Lyon Walking Tour: Explore Top Sights & Hidden Gems
Recommended by 94% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Lyon, France
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Professional Tour Guide
- 2-hour guided walking tour
- 15 participants per tour guide
- Gratuities (optional)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Office du Tourisme et des Congrès de la Métropole de LyonPl. Bellecour, 69002 Lyon, France
Meet your guide at the RIGHT of the “Office du Tourisme” on the Place Bellecour. We don't meet inside the tourist office.
End point
- Cathédrale Saint-Jean-BaptistePl. Saint-Jean, 69005 Lyon, France
The tour finishes close to Saint Jean Cathedral.
Itinerary
1
Grand Hotel Dieu
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
La Place des Jacobins
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Passerelle du Palais-de-Justice
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Vieux Lyon
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Place Saint-Jean
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 45 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 93 reviews
JosephK_K, May 2026
I also took this tour on May 7th at 2 pm and agree 100% with Marina_E review. They were only 4 of us on this walking tour. I will like to add that I booked this tour in March based on the good reviews but if I had red the 2 reviews ( with 1 star rating) written in April , I would canceled my booking. We had the tour guide that only been in Lyon for a year and it was the worst tour guide I have ever encountered. The tour guide also changed the route and the end point was different and added stops that were not included. I was ready to leave the tour midway since the she bashed and cursed saying the F word about one religion. I signed up for another Free Walking tour on May 9th ( was recommended by another traveler) and I just finished this 2 hours walking tour. Although the tour guide was not local but he lived in Lyon for over ten years and was one of the best tour guide I ever have encountered.
Marina_E, May 2026
We took the 2 hour Lyon Walking Tour at 2:00 pm on May 7th and were very disappointed with the experience. The guide advised she had been living in Lyon for about a year and the lack of experience and knowledge of the city was very evident. For the majority of the tour she looked at her phone and read basic facts on the sites we were seeing. Any follow up questions that we had were answered with “I don’t know”, “I’m not sure” or “Probably”. At one point she used an inappropriate expletive in reference to a particular religion. The tour was concluded by the guide 15 minutes early and she finished up by saying “I take tips”. Our expectation when taking a tour through Viator is that the guide has been qualified by the company they represent and should be thoroughly knowledgeable on the tour they are leading.
Michael_B, Apr 2026
The guide told us it was her very first tour and it became obvious as she couldn’t answer simple questions. We knew more history than she. She was nice, but not ready to host a tour. Ollie needs a lot more training. She said many inappropriate things such as “capitalist pig propaganda”. She is 21 years old and it shows! A waste of time for us!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Dear Michael,
Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback. We are truly sorry to read that your experience did not meet your expectations and that you felt disappointed with the tour. We fully understand how frustrating it can be when a guided experience does not provide the level of knowledge and engagement you were hoping for.
We would like to be transparent in confirming that this was indeed Ollie’s very first tour leading guests independently. While she completed her initial preparation, first tours can be challenging, and nerves can sometimes affect confidence and delivery. Your feedback reinforces what we already recognized, that she needs additional training and more time learning alongside our most experienced guides before leading tours again. She will continue in supervised training until she is fully ready to provide the high-quality experience our guests expect.
We also take your comment about certain expressions used during the tour very seriously. Our goal is always to create an informative, respectful, and welcoming environment for all guests, and we will address this directly with her as part of her continued training.
That said, we truly regret that your time felt wasted, as this is never the impression we want to leave. Many members of our team have years of experience and deep knowledge of the city, and your comments help us ensure that every new guide reaches that same standard before returning to lead groups.
Thank you again for your honesty and for giving us the opportunity to improve. We sincerely hope that, if you ever decide to join another tour in the future, we may have the chance to provide you with the engaging and knowledgeable experience you expected.
Chelsea_B, Apr 2026
The guide was lacking basic knowledge about the city and also not engaging enough throughout the tour. It was a waste of time.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Dear Chelsea,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are truly sorry to read that the experience did not meet your expectations and that you felt the tour was not as engaging or informative as it should have been. This is certainly not the standard we aim to provide.
We would like to be transparent and let you know that this tour was the guide’s very first time leading a group. While she successfully completed her initial training, nerves can sometimes play a role during a first experience in front of guests. That said, your comments are very important to us, and she will continue in further training and mentoring before leading tours again. Our team includes several highly experienced guides who are supporting her closely to ensure she gains confidence, strengthens her knowledge, and delivers the engaging experience our guests expect.
We sincerely regret that your time with us did not reflect the quality that many of our other guests enjoy, and we truly appreciate your honesty, as it helps us improve both as individuals and as a team.
If you are ever willing to give us another opportunity in the future, we would be grateful for the chance to provide you with the experience you originally expected. Please feel free to contact us directly so we can personally assist you.
Thank you again for your feedback and for helping us grow.
Atiya_M, Apr 2026
The walking tour was informative and the guide was friendly and shared historical and fun facts about Lyon during our trip. I enjoyed it!
Eliza_A, Apr 2026
We had a nicd time abd learnt a lot of cool history. Our guide Anh was great. I will definitely recommend.
Noor_S, Apr 2026
Yes. Great experience. Anne was well informed and passionate about Lyon.
Walk mostly included the Old Town
Susanne_N, Apr 2026
Kristano was exzellent! Good knowledge of the spots we visited and of the city in general. Very friendly and caring person.
Julissa_H, Mar 2026
Everything was great! Anh is a great tour guide! He is well educated on the history and every aspect of the city of Lyon! Highly recommended
Marty_K, Mar 2026
To wear good appropriate footwear and jacket according to the weather. Be prepared to see and learn about some of the most important events of Lyon’s history, but not stopping for any kind of souvenir shopping.
Our guide, Ein, was a delightful chaperone!
Gina_L, Feb 2026
Kristano was a superb guide who provided a great overview of the history and most memorable places in Lyon/French history. A special day!
John_M, Feb 2026
The tour in English led by Anne was wonderful. She had many interesting insights and welcomed our questions. It is an excellent way to get the lay of the land.
Dohui_K, Nov 2025
Our tour guide Ann was fantastic! She was friendly and kind, and has so much knowledge in Lyon and France's history. The 2 hour walking tour went so fast as we were enjoying listening to her. W/o this tour, we would have walked by and missed many traboules in Lyon and cool spots. I'd totally recommend this tour!
Michael_H, Nov 2025
Our tour guide Anne, did a fantastic job. She was knowledgeable, engageble and included a mix of historical and architectural sites on the tour that kept everybody interested.
neil_r, Nov 2025
very informative guide and knowledgeable about every aspect of this city. I had been here before but not with a guide, and I learned so much about the city that is impossible on your own even with a guide book. Anne was our guide and being an ex-pat from America spoke obviously fluent English. Great experience
Anonymous, Nov 2025
Great walk the guide was exceptional knew many interesting things about the city and was very very nice
Tolu_C, Oct 2025
We had a fantastic day with Anne today. Very knowledgeable about the history of Lyon and every where from Place de Bellacour to the St Jean church It was an informative tour and she was brilliant. Now we know a lot more about Lyon than we did before we came here from London. Even managed to buy a brioche aux pralines on the tour. We had a good tour of the old town with secret connections between the houses. Well worth it. The pace was just right. Even the sun was out. Thank you…
Dianne_P, Oct 2025
Our guide was Anne and she did a wonderful job conveying the unique aspects of Lyonnaise history and culture. It was a perfect way to get orientated to the city and get ideas for which areas to visit on our own. The two hours flew by, as Anne is knowledgeable and very personable. I'd also like to sing Anne's praises for helping fit us in even though we turned up for the tour on the wrong day.
Allison_S, Oct 2025
Anne was a fantastic and welcoming guide. Her knowledge of history and the area taught us so much more than we could have discovered on our own. We were hesitant to book having a small one with us but are so glad we did. Thanks for a beautiful tour of Lyons.
Elizabeth_T, Oct 2025
Great information and guide. Learned as much as one can learn in two hours in a new city. Highly recommend
Margo_N, Oct 2025
Anne was terrific. We learned so much history while learning about the highlights of Lyon! We had a great time and I highly recommend taking the tour.
Sugato_B, Oct 2025
The route was well planned and paced comfortably. It covered the city's history from Roman times till the current date. Anne was excellent in her knowledge of the city, its ethos, culture and evolution of food. Best was the Anne livened up the walk with smaller anecdotes and trivia that made the commentary really entertaining too. Her wry sense of humour broke the moments up very well. The surpirse element was smartly woven into the walk. I would strongly recommend Anne s walks.
One suggestion I'd like to make is that the walk ends with an inside walk of the Cathedral of Saint Jean including the crypt.
Fernanda_H, Oct 2025
The tour was both entertaining and informative. Anne was enthusiastic and engaging. The tour is in English but our guide also speaks French (she lives in Lyon) and Spanish. We had no trouble hearing her, even though we are slightly hard of hearing. The fact that it is a small group tour helps tremendously. Thank you Anne for a great tour.
BelindaGrava, Sept 2025
We were so pleased that we decided to start our stay in Lyon with this tour.
Ann managed to include so much information within the tour including an overview of the history of Lyon by walking us through key areas of Lyon, Old Lyon & pointing out ease of exploring La Croix-Rousse. This tour gave us a great base to explore more of Lyon ourselves over the next few days…would highly recommend this tour and Ann as a guide!
Wanderer_M, Sept 2025
IIt was a fantastic walking tour with Anne
She was knowledgeable and engaging.
The pace was perfect, and we learned so much about Lyon.
We would highly recommend the tour, it was 2 hours well spent
Kyle_S, Aug 2025
Our tour guide did not show up. Waited for 20 minutes past the start time and did not receive a response to my text, call or email to the operator, had to process a refund via Viator which is in process. Would not recommend.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Dear customer,
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused when your guide did not arrive as scheduled. This is far from the level of service we strive to provide, and we regret that our lack of timely communication added to your frustration.
Please rest assured that we are investigating the situation to understand what went wrong and to prevent it from happening again. Your experience matters to us, and we hope to have the chance to welcome you on a future tour and demonstrate the quality and reliability our guests can expect.
Nina_N, Aug 2025
Walk around of the old city with cool insights! Our tour guide was engaging and charismatic. Super interesting to learn another Lyon!
Adam_L, Jul 2025
Tour guide was very friendly and welcoming, spoke English well, and had a very well-planned tour; including an easy-to-find start location and an ideal end-location for heading up the funicular. The tour also had several stopping/sitting points and shady areas throughout, which was ideal for summer. I loved that we were in a small group, so the tour felt more personable and we were able to connect with the guide and others on our tour.
Nina_S, Jul 2025
Anne is a superb guide - don’t be put off by her being an American. She is an educator and it shows in her tour. She is enthusiastic paces her info. Well and is incredibly well informed. And presents to what is of interest to of her group. The group is very small – ours was 4. So far, the best Viator and Tour by a Local I have had. She was also very generous with her time.
Linda_H, Jul 2025
Our tour guide Anne with an E was superb. A very interesting tour including a bit of history. Not too overwhelming. She took us through the connecting tunnels between streets which we found really interesting and generally kept our interest throughout the whole tour.
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