Best part, most charming part to stay in Lyon? - we will rent an apartment.

Hi -- I wonder if you could describe what you're visualizing when you say "charming?"

Lyon is a pretty big city (by French standards) with lots of different neighborhoods. Are you looking for pretty architecture? Parks? Shopping? Nightlife? Tourist attractions? Monumental buildings? Squares and sculptures? Museums?

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in responding to your follow-up. I guess I was a bit vague. I guess I am thinking historic buildings and quaint and nice views. Definitely not night life. Also, safety and ease of getting around should be added in....

I just love places with markets, and adorable buildings....etc. Like "old" Lyon, if there is such a thing - but only if it a safe area too and still vibrant enough but not nightlife.

Google Vieux Lyon, that is the old town where you want to stay near the river and the cathedral. You can pretty much see everything on foot in Lyon.

So, we found a place very close to Old Lyon - we googled that but it has 150 stairs, and I don't know if I can do those stairs. It would be difficult. Beautiful place.

Or, there is a place in the 5th arrondisement. Anyone know about that area?

Kate

Old Lyon is possibly the closest that Lyon gets to charming, but it's also noisy and crowded at night.

We stayed across the river in the second in a nice appartement facing the river. Even that wasn't particularly quiet before midnight, but most of the noise was motorbikes.

Well, if you want to avoid night life the 6th arrondissement would be the best choice. It's quiet and is the most expensive area of Lyon, with some pretty architecture and it's adjacent to Parc de La Tête d'Or. Along Boulevard des Belges is a line of grand houses bordering the park, which is a great place to walk with beautiful plantings in various areas, along with Victorian-looking greenhouses and a zoo. It can be crowded on nice summer weekend days but it's generally quiet and peaceful on weekdays. On the other side of the 6th along the Rhône River are nice views across the river to multi-colored buildings lining the far bank, with Fourvière hill and Croix-Rousse in the background. There are several barges permanently parked along the east bank of the Rhône that have been converted into bars and restaurants, between Pont de Lattre-de-Tassigny in the north to Pont Wilson in the south. There's a riverside promenade along there, with nice views of the far bank, including the recently renovated spectacular Grand Hôtel-Dieu.

As for markets, there's a neighborhood market once a week (Fridays, I believe) in Place Zoé Roche along rue Montgolfier between rue Félix Jacquier and rue Boileau. Much larger and more interesting markets can be found with easy transit connections at Saint-Antoine along the Saône River more or less centered on the Passerelle du Justice (pedestrian bridge across the Saône), Croix Rousse (with an interesting cogwheel métro ride up a steep incline), and further south at Place Jean Macé, easily reached by bus or métro. Actually, Lyon has over 50 street markets scattered around, so it's not difficult to find one.

If you follow my suggestion in that other post about staying at either Hôtel des Artistes or Hôtel des Célestins in the Presqu'île, the massive Saint-Antoine market is just a block away.

Merci for all the information.
We are actually going to rent an apartment. We always do that as I have dietary restrictions and need to cook. :-) But, which parts of the city, that is helpful. Is the 5th arrondisement also okay? Sounds like the 6th is perfect but there is a place in the 5th too.

In April we rented an apartment in Vieux Lyon. It wasn’t noisy and is probably our favorite apartment we have ever rented, and we have rented many. If you would like the details I am happy to share them with you in a PM.

@Andrea- could I have the info for the apartment in Vieux Lyon as well? We're traveling there in October next year and I'd love to have a great place to stay!

I don't know the arrondisement number but the area around the Place de la Croix-Rousse is very nice. You could also try the area between the Opera and the Croix-Rousse, it has some very nice properties but it's very steeply-graded, so I'd only recommend it for people with plenty of energy and no mobility issues.

Yes - share the apartment details

Kate,
It depends on where in the 5th you're looking at. Most of the 5th is far from a lot of the popular tourist sights, as well as central Lyon. It's mostly large apartment blocks and commercial areas, interspersed with small parks. However, at its northeastern tip are Fourvière Hill with the basilica, Roman ruins, Gallo-Roman museum, and close access to Vieux Lyon and the Presqu'île.

Once you get south of A6, though, which is in a tunnel in this area, you're into bland apartment buildings and commercial areas. You would be dependent primarily on bus transport to get to the more interesting parts of town. If you'd like to message me with the specific area you're considering (such as an intersection or address), I could let you know what I know about it (I lived in Lyon for several years).

As for my prior suggestions, Hôtel Célestins has a 65 m2 apartment (~700 sq. ft) composed of the two rooms on the top floor (Célestins and Toits de Lyon), two WCs, and a kitchen that can be equipped on demand. There's a small elevator convenient for a person and baggage, or two persons without baggage (if I recall correctly).

And Sammy knows — they used to live there !

Kate, we found a decent apartment rented by a couple in Vieux Lyon. It is located within an attractive courtyard, literally next door to the actual miraboule 'La Tour Rose' (not to be confused with the nearby swank hotel with the same name). A miraboule is like a cousin to those traboules, but is more open-air. For 'medieval fantasy visual effect', that miraboule is pretty hard to beat. Its proximity to rue de Boeuf adds value.
We got the impression that there were other rentals within the building to which the 'La Tour Rose' tower is attached. We enjoyed Old Lyon. Its quotient of touristiness felt offset by the good places to eat, excellent takeout (i.e. Jules boulangerie) plus its nearness to the Puppet Theatre and also the churches. *Tip: do not miss the close-by, quai-side farmers market @Quai St. Antoine, one of France's finest. Its either Saturdays or Sundays, forget which. Two-fers possible on either side: the Braderie (pottery) market and the modest stamp-collectors market.
Hope all goes well.
cordialement
I am done. the end

The difference between a traboule and a miraboule is that a traboule has two or more entrances from the street and can be used as a link between streets, whereas a miraboule is a courtyard with only one entrance from the street.