Lyon Part Dieu train station to city center

Take a tram or the subway. Vieux Lyon or the old town located near the river is where to stay.

Thanks for the reply, which number tram should I take, will have luggage. Thanks

Nah... don't stay in Vieux Lyon unless you like staying in a tourist area that has little connection to the day to day life of the Lyonnais people.

I would recommend staying in the presqu'île around Place Bellecour. When I lived in Lyon, I would recommend to visitors we couldn't host in our apartment to stay at either Hôtel des Artistes or Hôtel Célestins. Both are located just north of Place Bellecour and provide easy access to central Lyon. Both have air conditioning but are sufficiently "French" to entertain the inexperienced visitor to Lyon,.

As for getting around, download the TCL app that provides schedules and route recommendations for mass transit in Lyon. Lots of buses and a Métro line go from Part-Dieu to Bellecour. It's an easy, well-travelled route. You can even walk the route if your bags aren't too heavy and you have the time.

I stayed at the Hotel Mercure Lyon Centre Beaux Arts last fall. It's just two blocks north of Place Bellacour. Excellent location to get anywhere. Easy walk to the old city.

From Part Dieu to Bellacour you take the B line to Saxe Gambatta then switch to the D line to Bellacour. The D line continues into Vieux Lyon.

The switch between the B and D lines is a little tricky.

We stayed around Place Bellecour and it was fine and easy walking access to old town, the funicular etc. BUT the idea that you want to experience the every day life of the Lyonnaise people -- LOL. why?

I am sitting on a balcony right now in Annecy overlooking the old Prison on the little canal in the center of tourist Annecy -- it is beautiful. I have no desire to 'experience' the every day life of Annecy citizens at Monoprix, high rise ugly apartment buildings etc. Old Town would be find for Lyon as is where we stayed --but there is a reason the Basilica, the Traboules etc attract tourists.

Unfortunately much urban architecture in France is as ugly as it is in the US and best avoided on vacation.
It is easy to take the tram from Part Deux to hotels in town, but it is also easy to take a cab and with luggage a perfectly reasonable choice. We took the tram in and walked to our hotel and decided to take a cab back where we stowed our luggage at the station and walked over the the Les Halles Paul Bocuse for lunch before the train. Sometimes you want it to be easy.

If you define "city center" as Place Bellecour, then the fastest way from Part-Dieu is metro line B to Saxe-Gambetta, change to metro line D to Bellecour. There is no direct tram or metro between these points. (The closest would be tram T1 from Part-Dieu to Guillotière then walk across the bridge over the Rhône to Bellecour.) Line D continues on to Vieux Lyon so that would also get you there. But, if you have luggage, I'd suggest a cab. There are escalators and elevators in these stations, but they may not be at the exit you're nearest, they may be out of order, etc. etc.
As far as where to stay, yes Vieux Lyon is full of tourists, because it's near many of the main "sights" - the Roman ruins and museum, the traboules. Bellecour is more central and would be more convenient for getting to other parts of the city. The north-south streets north of Bellecour are a major shopping area, usually full of life. There are things to see in several parts of the city - I enjoyed the silk museum (Maison des Canuts) in the Croix-Rousse, for example.

As for why anyone would want to experience the everyday life of a resident of the country they visit, clearly some don't. Some are blissfully happy to carve out an imaginary place they would like to think represents life in the country they visit.

And, I suppose, that's OK.

It's all about what one hopes to gain from their travel.

Lyon is big enough. And diverse enough. That a visitor can experience whatever they want to experience. They can even lie to themselves and convince themselves that they truly understand a destination.

It's all about what one hopes to gain from their travel.

I am now sitting in an apartment in the 13th in Paris where we are staying a couple of months -- Annecy was a side trip. Now on our zillionth trip we enjoy being away from tourist areas and just enjoying being 'Parisians' -- but someone going to Lyon for two or three days is doing to see the things they are famous for -- both the Bellecour area and old town are tourist centric and great places to stay and they are an easy walk over a pedestrian bridge over the Soane from each other. Central Lyon feels like a village although it is part of a huge metro area.