capital of the Resistance: Occupation, underground press, Klaus Barbie, Jean Moulin's arrest in Caluire, liberation on 3 September 1944: the Resistance in Lyon.

Bouchons and specialities of Lyonnaise cuisine: What is a bouchon? Quenelles, andouillette, Lyon salad, cervelle de canut, bugnes, pralines: the must-try dishes of Lyon's food scene.
The pink praline tart, a Lyon dessert: Recipe for Lyon's pink praline tart: ingredients, preparation steps and tips for making this emblematic dessert.

The Festival of Lights in Lyon: Lyon's Festival of Lights runs from 5 to 8 December 2026: origins in 1852, free admission, crowds and tips for visiting.
The Lumière brothers and the birth of cinema: The 1895 cinematograph, the first film shot in Lyon, the autochrome, the Institut Lumière and the Mur des Cinéastes: the birthplace of cinema.
Festivals and major events in Lyon: Festival of Lights, Nuits de Fourvière, Nuits sonores, Quais du Polar, Festival Lumière, biennials, Silk in Lyon: Lyon's events, with 2026 dates.
Guignol, Lyon's puppet: Created in 1808 by Laurent Mourguet, Guignol and his friends Gnafron and Madelon embody the spirit of Lyon. History, characters, shows.
Contemporary art in Lyon: Buren's place des Terreaux, the Célestins car park, the Fresque des Lyonnais, the Musée des Confluences, the Contemporary Art Biennial: art in the city.
Fashion, design and textiles in Lyon: Silk-making, dyeing, chemistry, technical textiles, fashion and jewellery: how Lyon remained a city of creation. Silk in Lyon in November.

The Rhône and the Saône in Lyon: A wide river and a slow one: Rhône riverbanks, the Confluence district, bridges and the Miribel-Jonage Grand Parc.
Parks and gardens in Lyon: Parc de la Tête d'Or, Gerland park, Parc des Hauteurs, neighbourhood gardens and the Mois des jardins: where to find green space in Lyon.

Lyon's architecture: 18th-century squares, the Presqu'île's Haussmann-style avenues, Fourvière basilica, Halle Tony Garnier, Gerland stadium: Lyon's architecture.

Updated 25 October 2026.