Lyon: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Lyon is a city of 520,774 people in France (Rhône-Alpes), 173 m (568 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre. It has 8 railway stations on record, including Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu. Our booking partner lists 454 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Lyon runs from about 8 h 44 min a day in late December to 15 h 47 min in late June (computed for 45.75° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Lyon is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre, whose 13,124-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB, 57 km), Chambéry Aix les Bains airport (CMF, 81 km), Annecy Meythet airport (NCY, 99 km).
Flights to Lyon: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu, Gare de Lyon-Perrache, Gare de Lyon-Jean Macé, Gare de Lyon-Vaise, Lyon-Saint-Paul station, Gare de Lyon-Gorge-de-Loup. Trains to Lyon
Buses to Lyon · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 454 places to stay in Lyon. Of the 173 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (73), and 9 are five-star. Across 236 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10. Guests have left 324,399 reviews in total.
Hotels in Lyon: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Musée des Confluences | 767,509 | 2016 |
| Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon | 356,369 | 2017 |
| Lugdunum Musée et Théâtres | 169,238 | 2024 |
| Contemporary Arts Museum of Lyon | 100,722 | 2019 |
| Gadagne (museums) | 74,579 | 2019 |
| Textile Arts Museum | 68,511 | 2019 |
| Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation | 64,730 | 2019 |
| Musée de l'Imprimerie et de la Communication Graphique | 26,199 | 2019 |
| Maison des Canuts | 24,787 | 2009 |
| Lyon Municipal Archives | 16,498 | 2022 |
The busiest is Musée des Confluences at 767,509 visitors in 2016. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Vieux Lyon.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Lyon
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Paris, 393 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Milan, 339 km (Italy) — flights · trains
- Marseille, 276 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Turin, 234 km (Italy) — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Genoa, 355 km (Italy) — trains
- Toulouse, 360 km — trains
- Zürich, 335 km (Switzerland)
- Nice, 297 km — trains · tours
- Marne La Vallée, 381 km
- Strasbourg, 384 km
Twin towns and sister cities: Jericho, Leipzig, Łódź, Varna, Birmingham, Milan, Frankfurt, St. Louis, Guangzhou, Beersheba, Minsk, Yokohama, Craiova, Saint Petersburg.
Common questions
Which airport serves Lyon?
Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Lyon?
About 520,774 people live in Lyon, across 48 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Lyon in?
Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Lyon?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Lyon?
Our booking partner lists 454 places to stay in Lyon, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Lyon?
Paris (393 km), Milan (339 km), Marseille (276 km), Turin (234 km), Genoa (355 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.