Public transport – metro, tram and bus – is an essential part of sightseeing in Lyon.
The name of this public transport system is TCL (Transports en commun lyonnais).
It has a long history and is said to date back to 1855, although the name is not the same as it is today.
It currently has the following transport networks.
- Four metro lines.
- Two cable cars
- 5 Trams.
- 120 street buses and 9 trolley buses
- 4 night buses
- Five on-demand transport lines.
The metro and cable cars will be the most active for sightseeing.
Trams are also attractive, but are unlikely to be used much.
Discover the ticket types
Below are the main tickets.
| Ticket type | Fare（€） | Details |
 | 1.9 | 1 hr ticket individually |
 | 6.0 | 24 hr ticket |
 | 12 | 48 hr ticket |
 | 16.5 | 72 hr ticket |
 | 3.3 | Night ticket (From 7pm until the last train.) |
 | 18 | 10 x 1 hr ticket booklets |
 | 15.4 | Booklet of 10 student and school tickets |
Depending on the length of your stay, choose the most suitable ticket.
How to buy
This time, I came to Lyon from Paris, so I bought my tickets from a ticket machine at Gare Part-Dieu – Vivier Merle on metro line B.
As soon as you go down the stairs on Marius Vivier Merle Street, you will see a ticket machine in front of you.
Both are the same, so choose whichever is available.
A price list is also displayed on the top of the screen.
The first screen looks like this.
There is a screen in the centre and three buttons at the bottom.
The leftmost red button, ‘Annuler‘, is the cancel button.
The scroll bar in the middle marked ‘Sélectionner‘ means selection and can be moved up or down to select.
The rightmost green button, ‘Confirmer‘, is the confirm or decide button.
Now let’s get on with it and buy tickets.
The first step is to select the language.
If you prefer English, select the British flag symbol and choose.
In this case, we will continue with the French display.
The ticket selection screen is now displayed.
Please select the option that best suits your needs.
This time, buy a 24 hr ticket.
Under ‘Sélectionner’, select the second from the top to finalise.
If you would like to order tickets other than those shown here, select ‘Page suivante’ at the bottom of the screen and the following page will appear.
Here we choose for two people.
Confirmation screen for the selected ticket.
If it is displayed incorrectly, press the Cancel button.
Note that, as indicated on the screen, cash is not accepted at ticket machines.
A credit card with an IC chip is required for purchases.
This is followed by the payment screen.
Insert the credit card where the green light on the far right is lit and enter the PIN.
Once approved, the ticket comes out of the bottom ejector.
Do not lose your ticket.
Here is a map of Lyon’s metro, cable car, tram and bus services.
Please check in advance which routes you will be using.
Summary
There are no difficult options for purchasing tickets.
This time, I spent about five hours in Lyon, but I would use it at least eight times to visit the main sights.
A normal ticket costs 1.9€ each, so eight uses would cost 15.2€.
I am still glad I bought the 24-hour ticket.
Also, if you change your plans mid-trip or want to take a tram, you can do so without hesitation, so an unlimited ride ticket is still recommended for sightseeing in Lyon.
Thank you again for reading to the end of this issue.
You can find out more about day trips from Paris to Lyon here.
コメント