Best Areas to Stay in Lyon, France

Vieux Lyon is located west of the Saône River and is characterized by its brightly colored facades and its small shops, boulangeries and local brand boutiques.

Vieux Lyon, in English “Old Lyon” is definitely the area to stay in Lyon if you are looking for a charming neighbourhood and ancient buildings.

The old town of Lyon was built next to the side of a hill where some of the most representative buildings of the city stand, such as the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (Our Lady of Fourvière).

Vieux Lyon is a colorful and magnificent area, with few hotels but of great quality. It is an area that reflects the beauty of Lyon and its historical importance as a center of commerce between the peoples of Europe.

From Vieux Lyon you can easily walk to the rest of the city. Also, in the vicinity of this neighborhood you can find the Vieux Lyon – Cathédrale Saint-Jean metro stop, so getting around Lyon is no problem.

Vieux Lyon is the most recommended area for sightseeing in this French city.

This neighborhood is part of the UNESCO World Heritage district of Lyon.

La Presqu’Ile is one of the best neighborhoods to stay in Lyon, no questions about it.

Presqu’Ile, means “peninsula” in English and there is no better way to define this elegant area: it is at the confluence point of the Rhône and Saône rivers.

La Presqu’Ile can be considered “Lyon’s city centre”, although Vieux Lyon would surely have something to say about it.

This district is the most important commercial and shopping area in Lyon, with a great variety of architecture that includes all styles from Romanesque to contemporary avant-garde.

The arrondissements 1, 2 and 4 of Lyon converge in this land peninsula, which is also a hub for the majority of metro lines in the city.

La Presqu’Ile is an elegant and attractive area to stay.

Rue de la Republique, the most important commercial thoroughfare in Lyon is located in La Presqu’Ile.

La Presqu’Ile is undoubtedly the quartier par excellence of visitors who want to be close to the attractions of Lyon and at the same time well connected to the rest of the city.

The Third District of the city of Lyon is located next to the city centre, on the east bank of the Rhone.

Although it is a very large arrondissement (it’s actually the most populated district in the city), the 3rd arrondissement, especially the area bordering the Rhone river, can be considered part of what we could consider “Downtown Lyon”.

This diverse neighborhood is Lyon’s economic epicenter, concentrating most of its skyscrapers and most emblematic modern buildings such as the Tour Swiss Life, Tour Incity, Tour Oxygène and Tour Part-Dieu.

The 3e Arrondissement is without a doubt the best areas to stay in Lyon for business travelers.

Many international chain and business style accommodation options are located here.

This neighborhood is connected to the rest of Lyon thanks to metro lines B and D, so accessing places like Vieux Lyon or the TGV station is quite easy.

The views of the city offered by some of the hotels in this area are no doubt sublime and, being a less desirable area to stay than Viieux Lyon or the peninsula, many high quality hotels in this quartier have more than reasonable rates.

The 7th district of Lyon is connected by the metro lines B and D.

This is the largest of all Lyon districts.

District 7 is located south of the city centre, in a flat territory of the alluvial plain of the Rhone river.

The constant flooding of the river, constantly destroying the residential areas until the construction of its embankments and dams have had a profound impact on the development of this neighborhood, including a famous catastrophic flood in 1852, still present in the historical memory of the city.

This district has been, since its inception, a working class area, with a high proportion of expatriates from different parts of the world, particularly from the regions that were part of the French colonies.

Currently the Seventh is going through a process of gentrification and today is one of the coolest districts of Lyon.

The 7th district could be considered the hipster area par excellence of Lyon.

It has a large number of ethnic restaurants, antique and second-hand stores, and small local designers boutiques.

The sixth district of Lyon is the most elegant, chic and bourgeois area in the city of Lyon, where most of Lyon’s high society lives and plays.

This neighborhood is located in the northeast area of ​​the center, on the east bank of the Rhone River.

Its main tourist attraction is the fantastic Parc de la Tête d’Or (Golden Head Park), an elegant green area full of paths, wooded areas, sculptures, fountains and meadows where you can relax after a long day in the summer.

Its wide boulevards (rue Duquesne, des Belges, Avenue Foch, Franklin Roosevelt) and its shaded places (Marshal Lyautey place, Helvetia place, Edgar-Quinet place and Place Jules-Ferry) are surrounded by beautiful buildings and belle arts style mansions. Most of Boulevard des Belges offers views of the Tête d’Or park.

As expected, the 6th arrondissement of Lyon is a shopping district focused on the luxury niche. Its main stores are around Franklin-Roosevelt Boulevard and Saxe Avenue.

This area has a large number of luxury hotels, aparthotels and is the best place to stay in Lyon for a high-end visit to this French city.

The 6e Arrondissement is connected to the rest of the city by lines A and B of the Lyon metro.