Discover everything you need to know about Old Lyon (Vieux Lyon), Lyon including history, facts, how to get there and the best time to visit.

The Basics

There are many options for exploring Old Lyon, from walking tours and standard or electric bike tours to Segway jaunts and hop-on hop-off bus excursions. In addition to Old Lyon, city tours often visit neighborhoods such as La Croix-Rousse and the Presqu’île and ride the funicular up to the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière for impressive city views. Food tours explore Lyon’s gastronomic heritage at the famous Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse market and restaurants around Old Lyon.

Things to Know Before You Go

Old Lyon is a must-see for history buffs and first-time visitors.
The narrow lanes of Vieux Lyon are mostly pedestrianized and best explored on foot—wear comfortable shoes.
The majority of cafés and restaurants can be found along Rue Tramassac, but the quayside bars and restaurants offer the best views at night.

How to Get There

Old Lyon stretches along the left bank of the Saône River, with Fourviére Hill rising to the west. It’s a short stroll across the bridge from Place Bellecour or Place des Jacobins, and the closest metro station is Vieux Lyon (line D). Funiculars for Fourvière Hill also run from this station.

Trip ideas

How to Spend 2 Days in Lyon

How to Spend 3 Days in Lyon

With three days in UNESCO-listed Lyon, you have plenty of time to experience the city’s history, cuisine, and surrounding vineyards. Cross the Saône and Rhône rivers, step into the cathedral, taste world-renowned wine, and more. Here’s how to make the most of 72 hours in Lyon.

How to Spend 1 Day in Lyon

Exploring the Traboules of Lyon

Once used by silk merchants to reach the bustling markets of Lyon without damaging their wares, the city's traboules, or passageways, hark back to a bygone era. Here's how to escape the city streets and explore these hidden, secret alleyways.

Wine Tasting in Lyon

Ancient Roman Theaters in Lyon

Lyon was an important Roman settlement and the provincial capital of Roman Gaul. You can still see evidence of its ancient past in the Fourvière district of the city, where not one, but two, well-preserved Roman theaters stand. Read on to find out more about these ancient performance venues.

Food Lover's Guide to Lyon

When to Get There

Explore the streets of Old Lyon in the morning to avoid the crowds and take photos of the beautiful historical buildings, or visit in the evening to dine along the riverfront. The most spectacular time to visit Old Lyon is during the annual Festival of Lights in December, when dazzling light projections brighten up landmarks such as Saint John the Baptist Cathedral (Cathédrale-Saint-Jean-Baptiste, or Lyon Cathedral).

Architecture of Vieux Lyon

With buildings dating from as early as the 11th century, the streets of Vieux Lyon are bursting with architectural treasures. The star attraction is Saint John the Baptist Cathedral, with its stunning stained glass windows and striking mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Nearby are the Maison du Crible mansion, with its much-photographed pink tower, and a number of historical traboules (narrow alleyways). In the northern Saint Paul quarter, the Gothic Maison du Consul and the grand Hotel Gadagne (now part of the Musées Gadagne) are notable highlights, while the Saint Georges quarter was Lyon’s original silk-weaving area and is home to the riverfront Church of Saint George (Église Saint-Georges).

Recent reviews from experiences in Lyon

A Great Time in Lyon

Fred_T, Jul 2021

Lyon Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Audio Commentary

Great way to see key points in the city and just as importantly to learn about what we are seeing. I strongly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Lyon.

A lovely morning in Lyon.

Ammar_A, Jul 2021

Lyon Highlights & Secrets Walking Guided Tour (small group) including Funicular

A leisurely and fun walk led by a friendly and knowledgeable guide. Tony, an art historian, provided historical facts, interesting Anecdotes, and plenty of interesting observations. Not only that, Tony sent us plenty of recommendations for what to do and where to eat after the tour. Well worth the fee, highly recommended.

Nice city tour

Mon, Jul 2021

Top! Really nice tour and the infos via headphones interesting. With this tour (green line) you’’ll get a good overview of the city. The blue line is also interesting. Do the green line first. (2 hours) If you want to learn a bit more about Lyon the blue line (1 hour)is perfect.

Lyon walking tour

Jean_R, Jun 2021

Lyon Highlights Day Tour with Local Silk Shop & Paul Bocuse Market

Seeing the Roman ruins on the hill and learning how to get around by bus and fonicular was just wonder. We saw sites we would not have found easily on our own.

Excellent tour full of interesting information

Joel, Aug 2020

Lyon Old Town Walking Guided Food Tour

Megan was a wonderful tour guide, who brought interest and fun to our walking tour! She gave lots of interesting and useful information during our tour of the old town.

Visit to roman ruins

Jasdeep_S, Jul 2020

Tour guide was very friendly and took steps to make us feel at ease. I would recommend this tour of lyon

Best way to see Lyon

Corinne_D, Mar 2020

Lyon Old Town Food & Wine Tasting Tour including a Bouchon Lyonnais

Robin was fantastic. My friends and I felt like we got a true taste of Leon as well as all the sites that make the city charming, quaint and intriguing. We would do it again in a heartbeat and recommend our family to do it as well.

Good stuff!

Bhavani_K, Feb 2020

Lyon Small-Group Guided Electric Bike Tour with a Local Guide

We were here for a short amount of time, so we wanted a guide to take us around instead of having to figure out what to see on our own. I was very happy with the amount of knowledge our guide had. He is pretty funny too!

Wonderful Food Tour

Denise_L, Feb 2020

Lyon Old Town Half-Day Walking Food Tour with Local Specialties Tasting & Lunch

Excellent food tour. We enjoyed all the food, the history, and the aperitif. Insider information! Unexpected surprises!

Food tour in Lyon

Candace_D, Feb 2020

I really enjoyed this food tour. Olivier did a great job taking us through the old town explaining the how the food and history of Lyon have evolved together. The tastings were excellent and the shop owners were most delightful! I highly recommend this tour.

Great experience, highly suggest!

ariail2019, Nov 2019

This tour is a great way to learn not just about Lyon food, but it's deep history as well. It ended up being just my husband and I on the tour, and we had a wonderful time stopping into the local shops for tastings and tidbits. If you're only going to do one tour while in Lyon, we highly suggest this one.

Great tour!

151karleenm, Nov 2019

Dark Lyon

This was definitely a highlight of my trip to France! Nicholas gave an awesome tour on a cold and foggy night. He was extremely knowledgeable about Lyon and was very friendly. He also gave an awesome recommendation for late night tandoori! I would highly recommend this tour when visiting Lyon.

Old Lyon (Vieux Lyon)