Lyon Airport is connected to tram and bus services, and there is a long-distance train station at the terminals.
Some long-distance buses also stop at the airport.
Tram Rhônexpress
The fastest transport to the city centre is the "Rhônexpress" tram, which terminates at Part Dieu station, where you can change to metro, tram and bus lines throughout the city.
Tickets can be purchased from the ticket machines at the stops (card and cash payments are possible) or online at rhonexpress.fr.
Rhônexpress is not part of Lyon's transport company TCL, so tickets are only valid for travel to/from the airport. If you want to continue travelling around Lyon by metro, buses or TCL trams, you need to buy additional tickets.
| Online | Buy on the spot | |
|---|---|---|
| One-way | 15,20 eur | 16,30 eur |
| Return | 28,30 eur | 26,70 eur |
The tram journey to the centre is quick and comfortable.
- Travel time - 30 minutes
- Frequency - 15 minutes
- First tram from Part Dieu - 4:25
- Last tram from the airport - 0:00
- Official information: rhonexpress.fr
Bus + tram (cheapest)
For the cheapest transport, a combination of bus 47 from the airport to the Meyzieu Z.I. terminus, where you change to tram line 3. This goes to Part Dieu station. If you're heading directly to the city centre, you can speed up your journey by changing from tram 3 at Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie station to metro line A.
In total, the journey to the centre of Lyon takes around an hour.
Both lines are operated by TCL and there is no special charge to the airport.
Tickets can be purchased from a machine at the bus stop or conveniently by attaching your own payment card to a reader inside the bus or tram.
You can also pay your fare via the TCL mobile app (available on Google Play / App Store).
- 60 minutes - EUR 2
- 120 minutes - 3,50 eur
- 24 hours - 6,50 eur
- 48 hours - 12,50 eur
- 72 hours - 17 eur
Detailed and up-to-date information on ticket prices can be found on the transport company's website: tcl.fr/en/fares.
Bus 47 stops at the airport in front of terminal 1 at the bus station (Gare routiere). From Meyzieu Z.I. station, you can only take tram 3 to the centre, not the "Rhônexpress".
Bus 47 runs once every 30 minutes.
- First bus from Meyzieu Z.I. - 5:50
- Last bus from the airport - 0:02, but the last bus to catch the last tram to the centre leaves at 23:27
Tram number 3 then runs once every 7-10 minutes (15 mins on weekends).
- First tram from the centre - 4:54
- Last tram from Meyzieu Z.I. - 23:53
Timetables and line maps can be found at tcl.fr/en/journey-planner/timetables.
Long-distance trains
A few dozen metres from the terminal is the TGV station, from where fast trains run to the whole of France.
For the cheapest tickets, visit sncf-connect.com.
Taxi
From the airport to the city centre, you can easily get official taxis and the Uber mobile app.
In both cases, you can pay by card. Uber usually has lower fares than regular taxis.
To get to central Lyon, you can pay around 42 eur via Uber , while regular taxis cost between 45 eur and 55 eur.
Rent a car
Travel through the French countryside on your own and stop independently of timetables at the most beautiful places.
Lyon Airport is home to many local and international car rental companies. Weekly rental prices in the summer season start at 380 eur, while off-season prices start at 250 eur.
Before you drive from Meyzieu Z. I. "to the centre" by T3 tram to Part Dieu station, I find it better to change to the metro at Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and take it to the centre to Hôtel de Ville L. Pradel station in the same time. Those arriving in the evening can take bus 47 in the opposite direction and dock for the night at the Premiere Classe hotel near the airport, which IMHO is better than F1 for a slightly higher price, and then take bus 1E into town in the morning.
You can't buy tickets on the TCL app at the moment, you need to download the TCL E-Ticket https://play.google.com/store/ap...eb_share and they have another one to track traffic - TCL Live.
And it's also pretty annoying to search for airport connections in various apps - you can't filter out the overpriced Rhonexpress tram well enough.
On the bus, you can pay by credit card or Google Pay or validate an e-ticket, so don't confuse terminals to avoid paying for a ticket unnecessarily when you already have, say, a 24-hour ticket on your phone. :)