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Which station in Lyon?
Lyon Part Dieu - the main station in the city centre used by most trains.
Lyon Perrache - the former main station, closer to the old town and still used
by some trains.
Lyon St Exupéry - Lyon Airport station, a 29-minute
18 km tram ride from the city centre.
How to transfer from Part Dieu to St Exupéry by tram
Lyon Part Dieu: Location map
Lyon Part Dieu is Lyon's modern main station opened in 1983 and used by all trains serving Lyon city centre. It's normally the station to choose when booking trains to or from Lyon. The official website for SNCF station information is www.gares-sncf.com. The name Part Dieu means property of God, in ancient times this area of Lyon was swampy unhealthy ground east of the old city.
Platforms A to L
The 12 platforms are one floor up from street level and lettered A to L, with platform A on the west side and platform L on the east side. There are stairs and either escalators or lifts from the platform to the concourse below all the tracks at street level. You can walk between any two platforms in 3 minutes or less.
The concourse. Which exit?
The concourse is a wide passageway beneath all the tracks with two main exits, one on the east side of the station and one on the west. Here you'll find the ticket office (on the northern side of the concourse), and plenty of retail outlets, cafes, ticket machines.
West entrance/exit = Porte Rhone = Exit Béraudier-Centre-Ville, towards the city centre & old town. The metro is this side too.
East entrance/exit = Porte Alpes = Exit Villette-Villeurbanne, for the Rhone Express tram to Lyon St Exupéry station & airport, and Eurexpo Lyon.
Luggage lockers & toilets
The station has left luggage lockers (consigne in French), located in a small alleyway off the main concourse. The easily-missed exit doors from the concourse into this alleyway are on your left as you walk towards the main Porte Alpes exit, on the platform K side of the station shortly before reaching that exit. In this alleyway you'll also find the main station toilets and the SNCF Salon Grand Voyageur lounge. See here for luggage locker opening times & prices.
Getting to & from the old town
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It's a 3.1 km 40-minute walk from Lyon Part Dieu to Lyon's old town on the far bank of the Rhône. See walking route map.
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Metro: Lyon has a modern metro, see www.tcl.fr, select English top right. Lyon Part Dieu metro station is on Line B. To reach the old town, take Line B two stops to Saxe-Gambetta then Line D three stops to Vieux Lyon, total journey time 20 minutes.
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Express tram: For the Rhone Express tram to St Exupéry TGV station & airport, see below.
Somewhere to eat
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There are many shops, sandwich kiosks and burger bars in and around the station, but I have yet to find anywhere special for a proper meal in or near Lyon Part Dieu itself.
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However, if you've time between trains for a proper meal, head out of the station to one of these:
The Table et Partage is a 8-minute 600m walk east of Lyon Part Dieu, see walking map, website table-et-partage.com. Recommended so far by one seat61 correspondent as having excellent food and staff, very handy for lunch between trains.
The Brasserie de l'Est is a 14-minute 1 km walk north of Lyon Part Dieu, see walking map, website www.brasseries-bocuse.com/#e. This is housed in the old Lyon Brotteaux railway station, the station which closed in 1983 when Part Dieu replaced it, now a listed national monument. It's open for lunch and dinner, check opening times on their website. If you eat here, let me know what you think!
Somewhere to stay
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For a inexpensive hotel near the station, the dependable Hotel Ibis Budget is right next to Lyon Part Dieu ad gets good reviews.
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For a short break in Lyon you'd probably want a hotel in or near the old town. For something special consider the Villa Florentine, a former convent now a top hotel in the heart of the city with panoramic views and even a swimming pool. For something cheaper, the Grand Hotel des Terreaux.
Lyon Perrache: Location map
Before 1983, Perrache was Lyon's main station, now it's just a secondary station although it's closer to some parts of the older city than Part Dieu. Some trains such as Lyon-Paris TGVs start at Perrache before calling at Part Dieu.
Lyon St Exupéry: Location map
The impressive bird-like Lyon St Exupéry station is located at Lyon airport, astride the Marseille-Paris TGV line as it bypasses Lyon to the east. Designed by celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava, it opened in 1994, originally called Lyon Satolas. Some cheap Ouigo TGV trains to Paris go from St Exupéry rather than Part Dieu, and two of the three daily TGV trains from Paris to Turin & Milan call at St Exupéry rather than Part Dieu. So you may find yourself heading here even if you're not catching a plane. The station has limited facilities as it's used by a fraction of the passengers who use Part Dieu, but there's a cafe and toilets and ticket machines. You'll find more facilities including a self-service restaurant and waiter-service restaurant if you walk a few minutes along the walkway/travelators to the adjacent airport terminal.
How to transfer between Lyon Part Dieu & St Exupéry
It's easy to transfer between Lyon Part Dieu & Lyon St Exupéry by dedicated Rhône Express airport tram. The trams run every 15 minutes from early morning until late evening, journey time 29 minutes, fare around €16. Lyon St Exupéry is often signed as Lyon Aéroport, it's the same place. No reservation is necessary, this is a turn up & go airport link.
At Lyon Part Dieu, the tram terminus is directly outside the eastern Porte Alpes/Villette exit, with both tram stop and tram clearly marked in the red Rhône Express colour scheme - Lyon's ordinary city trams are white. At Lyon St Exupéry the tram arrives alongside the TGV station, you go up an escalator or stairs onto the station forecourt and enter the station's main hall through the main entrance doors. If you were going to the airport, you'd then walk through the TGV station and along the walkway/travelators to the airport terminal.
You can buy a ticket at the tram stop from the ticket machines or buy from the conductor on board the tram. However, you can save a euro by buying online at www.rhonexpress.fr/en. When you buy online you don't specify a particular day, you can use the e-ticket any time within a year from the date you buy it, you simply board a tram and the conductor scans the barcode on your printout or phone.
