During my trip to Lyon, I used the Lyon City Card to visit museums, take a guided tour, enjoy a river cruise and travel across the city using public transport. The card combines museum admission, unlimited transport and several attractions in a single pass.
After three days in Lyon, I calculated exactly how much I saved compared to buying everything separately. In this review, I break down what the Lyon City Card includes, how much it costs and whether it offers good value for a weekend in Lyon.
Save money on museums, public transport and attractions in Lyon
Table of Contents
What’s Included in the Lyon City Card: Museums, Transport and Attractions
The Lyon City Card includes free admission to more than 20 museums and attractions across the city. These include some of Lyon’s most popular and expensive museums, such as the Lumière Cinema Museum and the Musée des Confluences.
The card also includes selected guided tours of Vieux Lyon, the city’s UNESCO-listed historic centre, and Croix-Rousse, Lyon’s historic silk-weaving district. You can also use the card to join a sightseeing cruise on the Saône River.
One of the most useful benefits of the Lyon City Card is unlimited public transport. Although Lyon’s historic centre is relatively compact, reaching attractions such as the Basilica of Fourvière or the Museum of Lugdunum usually requires taking the funicular railway. You will need to use the metro or tram to reach other major museums, including the Museum of Contemporary Art macLYON and the Musée des Confluences.
In my experience, having unlimited access to Lyon’s public transport network makes sightseeing much easier. You can explore different neighbourhoods without worrying about individual tickets while using the city’s extensive system of metros, trams, buses and funiculars.
Which Lyon City Card You Should Buy and How Much It Costs
The Lyon City Card is available in four different durations: 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Prices start at €32 for the shortest option and go up to €68 for the 96-hour pass.
Regardless of the duration you choose, every Lyon City Card includes unlimited travel on Lyon’s public transport network within zones 1 and 2, including buses, metro lines, trams and funicular railways. The card also includes admission to major museums, a sightseeing cruise on the Saône River and selected guided tours of neighbourhoods such as Vieux Lyon and Croix-Rousse.
The Lyon City Card is also available in junior and student versions, as well as packages that include the Rhônexpress airport tram. You can purchase the card online before your trip or directly from the Lyon Tourist Office in Place Bellecour.
Once activated, the card becomes valid from its first use, whether that is your first museum visit or your first journey on public transport.
How Much Money You Can Save with the Lyon City Card: My Real Costs and Savings
To understand whether the Lyon City Card is worth buying, it helps to look at a real example. During my trip, I chose the 72-hour Lyon City Card, which cost €56.
In my case, the card provided excellent value. I visited several museums, used buses, the metro and funicular railways, and joined included activities such as the Saône River cruise and a guided walking tour of the Croix-Rousse district.
In Lyon, it does not take much to recover the initial cost of the card. The Lyon City Card can easily pay for itself. The city’s main attractions are spread across different neighbourhoods, so public transport plays a bigger role than many visitors expect. Visiting some of the more expensive attractions, such as the Musée des Confluences, will help you recover the initial cost quickly.
Here is a breakdown of what I would have paid without the Lyon City Card.
| Attraction / Activity | Individual Price |
|---|---|
| TCL public transport pass (72 hours, zones 1 and 2) | €18 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art macLYON admission ticket | €9 |
| Museum of Lugdunum admission ticket (including temporary exhibitions) | €7 |
| Musée des Confluences admission ticket | €12 |
| Guided tour of the Croix-Rousse traboules and Brochier silk workshop | €21 |
| Saône River sightseeing cruise | €15 |
| Total | €82 |
With the 72-hour Lyon City Card, which cost €56, I visited museums, used public transport and took part in activities with a combined value of €82. This resulted in a real saving of €26 compared to purchasing everything separately.
It is also worth noting that, if I had not needed to catch my FlixBus coach home early in the afternoon, I could have visited the Lumière Museum as well. Admission costs €9.50, which would have increased the overall saving even further.
Based on my experience, the Lyon City Card is one of the best-value city passes I have used anywhere in Europe.
Where to Buy the Lyon City Card Online and in Lyon
You can purchase the Lyon City Card online before your trip or directly from the Lyon Tourist Office in Place Bellecour, which is also where you collect the physical card.
At the time of writing, the price is the same on the official Lyon Tourism website and on GetYourGuide. I personally prefer GetYourGuide because it keeps all my tickets in one place on my phone, without having to search through confirmation emails or download multiple apps.
Another good reason to buy the Lyon City Card in advance is that some guided tours and the Saône River cruise require advance reservations. During the busiest travel periods, places can fill up quickly because these are among the most popular activities included with the card.
Save money on museums, public transport and attractions in Lyon
When the Lyon City Card May Not Be Worth Buying
Based on my experience, the Lyon City Card offers excellent value for most visitors. However, it may not be the best option if you prefer a very relaxed itinerary with few museums and no organised activities.
Many of Lyon’s highlights can be enjoyed for free. Walking through the UNESCO-listed Old Town, exploring the Croix-Rousse district, browsing local markets like Les Halles Paul Bocuse and enjoying the city’s viewpoints do not require a tourist pass.
The central areas of Lyon, including Vieux Lyon, Place Bellecour, Rue Victor Hugo and much of Croix-Rousse, can easily be explored on foot. If you only plan to visit one or two museums and do not expect to use public transport frequently or join guided tours, buying individual tickets may work out cheaper than purchasing the Lyon City Card.
Lyon City Card Review: My Experience and Final Verdict
For a cultural city break of two or three days, I found the Lyon City Card extremely useful. The combination of museums, public transport and included attractions works particularly well in Lyon. Although the historic centre is relatively compact, many of the city’s main museums are located in different neighbourhoods and often require travel by metro, tram or funicular.
I would also consider the card if you are travelling by car and plan to visit attractions outside the city centre, such as the Maison d’Ampère Museum of Electricity or the Clément Ader Aviation Museum, both of which are included in the pass.
Overall, if you enjoy visiting museums, joining guided tours and using public transport regularly, the Lyon City Card can offer significant savings.
