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Lyon by public transport


Lyon by public transport

Map of the major public tranport lines (metro, tram, trolley bus).
Map of the major public tranport lines (metro, tram, trolley bus).
Lyon's public transportation system, known as TCL , is regarded as one of the most efficient in the country. Central areas are very well served; so are the campuses and eastern suburbs, where many jobs are concentrated. The western suburbs are more residential and can be difficult to reach. As everywhere in France, the network can be perturbed by strikes from time to time. There are four metro (subway) lines (A to D). The first line of the network was line... C in 1974 (lines A and B were already planned but line C took less time to complete because it used an existing funicular tunnel). Line A opened in 1978. Trains generally run every 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the line and the time. Information screens above the platforms display the waiting times for the next two trains and useful information such as delays, upcoming closures, etc.
  • Line A (red, Perrache - Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie) serves Presqu'île, the neighbourhoods around Parc de la Tête d'Or and then runs under Cours Emile Zola, Villeurbanne's main artery. The last two stops (Laurent Bonnevay and Vaulx La Soie) provide numerous connections with buses to the eastern suburbs. Line A connects with line D at Bellecour, line C at Hôtel de Ville, line B at Charpennes, tram lines T1 and T2 at Perrache and T3 at Vaulx La Soie. It is very busy during rush hours, especially between Bellecour and Hôtel de Ville.
  • Line B (blue, Charpennes - Stade de Gerland) serves most notably Part Dieu station and Gerland stadium. It connects with line A at Charpennes and line D at Saxe-Gambetta.
  • Line C (yellow, Hôtel de Ville - Cuire) uses a short cog railway and serves the Croix-Rousse hill. Due to the configuration of the infrastructure, the frequencies are not very good.
  • Line D (green, Gare de Vaise - Gare de Vénissieux), the busiest of the four lines, is entirely automated; this allows good frequency in off-peak hours, especially at night and on Sundays. There are many bus connections to the suburbs at Gare de Vaise, Gorge de Loup, Grange Blanche, Parilly and Gare de Vénissieux.
    • The metro is generally reliable, clean and comfortable. Besides the classical metro, two funiculars run from Vieux Lyon metro station to Saint-Just and Fourvière respectively. There are also four tram lines (T1 to T4). They are not very interesting if you stay within the city centre; they are most useful to reach campuses and suburban areas.
    Inside a trolley bus on the C1 line.
    Inside a trolley bus on the C1 line.
    With more than 100 bus lines, you should be able to go virtually anywhere reasonably far away from the centre. Some of them use trolley (electric) buses; Lyon is one of the few cities in France which still use this system. There are two special bus lines: C1 and C3, where you will find big articulated trolley buses which run very frequently. These are sometimes referred to as Cristalis (actually the brand name of the vehicles) but people do not really use, or even know about this name.
    Travel Warning

    NOTE: On August 29, 2011, a completely redesigned bus network has been put in operation. Make sure you use an up-to-date map. The bus line numbers given in this article are still the old ones and will be updated progressively.

    Metros and trams run approximately from 5AM to midnight. Some bus lines do not run after 9PM. Check the TCL website for details. Maps can be found online:
  • Simple map:
  • Detailed map: . You can ask for a copy of this one in the main metro stations.
    • The prices are: €1.60 for a single journey (valid for 1 hour after the first use on buses, trams, metro and funiculars, unlimited number of transfers, no return), €4.50 for a daily pass. Tickets can be purchased from electronic kiosks located at the stations, but it is important to note that they do not accept paper money (only coins) and foreign credit cards are likely to be rejected. Single tickets can be purchased from bus drivers but the price is €2 in that case. Group tickets are available from the tourist office.

    In the directions given in this article, M stands for metro, F for funicular, T for tram and B for bus (line(s) and stop are indicated).


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    Lyon Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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