Discover Lyon in 2 days or in one weekend is very good timing! A first day to visit its historic center. A second to discover more modern neighborhoods and more unusual places! Thereby, in 2 days, you will enjoy historic and cultural Lyon, relaxed Lyon and gastronomic Lyon!
How to visit Lyon in 2 days?
Visit Lyon on foot is done without difficulty in one weekend or in 2 days but to get around it well and not miss the most interesting sites, it is better to be organized and follow good routes…
For your 1st day, you just need to take my 1st circuit which allows you to go around the historic center of Lyon at. Everything is done on foot, at your own pace and with very appreciable gourmet breaks ... You will find the details of this circuit with the map and the itinerary in my article: Lyon in 1 day.
For the lucky ones who have a weekendd whole or 2 days to visit Lyon, it will be necessary to complete this first circuit to that of DAY 2 which I will detail below.
Lyon in 2 days - The circuit of day 1
As a reminder, here is the program that I had chosen for the 1st day of my weekend in Lyon :
Click on "More options" in the map to follow the GPS
Lyon in 2 days - The essentials of day 2
As usual, I have selected all unmissable sites of Lyon that were missing from my 1st route to group them together to do this 2nd route :
- Place Bellecour
- Lyon opera
- House of Canuts
- Croix Rousse district
- Musée d'Art Contemporain
- Parc de la Tête d'Or
- Botanical Garden
- Wall fresco Thank You Monsieur Paul
- Halles Paul Bocuse
- The Part of God
- Restaurant L'auberge du pont de Collonges
Weekend in Lyon - Map of the walking tour of day 2
Click on "More options" in the map to follow the GPS
Lyon itinerary in 2 days - My walking tour of day 2
My itinerary for the visit of 2rd day starts from Place Bellecour.
From this place, you will have 2 possibilities to get to the Croix Rousse which is a lively district with pretty little squares, cafes, hidden stairs, traboules, artists' studios ...
- Take the Bellecourt metro to go 3 stations further and exit at Croix Rousse station.
- Or if you like to walk, it takes 40 minutes to reach the Croix Rousse district on foot.
In this case, you can take the Dr Gailleton's Quay then follow the Quai Jules Courmont and Quai André Lassagne. When you arrive Opera Square, you will have to turn left and take the direction of Place Croix-Paquet then follow Montée Saint Sébastien. Do not miss the chance to admire the magnificent facade of theNational Opera of Lyon.
Continuing on the Belfort street, you will arrive at the House of Canuts.
The Canuts were silk weaving workers. It is in the Maison des Canuts that you will be able to discover this cultural and historical heritage of the city of Lyon. Then you will be able to walk randomly through the streets and discover the Croix Rousse district.
To continue my walking tour, take the rue Joséphine Soulary to Winston Churchill Bridge. After crossing it, straight ahead you will reach the Parc de la Tête d'Or by Avenue de Grande Bretagne. Along the Rhône along the Parc de la Tête d'Or, my tour then takes you to Musée d'Art Contemporain located on the edge of the Park that you can visit if you have enough time.
Then you can continue in the park and visit the Zoo or simply admire the pretty tropical greenhouses and the rose gardens of the Botanical Garden. Take Allée des Serres and exit the Park by Boulevard Anatole France.
By following the Brotteaux Boulevard then rue Juliette Récamier, you will then turn onto Massena Street which will take you to the Lafayette Course. There, I suggest you discover the mural “ Thank You Mr. Paul ". It is on a wall in the Cours Lafayette, opposite the Halles de Lyon. This work was created to honor the French starred chef, surely the most famous in the world: Paul Bocuse. Moreover, our route then takes us to the Halles which bear his name.
Mecca of Lyon gastronomy, international reference for gourmets and great French chefs, the Halles de Lyon has become a tourist attraction of 1er plan in Lyon.
If you have some time and courage left, below are some ideas for completing your weekend in Lyon while doing a little shopping ...
Weekend in Lyon - Where to go shopping?
The luxury address for shopping in Lyon is called the Lyon's Carré d'Or in the Presqu'Île district, just where the hotel I recommend is located (see below).
The whole district between places Bellecour, Cordeliers and Jacobins is full of brands from the most popular (Zara, HetM…) to the most snobbish (Hermès, Vuitton…).
And if you want to discover one of the largest shopping centers in Europe, head to thehe Lyon-Part-Dieu shopping center.
Weekend in Lyon - Restaurant in the evening
For an unforgettable dinner, you cannot go to Lyon without going to Collonges to experience the Restaurant THE PONT DE COLLONGES HOSTEL ! It is the legendary restaurant that Paul Bocuse had loved so much and made him prosper throughout his life. On the other hand, it will be necessary to book well in advance because even if it has just lost 1 star in the Michelin guide, it is full every day (Tel: 04 72 42 90 90).
Weekend in Lyon - Good hotel deal
THEhotel la Residence is not a first price hotel but with its excellent value for money (85 € per night), it is really a good hotel plan for a weekend.
Indeed, it is a very well located geographically in the center of Lyon which allows not to waste time in transport (my tour is done on foot from this hotel). It is located in a pedestrian street on the Lyon peninsula, far from dangerous areas of Lyon. Convenient for tourism because 3 minutes walk from Place Bellecour, 450 meters from the old town and 5 minutes walk from the Grand Hôtel-Dieu shopping center.
And if you are lucky enough to have an extra day, I recommend that you visit Annecy less than 2 hours from Lyon:
And if you are on vacation, then head south for visit Avignon !
