Lyon Transportation

Getting There:

By Air: Lyon-Saint Exupery International Airport (LYS) (+33 4 72 22 72 21/ http://www.lyon.aeroport.fr ) is located 25 km east of Lyon and provides direct service and connections to domestic and international destinations from the following airlines:

Aer Lingus ( +33 1 70 20 00 72/ http://www.aerlingus.ie ) Aigle Azur ( +33 1 49 19 882 ) Air Algerie ( +33 4 78 42 64 95 ) Air France ( +33 0 820 820 820/ http://www.airfrance.fr ) Air Lib ( +33 0 825 805 805 ) Air Linair ( +33 0 820 820 820/ http://www.airlinair.com ) Air Littoral ( +33 0 825 834 834/ http://www.airlittoral.fr ) Air Malta ( +33 1 4486 0840/ http://www.airmalta.com ) Air Senegal International ( +33 1 5664 1400/ http://www.air-senegal-international.com ) Air Transat (+877 872 6728/ http://www.airtransat.com) Alitalia ( +33 0 820 315 315/ http://www.alitalia.fr ) Antinea Airlines (+33 1 4021 1999) Austrian Airlines ( +33 0 820 816 816/ http://www.aua.com ) Blu-Express (+39 06 60214577/http://www.blu-express.com) Blue Air (+40 40 21 208 86 86/http://www.blueair-web.com) BMI Baby (+44 870 126 6726/ http://www.bmibaby.com) British Airways (+33 825 825 040/ http://www.british-airways.com) CCM Airlines ( +33 0 820 820 820/ http://www.ccm-airlines.com ) City Airline ( +33 0 826 953 113/ http://www.cityairline.com ) Condor (+1 800 524 6975/ http://www7.condor.com) Corsair ( +33 0 820 042 042/ http://www.corsair.fr ) CSA Czech Airlines ( +33 5569 8439/ http://www.csa.cz ) Easy Jet (+871 244 2366/ http://www.easyjet.com) Hex'Air ( +33 0 810 182 292 ) Iberia Airlines ( +33 0 820 075 075/ http://www.iberia.fr ) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines ( +33 0 890 711 231/ http://www.klm.com ) LOT ( +33 0 800 101 224/ http://www.lot.com ) Maersk Air ( +33 0 825 320 321/ http://www.maersk-air.com ) Portugalia Airlines ( +33 0 825 083 818/ http://www.flypga.com ) Royal Air Maroc ( +33 0 820 821 821/ http://www.royalairmaroc.com ) SN Brussels Airlines ( +33 0 826 101 818/ http://www.flysn.fr ) Thomson Fly ( +43 0192 89 598/ http://www.thomsonfly.com ) Tunis Air ( +33 4 7277 3737/ http://www.tunisair.com.tn ) Turkish Airlines ( +33 4 3791 6666/ http://www.turkishairlines.com )

SATOBUS ( +33 4 7268 7217 ) offers connections several times a day to and from the airport and the main cities of Rhone-Alpes including Lyon.

High-Train Station ( +33 4 7222 7790/ http://www.lyonairport.com ) is located near Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport terminals. The high-speed trains provide service to and from the airport and cities around much of France. Reservations are required.

Taxis, all metered, are available at the Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport. Fares depend on the amount of passengers, luggage, tolls and snowy or icy roads. Typically, a trip to Lyon-Gare is around EUR36 during the day from 7a-7p and EUR 50 at night from 7p-7a.

Rental car companies: Avis ( +33 4 7222 7525/ http://www.avis.com ) Budget ( +33 4 7222 7474/ http://www.budget.com ) Europcar ( +33 4 7222 7528/ http://www.europcar.com ) Hertz ( +33 0 825 006 969/ http://www.hertz.com ) National Citer ( +33 4 7222 7487/ http://www.citer.fr ) Sixt ( +33 4 7222 7272/ http://www.fr.e-sixt.com )

By Train: TGV ( http://www.tgv.com ) is currently the fastest train in the world and services major cities throughout France. Eurostar ( http://www.eurostar.com ) provides travel between Paris, London and Brussels with stops at Lyon Part Dieu and Lyon-Saint Exupery International Airport. Thalys ( http://www.thalys.com ) travels between Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Koln with a stop at Lyon Part Dieu.

By Bus: Eurolines ( +33 4 7256 9530/ http://www.eurolines.com ) offers transportation throughout continental Europe and has a stop in Lyon.

By Car: A large motorway network ( A6,A7,A42,A43,A47,etc. ) provides direct links from major cities around France to Lyon.

Getting Around in the City

TCL underground ( +33 0 820 42 7000/ http://www.tcl.fr ) provides transportation via four underground lines, two cable cars, four tramway routes and more than 100 bus routes around Lyon and most of its suburbs. Tickets can be purchased at city kiosks, train stations, vending machines and from bus drivers.

Cyclopolitain ( http://www.cyclopolitain.com ) is a fun and inexpensive way of getting around Lyon - by electric tricycles with drivers called Cyclonautes, who will take you anywhere you want in the city for EUR1 per person. Cyclopolitain tricycles operate from March to Christmas Eve, M-Sa from 11a-7p.

Lyon Espace Affaires ( +33 4 7839 2611 ) provides taxi service in the city. Tourist Taxis ( http://www.lyon.taxis-touristiques.com ) allows visitors to see Lyon with the help of specially trained drivers providing commentary and guiding the way.

Planning a Trip

Getting There

If you're arriving from the north by train, don't get off at the first station, Gare La Part-Dieu; continue to Gare de Perrache, where you can begin sightseeing. The high-speed TGV takes only 2 hours from Paris; the one-way fare is 60€ to 80€. Lyon makes a good stopover en route to the Alps or the Riviera. For information, call tel. 08-92-35-35-35, or visit www.voyages-sncf.com.

By plane, it's a 45-minute flight from Paris to Aéroport Saint-Exupéry (tel. 08-26-80-08-26), 25km (16 miles) east of the city. Satobuses (tel. 04-72-68-72-17) run from the airport into the center of Lyon every 20 minutes during the day. The 40-minute bus trip costs 8.90€ each way.

If you're driving from Paris, head southeast on A8/E1 into Lyon. From Nice, head west on E1/A7 toward Aix-en-Provence, continuing northwest toward Avignon. Bypass the city and continue north along the same route into Lyon. From Grenoble or the French Alps, head northwest on A48 to A43, which will take you northwest into Lyon.

Getting Around

A network of Métro lines, trams, and buses branch out to serve the city. A plan de poche (pocket map) is available at any office of TCL (tel. 08-20-42-70-00; www.tcl.fr), which handles all forms of mass transport. Tickets are valid on all forms of public transport, costing 1.60€ for the average ride or else 13€ for a carnet of 10 tickets. Most short-time visitors may want to purchase a Ticket Liberté day pass for 4.40€. For a cab, call Taxi Radio de Lyon at tel. 08-72-10-86-86).

Visitor Information

The Office de Tourisme is on place Bellecour (tel. 04-72-77-69-69; fax 04-78-42-04-32; www.lyon-france.com).

Special Events

Festivals take place practically every day, especially in summer. Music festivals reign supreme, with the most popular occurring on France's National Day of Music, around June 21. The Fête de la Musique turns the streets of Lyon into performance spaces for local bands. From late November to late December, the Festival de Musique du Vieux-Lyon, 5 place du Petit-Collège (tel. 04-78-38-09-09), takes place in churches around the city. Tickets range from 14€ to 30€.