Two days in Lyon covers the essentials and nothing more: Vieux Lyon’s traboules and Fourviere on day one, the Presqu’ile and a second bouchon on day two. That’s not enough time for Croix-Rousse or the Confluence, and pretending otherwise just means rushing the traboules, which defeats the point of walking them quietly. Add days with our 3 day itinerary once you know you want more, or read the full Lyon guide for everything outside these two days.

Three days adds Croix-Rousse and the silk district to the Vieux Lyon and Presqu’ile core, which is enough time to actually understand why Lyon calls itself two cities stacked on two hills rather than just one riverside old town. Drop to our 2 day version if that’s too much ground, or move up to 4 days to add the Confluence and Parc de la Tete d’Or properly instead of skimming them.

Four days is the sweet spot for the city itself: Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, the Presqu’ile, Croix-Rousse, and a full day for the Confluence and Parc de la Tete d’Or without rushing any of them. Drop to our 3 day version if a day trip is eating your schedule, or move up to 5 days to add the cathedral, the river and La Guillotiere properly. Book these before you go:

Five days lets you correct the Fourviere-versus-cathedral mix-up properly, at the actual Cathedrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and add La Guillotiere’s food scene and the Institut Lumiere on top of the four-day core. Drop to 4 days if a full fifth day feels like too much city, or move up to 6 days to add the Lugdunum museum and the Beaux-Arts properly. Book these before you go: Presqu’ile and Vieux Lyon stay on Booking.

Six days is where a Lyon-only trip starts going deep rather than wide: the Lugdunum museum itself, not just the free ruins outside it, plus the Musee des Beaux-Arts and a proper shopping afternoon on top of the five-day core. Drop to 5 days if two museum-heavy days back to back sounds like too much, or move up to 7 days to add the Maison des Canuts and a slow departure day.

Seven days is the full city spine with nothing rushed: two hills, two rivers, two certified bouchons minimum, the Lugdunum museum, and a slow closing day at the Maison des Canuts before departure. Drop to 6 days if a full week in one city sounds excessive, or read our Lyon, France day-trip guide if you’d rather trade a day of this for Beaujolais or Annecy instead of staying in the city the whole time.

Two days, two day trips, nothing wasted retreading the city itself. Day 1 is Vienne, a 30 minute train ride to some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in France. Day 2 is the Beaujolais vineyards, best handled by car or a small-group tour since public buses barely reach the villages that matter. Staying longer, see the 3 day , 4 day or 7 day version of this plan, each one this same spine with another day trip added on top.

Three days, three day trips, all doable from one Lyon hotel room without ever changing your base. Day 1 is Vienne’s Roman ruins, the cheapest and lightest of the three. Day 2 is the Beaujolais vineyards, a car-or-tour day since public transit does not reach the villages that matter. Day 3 is Perouges, a medieval walled village that rewards a half day and punishes anyone who books a full one against it.

Four days, four day trips, one Lyon hotel room the whole time. Day 1 is Vienne, Day 2 is the Beaujolais vineyards, Day 3 is the medieval village of Perouges, and Day 4 adds Annecy, the alpine lake town most itineraries badly undersell on travel time. Budget the full day for it, not an afternoon add-on. Need less time, see the 2 day or 3 day version. Need more, see the 5 day or 7 day plan, both this same spine extended further.

Five days covers every day trip from Lyon actually worth the train ticket: Vienne, Beaujolais, Perouges, Annecy and now Grenoble, the one legitimate single-day taste of the Alps. Same base, same hotel, five separate directions out of Part-Dieu or Perrache, none of them requiring you to change rooms mid-week. Shorter versions of this plan run 2 , 3 and 4 days . The 6 day and 7 day versions add a flex day and a departure day on top of this one, same spine, nothing re-ordered.

Lyon’s real advantage over Paris or Marseille as a base is not the food, it is the map. Five genuinely worthwhile day trips sit within about two hours of Part-Dieu or Perrache station: Vienne’s Roman ruins, the Beaujolais vineyards, the walled village of Perouges, the alpine lake town of Annecy, and Grenoble for a single-day taste of the Alps. One popular add-on is not worth the trouble: Chamonix has no direct train and swallows a whole day for barely three hours on the ground.

Six days runs the full set of worthwhile Lyon day trips, Vienne, Beaujolais, Perouges, Annecy and Grenoble, then adds a flex day rather than a sixth trip, because five straight days of trains and tastings leaves nobody rested for what comes next. Shorter versions of this plan run 2 through 5 days , each one this exact spine with a day trimmed off the end. The 7 day version adds a dedicated departure day on top of this one.

A full week from one Lyon base: Vienne, Beaujolais, Perouges, Annecy and Grenoble across five travel days, a flex day to recover, and a departure day built around the Rhonexpress tram rather than a rushed morning. Shorter versions of this plan run 2 through 6 days , each one the same spine with a day trimmed off the end. Book these before you go Book the Beaujolais tour first, small-group departures sell out fastest in tasting season and around Beaujolais Nouveau week.

Lyon calls itself the gastronomic capital of France and mostly earns it, but half the guides written about it get basic facts wrong: they call Fourviere the cathedral (it isn’t), treat any bistro as a bouchon (it isn’t), and write Paul Bocuse in the present tense (he died in 2018). Get the corrections out of the way and the city itself is straightforward: two rivers, two hills, a Renaissance old town riddled with private passageways the public is merely tolerated in, and a food scene that punishes anyone who orders off a menu translated into five languages.