I am arriving by train at the Gare Part-Dieu. My hotel is in the Presqu'ile area. How do I get from one to the other? According to Google, I have to walk or drive. Clearly, Google is not familiar with public transit in Lyon. Perhaps you are?
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
When we made this trip (Part Dieu to Presque Isle) last summer we took the metro. Straightforward but for one hitch that I will share with you.
The metro station is right in front of the train station. It is not staffed, you must buy your ticket from a machine. The machine probably will not honor your credit card.
Therefore, bring change down to the station. If you don't have it, one of the vendors in the train station will break a bill for you.
Once you get to Presque Isle, go to the TI and buy city passes for everyone. They include transit and are a great deal.
I also suggest that you get a good guidebook for Lyon, one that describes things like the metro system (and the trams, buses, and funicular!). Bonus points if it details the city pass and warns you about paying for your first metro ticket.
Posted by
Normandie
302 posts
Where in the Presqu'île area is your hotel? This part of the central city is over 2.5 miles long from Place des Terreaux to the north to the Musée des Confluences in the south.
Depending on your answer, your options are bus, metro, tram, taxi, or walking (you could also bike with Lyon's bike share system Vélo'v, but that wouldn't be practical with luggage).
If you'll have a smartphone with you and access to either wifi or cellular data (Gare Lyon Part Dieu has free wifi), TCL Sytral, the agency that runs Lyon's transit system, has a good app that can help you choose between the Metro, bus, or tram for the best trip depending on where you are and what time you either want to leave or arrive. It has a map feature to allow you to find the bus, metro, or tram stop. It also keeps track of detours, route maintenance, and even manifestations (which may become quite common if Mr. Macron proposes any sweeping changes to French labor law, which he evidently intends to do).
You can also do some "what if" transit scenarios on TCL's website (http://www.tcl.fr/) for the time of day when you'll be arriving at Lyon Part Dieu. I recommend sticking with the French language version of the website (the ".fr" one) rather than the English language one (the ".fr/en" one, as the French language one works better, in my experience. If you do that, make sure you pick a day that will match your day of arrival (it doesn't have to be the actual date, just the same type of day). For example, schedules tend to differ between weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. So if (for example) you're arriving on a Tuesday on a non-holiday, pick a weekday that's not a holiday to run your schedule scenarios.