The Best Lyonnais Parks You Have to Visit

It’s located on the left bank of the Rhône River, right in the centre of the city. You can access it from its 7 entrances and covers 289 acres and you can easily get lost there. The parc has the Botanic Garden, The Rose Garden, Zoo, a lake and playground areas for kids. It has historical sculptures to admire, small shops to get yourself an ice cream many benches to sit down and free toilets. Have a look at the list of other very good well the best parks you should visit in Lyon. They are smaller but with a different feel and atmosphere they offer.

Parc de la Tête d'Or

Place Général Leclerc, 69006 Lyon, Tél. 04 72 10 30 30. Located in the 6th arrondissement.

It is the biggest French park covering  117 hectares, has 7 entrances and you can hire a bike or mini boats to sail on the lake. You can entertain kids with the pony rides and on the old-fashioned choo-choo train as well as a puppet theatre shows.

Parc de Gerland

Allée Pierre de Coubertin, 69007 Lyon, Phone: 04 72 73 68 00. Located opposite the Parc de la Tête d'Or, at the end of the Rhône river promenade, in the 7th arrondissement.

It covers 80 hectares making it less crowded. It’s a modern park of Lyon which has been opened in 2002 and created by Michel Corajoud .  The park consists of many different parts. It has the Skate Park de Lyon which is being used by the Skates Club. There are beautiful gardens to explore such as  “Megaphorbiaie” gardens with 18,000 plants including 300 different species, water-lilies, 600 trees and lawns and the "Jardin Chromatique" (Colour Garden) which offers the lighting of the vegetation until 10 pm!  There are also:  the 3000 m² Bird Garden where you can admire many species of birds and the Maison des Fleurs where you can learn about gardening - all worth visiting.

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Le Parc Sergent Blandan

37 Rue du Repos, 69007 Lyon; Phone: 04 72 77 69 69. Located in the 7th arrondissement.

It covers the 17 hectares and is  separated into different areas to provide visitors with different experiences. There is a skate park, a wooded area with benches, separated green spaces for games and picnic areas. You will find there also a space where you can try to climb up the wall or follow the secret passages

Le Parc du Vallon

227 Avenue du Plateau, 69009 Lyon; Phone: 04 37 49 73 9. Located in the 9th arrondissement.

It is very new, built and given to the public in the spring of 2014. This is a typical green park that offers many spots to relax and walk. It’s located on the hill of La Duchère. There is a forest in the south part and a huge meadows crossed by a stream in the centre and a public park to the north.

Le Parc des Hauteurs

Esplanade de Fourvière, 69005 Lyon; Phone: 04 72 77 69 69. Located in the 5th arrondissement.

Make sure you visit the area between the Montée de l’Ang, metal tower of Fourvière and the Loyasse cemetery and take a nice walk through the parc admire the panoramic view of the Monts d'Or and Beaujolais. Follow other routes such as “Tramway des Macchabées” path and the 600 m "Quatre Vents" (Four Winds) footbridge on the Viaduct path to see panoramic view of the Saône and Croix-Rousse.  When there is a rose season, make sure you visit the Jardin du Rosaire, located just under the Basilica.

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Rosa Mir Garden

87 Grande rue de la Croix-Rousse, 69004 Lyon. Located in the 4th arrondissement.
 
This lovely unique park has been designed by the Spanish artist that is why it has a lot of Spanish influences and made from stone and seashells. The creator Jules Senis used his experience which he had gained working with the Spanish artists and architects such a Gaudi or Alhambra of Grenada when building the garden. He dedicated this park to his mum and nowadays it belongs to Lyon. The park has been rewarded with the “20th Century Heritage status.

Le Parc de la Cerisaie

25 rue Chazière, 69004 Lyon; 04 72 69 47 60. Located in the 4th arrondissement.
There are many children's playgrounds, lawns and benches in the park. There is a fitness area and many paths ideal for walking. But the highlight of the park for me is the sculpture trail, and you can find the artworks from César Baldaccini, Gérald Martinand, Jean-Pierre Raynaud, Geneviève Dumont, Gérard Michel, Markus Raetz, Bernard Pagès, Alain Lovato, Takis and Ulrich Rückriem.

Le Parc des berges du Rhône

Pont Pasteur, avenue Leclerc 69007, Lyon. Located in the 7th arrondissement.

This is not a typical park but a walking area next to the river, spread across 5km of the Berges du Rhône. The city overtook a project to convert the car parking into this leisure area and in 2007 it was given to people to enjoy. Nowadays it is being used by pedestrians and cyclists , for those who want to read, eat, socialise, walk, have a picnic, do some fitness or run...just to name a few activities that are being popular at the Berges du Rhone.

Rives de Saône & Pavillon des Rives de Saône

Sud du quai Rambaud Quartier Confluence 69002,  Lyon. Located in the 2nd arrondissement.

And we do have another river of Lyon and so there is also a nice walking area situated between Île Barbe and the city centre. The park includes 13 acres of ponds and more than 3,000 trees of local species. There are more plans to enhance the park area of the river Saône banks to eventually cover more than 14 hectares.

Confluence Museum Park

86 quai Perrache, 69002 Lyon - France; Telephone: 04 28 38 11 90.

It’s a new park which belongs to the Confluence Museum and its located behind it. There is a 2.4 hectares of green space with a unique view of the south of Lyon. You can eat, relax there with a view of the two Lyonnais rivers merging together.

Garden of the Musée des Beaux Arts

20 place des Terreaux 69001 Lyon. Located in the centre of Lyon, next to the Terreaux.

It is beautiful 19th century country which belongs to the Museum of the Fine Arts. You can hide from the busy life of centre inside a green space of the classic garden which has only 1200 m² but where you will find a bank to sit at, eat your sandwich or look and admire the fountain in the centre and a small statue of Apollo, god of the arts

Le Jardin des Curiosités

9 Place de l’Abbé Larue, 69005 Lyon. Located in the 5th arrondissement, behind a metallic door.

It was a present from Montreal city to celebrate the 20th anniversary of cooperation with Lyon so you can see the other name of it - “Jardin de Montréal”. The park offers great panoramic views of Lyon and Mont Blanc in the background, has 6 big chairs - sculptures done by French-Canadian sculptor Michel Goulet. Visit for the atmosphere if you manage to find it.

GreenWall

Rue Francis de Préssensé 69100 Villeurbannenot.

It is not exactly a park but something what I can recommend to see. It is the highest self-standing wall in France. It is a 17 m high and 14 m wide and it covers 250 m² of the wall with the 11,000 plants and more than 30 species.  This green wall contributes to the animal and plant biodiversity. It was created in 2010 and each season it changes the plants displayed. 

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 About Aga 

My name is Aga and I am addicted to shopping! So I have become ShopaholicFromHome who loves to shop from home. But this is not all. I have thousands of ideas per minute, per hour, per day…recently I have moved to Lyon in France! That’s why my main goal now is to explore France, experience French way of living, learn the language and eat a lot of cheese, baguettes, some snails and French frogs, drink wine and wear berets (apparently so French) but also I would love to introduce a bit of Polish culture and mentality into French lives. Visit my blog for more information.