Things to Do in Lyon: Vieux Lyon, Fourvière, Croix-Rousse and More

The short answer. Start in Vieux Lyon, the Renaissance old town, and walk through a traboule (a covered passage between two streets). Then go up to the Fourvière basilica and the Roman theatres on the hill above it. Add the Presqu’île for the big squares and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, the Croix-Rousse slopes for the silk workers’ quarter, and the Parc de la Tête d’Or for a free afternoon. Lyon is compact and works well by area, so pick one or two areas a day.

The picks below are ordered by how many guides name them. Roam Lyon read 15 guides in English and French, from travel sites and independent blogs, and counted each pick once per guide. Roam Lyon is a data platform, so every opening day, hour and price on this page comes from the place’s own page or an official body, not from those guides. Closing days differ a lot between museums, so check the page before you go.

Then see what’s on during your dates, because that’s what changes a trip. The events page lists festivals, concerts, markets and exhibitions from the organisers’ own pages, this weekend shows the next few days, and live music lists gigs. The map puts every place below next to the events near it.

The short list for a first visit

The riverbanks of the Rhône and the Saône are named by 10 guides and get a mention in the areas below.

Vieux Lyon and Fourvière

Vieux Lyon is recommended by 14 of 15 guides read, the Fourvière basilica and the traboules by 15, the Roman theatres and Lugdunum museum by 14, the Cathédrale Saint-Jean by 12, the Musées Gadagne by 7, the Musée Cinéma et Miniature by 7 and the funicular by 7.

Vieux Lyon is the Renaissance quarter along the Saône, and it’s the one area nearly every guide starts with. It’s all narrow streets, so go on foot. The traboules are the covered passages that cut through the buildings from one street to the next. They’re private buildings, so you can only enter the ones that are open, and the Cour des Voraces, up on the Croix-Rousse slopes, is the best-known staircase courtyard. Several guides warn that many passages are closed, so don’t plan a morning around finding them.

The Cathédrale Saint-Jean is the primatial cathedral, open to visitors daily outside services. The cathedral’s site prints the day’s opening times. Mass is on Tuesday to Friday at 9:00 and on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:00.

The Musées Gadagne are two museums in a Renaissance mansion, one on the history of Lyon and one on puppets, on a single ticket. They’re closed Monday and Tuesday and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 14 July and 25 December. Entry is €8, or €9 during temporary exhibitions, per the city’s page. The Musée Cinéma et Miniature on rue Saint-Jean is a private museum with miniature scenes and film props. Its own site has the hours.

The hill above is Fourvière. The funicular, called La Ficelle, climbs from Vieux Lyon, and TCL runs it with the rest of the city network, so check the TCL site for the day’s service. The Fourvière basilica is open from 7:00 to 20:00, and until 21:00 on Sundays. The crypt is open 8:30 to 18:30 and the chapel of the Virgin 7:00 to 19:00. The basilica towers are under restoration and the Rosary gardens on the slope have been closed for works, so check the basilica’s hours page before you plan the walk down. The metal tower on the hill is a less common pick, named by 5 guides.

Next to the basilica are the Roman theatres of ancient Lugdunum. The site is open 7:00 to 19:00 from 1 October to 30 April and 7:00 to 21:00 from 2 May to 30 September, per the Lugdunum page. The Lugdunum museum beside them is closed on Monday and free on the first Sunday of the month and for under-18s. A full ticket is €4 or €7 depending on the ticket, and the museum’s page has the hours. In summer the theatres host the Nuits de Fourvière (4 guides), so look at the events page for dates. Read the Vieux Lyon guide and the Fourvière guide.

Presqu’île

The Presqu’île is recommended by 8 of 15 guides read. Place Bellecour is named by 10, Place des Terreaux by 9, the Opéra by 6 and the Grand Hôtel-Dieu by 4.

The Presqu’île is the strip of land between the Rhône and the Saône, and it’s Lyon’s shopping and walking centre. Place Bellecour is the huge open square, with the equestrian monument to Louis XIV, the Little Prince statue and a memorial to the Second World War, per the city’s page on public art. North of it, Place des Terreaux has the Bartholdi fountain and the Hôtel de Ville. The Opéra de Lyon stands beside the town hall, and its site lists performances. The walk from Bellecour to Terreaux takes about 15 minutes along the pedestrian streets.

Croix-Rousse

Croix-Rousse is recommended by 15 of 15 guides read. The Maison des Canuts is named by 7, the Mur des Canuts by 6 and the Fresque des Lyonnais, a mural in the 1st arrondissement, by 8.

Croix-Rousse is the hill north of the Presqu’île where the canuts, Lyon’s silk weavers, worked. Climb the slopes from Place Sathonay, with the Cour des Voraces on the way, and finish on the plateau at the Gros Caillou, a boulder found while digging a funicular tunnel in 1890.

The Maison des Canuts is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, and Saturday 10:00 to 18:00. It’s closed Sunday and Monday. The collection costs €3 and a guided visit with a weaving demonstration costs €10, per its page. The Mur des Canuts is a painted wall of 1,200 square metres at 36 boulevard des Canuts, made in 1987 and reworked in 1997, per the city’s page. The Soierie Vivante workshop has visits at 14:00 and 16:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, no booking, per the city’s page. The Croix-Rousse guide has more.

Confluence

The Musée des Confluences is recommended by 11 of 15 guides read, and the Confluence district by 5.

Confluence is the new district at the southern tip of the Presqu’île, where the Rhône and the Saône meet. The Musée des Confluences is the reason most people come. It’s a science and society museum in a deconstructivist building. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 to 18:30 and stays open until 22:00 on the first Thursday of the month. Full price is €12, per the museum’s site. Five guides also send you to the district itself for a walk along the water, which is a short one.

Parc de la Tête d’Or

Recommended by 13 of 15 guides read. The Guignol puppet theatre is named by 5.

The Parc de la Tête d’Or is free and open every day, from 6:30 to 20:30 from 15 October to 14 April and until 22:30 from 15 April to 14 October, per the Ville de Lyon page. Entry stops 15 minutes before closing. It has a 16-hectare lake, a rose garden, and a free zoo that’s closed on Tuesdays, plus a botanical garden with greenhouses. Hours for both are on the park’s page. The Guignol theatre puts on classic Lyon puppet shows on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, at €8 for adults and €7 for children, per the city’s page. Read the Tête d’Or guide.

Museums and markets

The Musée des Beaux-Arts is recommended by 13 of 15 guides read, the Halles Paul Bocuse by 13, the Musée Lumière by 6 and the Resistance and Deportation History Centre by 3.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts is in a former abbey on Place des Terreaux. It’s closed Tuesdays and public holidays, ticket offices shut at 17:30 and the permanent collections cost €8, per the museum’s page.

The Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is a covered food hall with 55 stallholders, at 102 cours Lafayette. The restaurants open 11:30 to 14:30, or 15:30 on Sunday, and the oyster bars are open from 9:00. Other stalls keep their own hours, so see the Halles’ page.

The Musée Lumière is in the Villa Lumière and shows the first Cinématographe. It’s closed Mondays and on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May, and a full ticket is €9.50, per the Institut Lumière. The CHRD covers Lyon in the Second World War in the old Gestapo headquarters, with the permanent exhibition at €6, per its practical page. Bouchons, the small traditional restaurants, are named by 12 guides, and a lunch in one is a sightseeing stop of its own. Use the map to find one near where you are.

Day trips and festivals

The Fête des Lumières, named by 10 guides, runs from Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December 2026, per the official site. The Beaujolais vineyards (6 guides) and Île Barbe (4) are the extras. A river cruise is named by 7. Pérouges and Vienne are named by 4 and 1 guides, so they’re a less common pick.

How many days do you need?

Two days covers the list, and a third lets you slow down.

1. Day 1: Vieux Lyon in the morning, then up to Fourvière and the Roman theatres. Skip Monday for the Lugdunum museum.
2. Day 2: The Presqu’île and the Musée des Beaux-Arts (not Tuesday), then the Croix-Rousse slopes.
3. Day 3: The Musée des Confluences and a long afternoon in the Parc de la Tête d’Or.

For a base, look at the map and the Stay22 search on it. Hotels near Vieux Lyon and the Presqu’île put most of the list within walking distance.

FAQ

What is the best area to start in Lyon?

Vieux Lyon. Fourvière is a funicular ride above it, and the Presqu’île is a short walk across the Saône.

How many days do you need in Lyon?

Two days cover the main sights. Three leave room for the Confluences museum and the park.

Which Lyon museums are closed on which days?

The Musée des Beaux-Arts is closed Tuesdays, the Lugdunum museum and the Musée Lumière on Mondays, and the Musées Gadagne on Mondays and Tuesdays. The Confluences museum is open Tuesday to Sunday.

Is the Parc de la Tête d’Or free?

Yes. The park is free and open every day, and so is the zoo, which is closed on Tuesdays.

When is the Fête des Lumières in 2026?

From Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December 2026, per the festival’s official site.

For what’s on during your dates, see the events page, and the map shows each place with the events near it.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Lugdunum, Musée et théâtres romains Fourvière Photo: Romainbehar / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0) Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse Part-Dieu Photo: Sebleouf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Cathédrale Saint-Jean Vieux Lyon Photo: Fred Romero