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Finding your way around Lyon: the main districts

Lyon is organised around two rivers and two hills: the centre sits on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône, with Old Lyon and Fourvière to the west, the Croix-Rousse to the north and the left bank of the Rhône to the east.

Two rivers to get your bearings

Start with the rivers. The Rhône, wide and almost straight, runs along the left bank; the Saône, narrower and winding, flows past Old Lyon. The Presqu'île stretches between them, and crossing a bridge is often enough to change atmosphere.

The Presqu'île, the centre

It begins at place des Terreaux, at the foot of the Croix-Rousse, and runs down to place Bellecour, inherited from the 17th and 18th centuries. Around Bellecour, the Carré d'Or gathers luxury shops and rue Auguste-Comte lines up antique dealers' windows. Perrache station marks the southern end.

Old Lyon and Fourvière

On the right bank of the Saône, Old Lyon packs in its Renaissance houses and traboules. Above it, Fourvière hill brings together the Roman theatres and the 19th-century basilica. The funiculars from Vieux Lyon climb there in a few minutes.

The Croix-Rousse, the hill that works

A former canuts' district, the plateau overlooks slopes crossed by stairways and traboules. In the side streets, small creative workshops carry on the tradition.

The left bank of the Rhône

Larger and laid out with wide avenues, it holds the Part-Dieu business district, built in the 1970s around the main station, as well as the Brotteaux, the Guillotière and Monplaisir, the cradle of cinema.

Getting from one district to another

The centre can be covered on foot. For longer distances, the metro (lines A to D), the trams (T1 to T7) and the two funiculars take over.

Updated 25 October 2026.