Minibus Hire Across France

Lyon by Minibus: Old Town, Good Food, Vineyards

Lyon is a city for eating well and walking slowly, with Beaujolais villages and Rhône vineyards an hour or so away. A minibus with a driver lets your group enjoy both, and nobody has to drive home after the tasting.

Vieux Lyon and the Fourvière hill

Vieux Lyon is not closed to coaches: they stop on the quays, at 13 quai Romain Rolland and 24 quai Fulchiron, and guided walks through the traboules take groups of up to 25.

Above it, the Basilique de Fourvière books guided group visits online at least 15 days ahead, and the Lugdunum Roman theatres expect groups to reserve. Coach places on the hill are few, so it is often easier to ride up and walk down.

Sprinter minibus cabin
Sprinter minibus cabin

Flying in to Lyon

Places your group will love in Lyon

  • Cité internationale de la gastronomie — In the Grand Hôtel-Dieu, on the Presqu'île
  • Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse — Covered food market in the Part-Dieu district
  • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon — Fine-art museum on Place des Terreaux; group terms from 10 people
  • Lugdunum (Roman theatres of Fourvière) — Gallo-Roman museum and theatres; reservation is compulsory for groups
  • Musée des Confluences — Science and anthropology museum at the Confluence; groups are welcomed by reservation only
  • Vieux Lyon and the traboules — Renaissance old town; guided walking groups of at most 25 people. Coach stops on quai Romain Rolland and quai Fulchiron
  • Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière — Hilltop basilica; guided group visits are booked online at least 15 days ahead. Coach parking places on the hill are few

Where groups tend to stay

  • Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport hotels
  • Gerland
  • Cité Internationale (for the Centre de Congrès)
  • Part-Dieu
  • Perrache / Confluence
  • Vieux Lyon
  • Presqu'île / Bellecour

Evenings on the Presqu'île

Since June 2025 the heart of the Presqu'île, from Place Bellecour up to the foot of the Croix-Rousse, has been a limited traffic zone. Tourist coaches keep permanent access, though between 13:00 and 06:00 your driver has to call through the bollard intercom to get in. Cars with a driver (VTC) keep permanent access too, which helps for a wedding dinner.

At Bellecour the coach stop is at no. 19, on the east side only. The free ONLYLYON coach stops cannot be booked.

Stickers for small vehicles

Lyon's ZFE applies day and night. Cars, including vehicles of up to 9 seats registered as cars, and vans classed Crit'Air 3 to 5, or unclassified, are banned; Crit'Air 2 is due to follow from January 2028. Coaches are grouped with heavy vehicles under the same Crit'Air 3 cut-off.

So whatever size you book, ask about the sticker and check it against the rules that apply in the weeks before you travel.

Wine country within an hour or two

Oingt, among the golden-stone villages of the Pierres Dorées, is about 45 minutes away; Romanèche-Thorins in the Beaujolais about 50. Tain-l'Hermitage, for the northern Rhône, is about an hour and a quarter, and Beaune about an hour and three quarters. Book estate visits and tastings in advance.

Your questions, answered

How far is Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport?

Allow around 35 minutes on quiet roads for the 30 km or so to Place Bellecour, mainly along the A43 and A432. TGVs also stop at the airport's own station.

Is Annecy a realistic day trip?

Yes: about 139 km, an hour and three quarters. Chamonix, at about 226 km, makes a very long day in the mountains.

We are going to a match at Groupama Stadium. Anything to know?

On-site parking there must be booked in advance, so mention the fixture when you ask for a quote.

More days out you can book with us

Other vehicles with a driver