With kids · Lyon · France
Lyon with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Matt Neale from UK, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
Lyon is family-friendly: a free zoo and boating lake in the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the Musée des Confluences, funiculars and Guignol puppet shows. The hills and stairs are hard with strollers, so use metro line C and the funiculars. Top picks: Parc de la Tête d'Or, Musée des Confluences and Musée Miniature et Cinéma. Families usually base themselves in Brotteaux and the 6th arrondissement.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Brotteaux and the 6th arrondissement
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- December
Best things to do with kids
Park · 6th arrondissement
1.Parc de la Tête d'Or
One of the largest urban parks in France, covering more than 100 hectares, with a boating lake, a free zoo with an African plain, botanical gardens with large greenhouses, rose gardens and pony rides for children.
Enter by the Porte des Enfants du Rhône and rent a rowing boat on the lake on summer afternoons.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Couples
Museum · Confluence
2.Musée des Confluences
Opened in 2014 at the point where the Rhône and Saône meet, this deconstructivist cloud of glass and steel holds a science and anthropology museum covering the origins of the universe, life on Earth and human societies, with fossils, a mammoth skeleton and ethnographic collections.
Go up to the roof terrace for a view of the river confluence.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Nature
Museum · Vieux Lyon
3.Musée Miniature et Cinéma
In a Renaissance building in Vieux Lyon, this museum displays hyper-realistic miniature scenes alongside original props, costumes and special-effects pieces from well-known films.
A good choice for a rainy afternoon in Vieux Lyon with children.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Art
Museum · Vieux Lyon
4.Gadagne museums
The largest Renaissance building in Vieux Lyon houses two museums: one on the history of Lyon and one on puppetry, including Guignol, the puppet character created in Lyon in the early 19th century. A terrace garden café sits at the top.
End with a drink in the hanging garden café on the upper level.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Religious site · Fourvière
5.Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Built between 1872 and 1896 on the hill above Vieux Lyon, the white basilica has a lavish interior of mosaics, gilding and marble. The esplanade beside it is the city's main viewpoint, looking over the rooftops, the two rivers and, on clear days, Mont Blanc.
Take the funicular up from Vieux Lyon and walk down through the Jardin du Rosaire for views on the way.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Views
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Street · Terreaux
6.Fresque des Lyonnais
A trompe-l'œil mural covering a whole building on the Saône quay depicts about 30 famous people from Lyon's history, including the Lumière brothers, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with the Little Prince and chef Paul Bocuse, at windows and on balconies.
Combine it with a walk along the Saône quays towards Vieux Lyon.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Kids
- Photo spot
Rainy-day ideas
- Musée des Confluences — Go up to the roof terrace for a view of the river confluence.
- Musée Miniature et Cinéma — A good choice for a rainy afternoon in Vieux Lyon with children.
- Gadagne museums — End with a drink in the hanging garden café on the upper level.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, luxury and quiet stays
Brotteaux and the 6th arrondissement
East of the Rhône, the 6th arrondissement is a well-heeled residential district of wide avenues, upscale shops and restaurants, with the Parc de la Tête d'Or and its free zoo at the northern end. It is calm, close to the Halles Paul Bocuse and a short walk across the Rhône bridges to the Presqu'île.
- Good
- Quiet and green; Next to Lyon's biggest park; Upmarket food shops
- Watch out
- Little nightlife; Farther from Vieux Lyon
- Nearby
- Parc de la Tête d'or, Les Brotteaux, Halles Paul Bocuse
Family travel tips
- The zoo in the Parc de la Tête d'Or is free, with giraffes, lions and an African plain.
- Guignol puppet theatres in Vieux Lyon stage shows for children; check the programme.
- Use the funiculars and metro line C rather than climbing the hills with a stroller.
- Riverside playgrounds on the Berges du Rhône are good for breaks between sights.
- Plan indoor museums for the hottest hours in July and August.
Day trips for families
- Vienne (About 20–30 minutes by train) — A Roman town on the Rhône with the Temple of Augustus and Livia, a large Roman theatre on the hillside and a Gothic cathedral.
- Annecy (About 2 hours by train) — An Alpine lakeside town with canals running through its old town, the Palais de l'Isle prison on an island and swimming and boating on clear Lake Annecy.
- Parc des Oiseaux (About 45 minutes by train) — A large bird park in the Dombes lake district, with aviaries, walk-through habitats and flying displays of birds of prey and parrots, open from spring to autumn.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–June and September–October. December is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Lyon good for kids?
Lyon is family-friendly: a free zoo and boating lake in the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the Musée des Confluences, funiculars and Guignol puppet shows. The hills and stairs are hard with strollers, so use metro line C and the funiculars.
+What can kids do in Lyon?
Parc de la Tête d'Or, Musée des Confluences, Musée Miniature et Cinéma, Gadagne museums and Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière.
+Where should families stay in Lyon?
Brotteaux and the 6th arrondissement: Elegant Haussmann-style avenues next to the Parc de la Tête d'Or.