Lyon: Some Hints and Practical Information

Getting around and going out

Rhônexpress is the shuttle that connects the airport to the city.

TCL is the local public transportation company.

If you like cycling, you can try the velo'v rental bike system. From ENS Lyon, there is a very nice cycling path going north, to the city center, along the Rhône river.

SNCF is the national railway company.

Going out in Lyon (Sortir à Lyon) (unfortunately, it is only available in French).

The official web site of the city (in French).

The tourism office.

A website in English dedicated to Lyon.

A site which may contain interesting information: My little Lyon.

A page presenting the street markets in Lyon. The farmer's market of the Wednesday evening Place Carnot is interesting. Le marché de la création takes place every Sunday morning on the River Saône banks.

You can also visit Les Halles de Lyon, 102 cours Lafayette, 69003 Lyon (food is an important matter in Lyon!).

Restaurants

If you are interested in food and wine, Lyon is a pretty nice place for both. If you can read some French, you can have a look at Le petit paumé and more precisely at this page. RPPP means "Recommandé par le Petit Paumé" (recommended by the Petit Paumé).

I (= Nicolas B.) like (they are sorted in alphabetical order):

Restaurants close to ENS Lyon

I recommend Bergamote 123, rue de Gerland, 69007 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 72 64 32.

Chez Carlo 241, Rue Marcel Mérieux, 69007 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 72 62 48. Good Italian cuisine restaurant.

Otherwise, the following ones are OK:

Eating/drinking, beside restaurants

If you want to have dinner late at night, a few addresses (I did not try the first three):

You can have very good ice creams at:

Chocolate:

Pâtisserie:

Bakery:

You can buy very good (but sometimes expensive) food products in Les Halles de Lyon, 102 cours Lafayette, 69003 Lyon.

Cafés/bars:

If you are interested in wines, it will be a pleasure for us to talk about it if you like. You will find fairly nice hints from Cave Valmy (either 27 pl Valmy, 69009 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 83 71 68, or 5 rue d'Austerlitz, 69004 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 30 14 60). Other nice wine shops are Antic Wine, 18 rue du Bœuf, 69005 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 37 08 96, or Maison Malleval.

You can get fine teas from Cha Yuan. Two shops in Lyon. Here and here. Very fine teas also at Damman Frères, 3, rue confort, 69002 Lyon, +33 (0)4 78 37 94 56

Books

There is a big bookshop called Decitre located at Place Bellecour (you can find books in English there).

Other bookshops in the city center:

There is a huge shopping mall at la Part-Dieu (next to the railway station) and another one in the "quartier Confluence" (south of Perrache railway station).

Medical problems

Richard Topenot is a nice general practitioner.

In case of a medical problem in the evening or during the week-end, one possibility is to go there.

Otherwise, of course, there are emergency services in some hospitals: see this page and this page (a page in English is available there).