7 days in lyon

Hi all,

I am a 26 female, thinking to travel alone in lyon. From aug 10 - 17. I am thinking, should i stay in hostel or bed or breakfast? (im in a budget but i am worry about the safety issue) Also, is there any nearby cities i could make a visit for few days? I am thinking about arles, nice, avignon or i am open to other suggestions.

Any helps to my itinerary will be greatttly appreciated =)

dihon

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A few years ago, I spent four nights in Lyon, giving me three and a half days. I liked the city, and would like to return, but I thought that amount of time was plenty.

A problem with Lyon is that there are few places of great interest within easy daytrip range by public transport. I%26#39;d suggest reducing your time in Lyon (unless you have a special reason).

You could go north to Beaune and Dijon, or south in the direction of Avignon and Arles.

Much depends on whether you are flying in and out of Lyon, or if Lyon is part of a larger itinerary.

-- Steve

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Safety is definitively not an issue in Lyon city center. Choosing an accomodation is a personal choice only : you will meet more people in a hostel, you will feel more at home at a B%26amp;B, that will also be more expensive.

I am sorry to disagree with previous poster, but there are a lot of nice easy day trips from Lyon using the train. But you should buy your train tickets very quickly if you want to take the TGV: the sooner, the cheapest (same as air travel fares!).

May I suggest that you browse the forum for advices (just browsing or using the search bowx with %26quot;day trip%26quot;) ? You should tell us more about your interests: if you are interested in history, culture urban life and architecture, there is a lot to see and to do in Lyon and in the region.

As you have 7 days, I suggest you make 3 day trips and stay 4 days in Lyon.

- I recommend a trip East to the Alps, I recommend Annecy that is a lovely old town in a very beautiful mountain landscape with a lake. It is a 2 hours train ride from Lyon. Or you might like to get to Geneva.

http://www.lac-annecy.com/gb/index.html

- I suggest you make an other day trip South, even two: have a look at Avignon, Arles (if you follow the roman thread!), or Montpellier that is a vibrant and beautiful student city, or Marseille. Avignon is a 1 hour and 2 minutes train ride only from Lyon, Marseille 1 hour and 40 minutes and Montpellier 2 hours.

- I wouldn%26#39;t go to Nice as it is a long trip and because the region deserves a 3/4 days stay.

Check your schedules and fares on the SNCF website:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com

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I agree with Steve that Beaune or Dijon is an other nice option.

So might have a trip North to Burgundy, a trip East to the Alps and a trip South to Provence!

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thanks all for the information =) i will be flying in and out from Lyon. I am interested in historical things, architectural, art and scenery.

I look up online to Annecy. It%26#39;s beautiful!!

i roughly plan my itinerary the following:

flying from toronto on aug 9

day 1) arriving Lyon on aug 10

day 2) Lyon

day 3) Lyon to Annecy, Annecy back to Lyon

day 4) Lyon to Avignon

day 5) Avignon to Arles, Arles to Lyon

day 6) Lyon

day 7) Lyon to Toronto.

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Don%26#39;t hesitate asking for more infos.

Glad you come to Lyon, sure you%26#39;re going to like it, we had an home exchange with a family from Toronto a few years ago, they loved Lyon and we loved Toronto!

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Dihon, I would love to visit Annecy someday, but it%26#39;s over three hours by train from Lyon. That puts it out of daytrip distance for me. I%26#39;m still working on a trip that includes Annecy. It took me 20 years to plan a trip that included Lyon!

-- Steve

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Yakkin, I do know the Lyon Annecy schedules pretty well as my parents live in Annecy and my kids take this train very often to visit them. I am afraid you don%26#39;t have the right info (too bad you did not come to this forum): if you pick up a direct train it is a 2 hours trip, not a 3 hours one (a little less than 2 hours actually...). You still have plenty of time to spend in Annecy as the train station is in the center.

Dihon, I checked the schedules for you, but very easy to do it on the SNCF website. Here are for example 2 options for a day trip (schedules OK on August 12th):

- Lyon Part-Dieu departure at 7:38am, arrival at Annecy at 9:33am (a 1 hour and 55 minutes trip) if you are an early bird and want plenty of time in Annecy

- or Lyon Part-dieu departure at 9:38am, arrival at Annecy at 11:30am, that is still OK to enjoy a town visit, a nice meal along the canal and an afternoon at the beach : this one is a bus service, operated by SNCF

For your return trip:

- Annecy 18:15 (that is 6:15pm), arrival in Lyon at 20:06 (1 hour and 51 minutes trip)

- Annecy 19:31, arrival in Lyon at 21:26 (1 hour and 55 minutes trip)

While in Annecy, I recommend you rent a bike as it is very nice to cycle on the bike paths along the lake. This will allow you to get to the very nice beaches; the lake water is very clear (the cleanest in Europe) and is not cold (23°C yesterday). My favourite beach is Angon but you have to pay an entrance fee; Sevrier and Doussard are nice too but more crowded in summer. Have a look:

…annecyaravis.com/magazine-80,the-beaches-of…

www.annecy-location-velo.com/en/index.html

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There are also a number of attractive towns that can be visited by local trains which don%26#39;t need reservations or advance ticket purchase. These include Macon, Bourg-en-Bresse and Vienne.

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and Pérouges !

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I%26#39;m not the OP, but thank you all for your advice. I think you have planned our trip for next year. I have taken careful note of the place names.

-- Steve