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Staying in Presqu'île, Lyon

I plan to spend 3 nights or so in Lyon mid-June with my husband and 28-year old daughter. I hear that the Presqu'île would be an ideal neighborhood to stay. But I could use some advice about reasonably-priced but comfortable accommodations: should I look for a hotel; B&B, or apartment? An apartment is appealing because we need two separate sleeping spaces whereas, for a hotel, we'd probably need to book two separate rooms. Thank you.

Posted by
11294 posts

If you don't mind stairs, I had a nice stay at the Hotel du Theatre. It's relatively inexpensive, so two rooms may be in your price range. I can't get the English language version of the website to load, so here are the prices in French; I booked with an e-mail in English with no problems. http://www.hotel-du-theatre.fr/les_tarifs.php

Posted by
408 posts

You may want to broaden your focus a bit. When we had friends from the states visit us a couple of years ago when we lived in Lyon, they stayed at a nice AirBnb rental just down the street from our apartment in the 6th arrondissement. That's a quiet area, but access to the 1st and 2nd arrondissements, which is where you're looking, is very easy via foot, bike, bus, or metro.

If you're fixed on staying in the presqu'île, I recommend staying north of Place Bellecour. South of there gets increasingly sketchy the farther south you go until you get into the new gentrified neighborhoods around the Confluence shopping mall. Even that area is spotty.

Another hotel to consider in the presqu'île is Hotel des Célestines. We arranged for another family of visitors who were traveling with their 18-year old son to stay there when we met them in Lyon. There are some large rentals on the upper floor, I believe including one with two bedrooms. Don't know the price, though.

I'm curious what "reasonably-priced" means to you.

Posted by
8 posts

Hello Bob,

Thank you very much for your reply. I think the 6th sounds very appealing for its quiet and proximity to the park. Do you happen to know the name of the B&B where your friends stayed? Or of any others? To be honest, I'm not sure what "reasonably priced" means, other than not the top of the line and not the bottom, either. We want a clean, comfortable, convenient place. That's the most important thing.

I will start to do some research into the 6th. I had read that the presqu'île was a great location but it might be busier and noisier than we'd like. Thanks so much.

Posted by
4132 posts

I do not agree that the 6eme would be a good base for such a short visit to the city. Other than the park, which is very nice, it is far from most attractions.

You've only got 2 days on the ground there. The Presque Isle, near Bellecour or north of it, is not a bad choice at all.

Posted by
408 posts

I do not agree that the 6eme would be a good base for such a short visit to the city. Other than the park, which is very nice, it is far from most attractions.

Well, having lived in the 6th for three years, I suppose I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. It's not far. Rather, the central part of Lyon is quite compact. Now, perhaps you would gauge a <5 minute Metro ride or a 15 minute walk as too far, but I would not.

I'm curious: how many days, exactly, have you stayed in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon?

To the original poster, I'll check to see if I can find the same apartment our friends used. It's late here so I'm headed off to bed.

Posted by
12172 posts

I found a nice studio apartment through Airbnb that was all I needed. It was uphill a little from what I would have considered an ideal spot. Presque Isle is fine or on the west side of there from the river bank to the funicular. Think of it as the walkable band along the river, after that the hill is steep. Most of the restaurants are just on the west side of the river and the funicular takes you up to the Roman museum and theaters.