Lyon Day Trips by Train: Vienne to Annecy
Lyon Day Trips by Train, Tram-Train and Tour
Four of the best days out from Lyon need only a rail ticket, and the fifth needs a car or a tour. Ranked by how long you spend getting there, they run from 15 minutes to two hours.
Vienne, the quick one
TER trains leave Part-Dieu and Perrache for Vienne in roughly 15 to 25 minutes, up to 47 a day. A full fare is about €8.50, with cheaper tickets for card holders. Vienne has a Roman theatre and the Temple of Augustus and Livia, each charging a few euros, and a joint ticket covers several sites. The Saint-Romain-en-Gal archaeological site sits across the Rhône bridge. Jazz à Vienne fills the Roman theatre in summer. Because the journey is so short, Vienne works as a half day tacked onto a morning in Lyon.
Pérouges, the walled village
Take the TER to Meximieux-Pérouges, about 20 to 27 minutes from Part-Dieu, then walk uphill for about 20 minutes to the village gate. Entry to Pérouges is free. The cobbled lanes and the sugar galette are the draw. Plan lunch there and the walk back downhill after.
Annecy, a full day
A direct TER runs in about 1 hour 51 minutes to 2 hours each way, with fares from about €20 to €30 depending on how early you book. Allow four hours on trains. That leaves roughly five hours at the lake and in the canal-lined old town, so take the earliest train and the last practical one back. Check times on SNCF Connect .
Beaujolais and the Pierres Dorées
The golden-stone villages north of Lyon, with Oingt the best known, are hard to reach without a car. A half-day tasting tour starts from about €100 per person. Beaujolais Nouveau arrives on the third Thursday of November, which is 19 November in 2026, and Lyon’s bars celebrate it. Browse Beaujolais wine tours to compare departure times and group sizes. If you drive, rent in town only for this trip.
Not Chamonix
Chamonix is a long way from Lyon by rail. The quickest journey is about 4 hours 38 minutes with a change at Bellegarde, and only a couple of trains a day run. It suits an overnight stay, not an afternoon out.
Planning the day
Buy tickets at the station machines or on the SNCF app, and validate paper tickets before boarding where a validator is on the platform. Back in Lyon, TCL single tickets cost €2.10 and a 24-hour pass is €7.10. Pickpockets work the platforms at Part-Dieu and the metro, so keep your bag zipped.
If you land at the airport and want to leave your luggage first, the Rhônexpress tram-train to Part-Dieu costs €16.30 online and €17.40 at the machine for a single, and takes about 30 minutes.
For where a trip fits among Lyon’s own sights, see the Lyon activities page and the 4-day Lyon itinerary .
Tip: if you can only do one, pick Vienne on a morning with Roman interest or Annecy on a clear day, and book the return leg’s time in advance.