Lyon in 1 Day: all you need to know

While one day is not enough time to explore the city in its entirety, there are plenty of things to see and do in Lyon to get to know the city. So for a day you can visit the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourvière and take a tour of the city. I also recommend walking around Vieux Lyon and its historic area.

La Presqu'ile with its historic buildings, St. John's Cathedral, or the Parc de la Tête d'Or, are other places you can include in your day trip to Lyon. Of course, you can't miss out on some Lyon food. This itinerary will also give you time to visit the Musée Gadagne and walk along the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers.

Your day of sightseeing in Lyon will start in the early hours of the day, so you should have arrived in the city the night before or at least very early in the morning. Thus, you should be starting this itinerary around 8:00 am, having a good breakfast, either at your accommodation or near the first point of visit.

If you choose the second option, you will have to head towards the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon, where you will find several options to try some of the best Lyon food.

Among the most popular nearby restaurants visited by locals and tourists are La Taverne des Gones, Le Petit Bouchon, Café des Fédérations, Café des Fédérations, Le Max Lyon and La Croix Rousse, all of which you might want to check out if you sign up for one of the best food tours in Lyon.

The food in Lyon is varied and delicious, so you can choose from traditional food such as croissants and cheese, or international food such as scrambled eggs or toast. Breakfast shouldn't take more than an hour, so you should enter the Basilica in the first group of visitors.

As you will have had breakfast near the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, this will be the first attraction to visit. In fact, it is one of the main tourist sites in Lyon. It opens every day between 9:00 and 18:00, so in this case you will enter around 9:00. To enter and visit it, you will have to pay around 8 euros.

If you want to take a guided tour you will have to pay an additional cost. It will take you between two and three hours to fully explore the site, so in this case you will walk around for about two hours, leaving at around 11:00. Inside you'll be able to enjoy the views from the cathedral balcony, as well as a variety of art and historical works.

Among the works you will see inside are the image of the Virgin Mary, the statue of St. John the Baptist, the Chapel of the Priests and the Cathedral Tower. You can visit the Basilica on your own or you can sign up for one of the best tours of Lyon that will take you to see not only the church, but also other important sites in the city.

After leaving the Basilica around 11:00, I recommend you go for a stroll through Vieux Lyon, and take no more than an hour for this activity. If you want to tour Vieux Lyon in a different way, I recommend you consider one of the best bike tours in Lyon, although in this case you will be on foot.

Part of what you will see on the way through this historic place will be the Théâtre de la Comédie, the Palais de la Bourse, de Justice, de l' Opera, and de la Monnaie, as well as the Place des Terreaux, not to mention the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Fourvière itself, which you will have already visited. In this historic complex there are also some museums such as the Mint, the Fine Arts Museum and the Natural History Museum.

If you finally decide to visit the city with a guided tour instead of doing it on your own, you have to take into consideration that they can cost between 10 and 20 euros. As it will only take you an hour to walk around the entire historic city centre, you'll have plenty of time to admire the facades and take lots of photos of each of the sites you see.

After touring the town of Vieux Lyon, it's time to make a stop at the Musée Gadagne, which is a historical museum that in turn houses three museums inside: the History Museum, the Puppet Museum and the Toy Museum, so entering this complex is one of the best things to do in Lyon with children, because you can find special activities for them.

Inside the History Museum you can see a complete collection of artifacts, objects and documents related to the history of Lyon between the fourth century and the twentieth century. The Marionette Museum has a collection of puppets from all over the world. And finally, at the Toy Museum you can see over a thousand antique and modern toys.

You can sign up for a guided tour of the museum via its website, for which you'll have to pay around 10-20 euros. The complex is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:00 and 18:00, but in this case you'll go around 11:00. I recommend spending at least an hour in each museum, so you'll finish around 14:00, which is the perfect time to take a lunch break.

You're bound to leave the museums hungry, so this is a good time to enjoy a good lunch at one of the restaurants near the Musée Gadagne. Among the top places to try traditional French food are: Café des Fédérations, Le Petit Bouchon, La Taverne des Gones, Le Max Lyon, La Croix Rousse and Le Petit Bouchon.

Not only will you be treated to a variety of traditional French dishes such as crepes, salads and soups, but you can also sample international flavours such as pizza and burgers. Plus, you'll love to pair your meal with fine wines, which will make you want to sign up for one of Lyon's best wine tours.

A good after-dinner plan is definitely to go for a leisurely stroll through the Parc de la Tête d'Or, which is one of the largest parks in France and certainly one of Lyon's main attractions. If there's one thing you'll love about this place, it's that it's ideal for connecting with nature.

You'll arrive at the park shortly after 15:00 for a two-hour walk, approximately, and you won't have to pay anything to walk around it. You'll love walking the trails and seeing the local flora and fauna. I also recommend stopping to discover the botanical gardens and visit the lake.

Inside the park you can also enjoy multiple sports and entertainment activities, such as paddle tennis, football or tennis. It is a good place to visit in Lyon in April or May, when it is spring time and the flowers are at their peak of bloom and beauty.

At around 17:00 you will be able to enter the Lyon Zoo, which is located within the same park that you have been touring for the last two hours. It's definitely a unique experience, ranked as one of the best things to do in Lyon, no matter what kind of trip you make to the city.

To enter you will have to pay about 8 euros per adult and approximately 6 euros per child. I recommend staying inside for at least two hours, which will be enough to see the whole zoo. You can visit on your own or you can sign up for a guided tour if you pay some extra money.

Inside the complex you will see different themed sections, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. You'll have the chance to see at least 500 different species, including polar bears, penguins, African buffalo, Sumatran tigers and hippos. You'll leave the zoo at around 19:00, an hour before it closes at 20:00.

19:00 will be a perfect time to go for a walk along the banks of the Rhone and Saône rivers, which are located very close to the zoo where you were strolling. You will love the mix of modernity and antiquity, which you will feel in this area of the Rhône.

You will have the opportunity to see and photograph different buildings and the many old bridges of the city, and at the same time you will be able to see nature at close quarters. You should take the opportunity to take pictures on the old Saint Nicolas bridge, the Tournelle bridge, the Pont de la Paix, the Pont de la République, and the Pont de la Concorde.

You can go for a walk on your own or take part in one of the many guided walks along the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers. It will take you about an hour to walk around this place, although if you prefer , you can stay for up to two hours to get to know the atmosphere of the area during the early afternoon.

As well as the various buildings, a walk around this area will give you a chance to see the wildlife activity in the river, which includes ducks, swans and a variety of fish.

Just after you've had a good tour of the banks of the Rhône and Saône rivers, between 20:00 and 21:00 it's a good time to get a taste of the city' s nightlife, and what better place to do so than Place Bellecour, one of Lyon's main squares, located in the heart of the city.

It is an important public space, and a meeting point for locals and tourists alike. I recommend spending at least an hour wandering around the square and enjoying the lively nightlife that takes place here at night. There you can see icons of the square such as the equestrian statue of Louis XIV and the Trinité Church. You can also see the Statue of Liberty and the Statue of the Republic.

If you go on a guided tour or a night tour of the city, your guide will tell you some of the most interesting details of the square, which has also been the scene of important events in the history of the city. One of the events that locals still remember and commemorate is the celebration of the liberation of the city during the Second World War.

This is definitely one of the best things to see and do in Lyon at night because here you can see people enjoying a glass of wine or beer around the square, it is also a good time to visit the markets, or just sit on a bench to enjoy the atmosphere. Around the square you can find restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

After strolling around the square and enjoying the nightlife here, you'll want to grab a bite to eat, and if so, you should know that there are plenty of dining options near Place Bellecour in Lyon. The Lyon region is famous for its cheeses and wide selection of meats, so your first choice is to eat traditional French food.

Among the food options you'll find around the square are: chicken in wine, cheese fondue, potato gratin, beef in red wine, or salad with egg, bacon and ham. After dinner, try some of the traditional French desserts, including flan, apple tart and sweet cream-filled custard.

Places to visit for this variety of food include Café Bellecour, L'Espace Brasserie, Le Wagon Bar, La Fondue Lyonnaise, La Table Lyonnaise, La Maison des Canuts and Le Vieux Lyon. You should go for dinner around 21:00, and you shouldn't stay later than 22:00, to get to know more about nightlife and nightclubs in Lyon.

After a good dinner and a few drinks, it's time to continue discovering and enjoying the nightlife of the city of Lyon. You can stay and dance and have a few more drinks, or you can skip this last point of the itinerary and go to your hotel or accommodation to rest.

As the nightlife in Lyon is so varied, you'll find plenty of places to enjoy the party atmosphere. Among the best places to go for drinks are the bars on Rue Mercière, the Bar des Capucins and the Velvet Club. If you want to go dancing, you can choose from a variety of discotheques and nightclubs such as Club Transbo, Club La Paloma, Ninkasi Kao and BPM.

If you don't want to go dancing, Lyon, being such a cultural city, offers you the possibility to go and enjoy other plans such as theatre plays, watch films in the many cinemas, attend concerts in the various halls of the city, among other places to enjoy the cultural night.

After such a full and enjoyable day of sightseeing around Lyon, it's time to head back to your accommodation to rest up for an early departure to the airport and return home. The nearest airport for travel is Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport.