YoloNow Guide

Family days out in Lyon at the weekend

October 10, 2026 · 6 min

What to do in Lyon at the weekend with children

Lyon stretches a family budget a long way: entry to the Parc de la Tete d’Or is free, the city pool costs 4 EUR, and children under 10 ride the TCL network for nothing. This page lists seven places we could verify, with the recommended age, opening hours and adult and child prices kept separate. It leaves out the big paid theme parks and indoor party rooms, which are a different kind of spend.

Parc de la Tete d’Or, free and open all weekend

Place General Leclerc, Lyon 6th. The largest urban park in the city packs in a rose garden, a botanical garden and a zoo, all free. It is the cheapest outing and the easiest to improvise: no ticket, no booking.

The park opens at 6:30 and closes at 22:30 from 15 April to 14 October, and at 20:30 the rest of the year. Gates shut fifteen minutes before the stated closing time, and the park stays shut when winds top 70 km/h.

One warning about the zoo: it closes every Tuesday, and the Asia Forest section shuts about 45 minutes earlier than the rest. The outdoor collections run 9:00 to 18:00 from April to September and to 17:00 from October to March; the big glasshouses, 9:00 to 17:30 in summer.

On a Sunday afternoon the loop around the lake is packed. Going before 11:00, or on the Saturday, makes a real difference.

Guignol, inside the Parc de la Tete d’Or

Place de Guignol, in the park, Lyon 6th. The Veritable Theatre Guignol has been putting on puppet shows since 1948, in a covered but open-air theatre.

Prices: 7 EUR for children aged 2 to 12, 8 EUR full adult fare, free under 2. A ten-ticket card works out at 49 EUR for children and 59 EUR for adults, and stays valid for three years.

Musee des Confluences and its Nuage des petits

86 quai Perrache, Lyon 2nd. The museum is free for under-18s, 12 EUR full price and 7 EUR reduced (working 18 to 25 year olds, holders of the Lyon Culture and Musees city cards). One ticket covers the day and both the permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30 to 18:30, and closed on Mondays outside zone A school holidays. There is a late opening until 22:00 on the first Thursday of the month.

The Nuage des petits, on the third floor, is for ages 2 to 6 only: an hour of sensory play, booking required, 7 EUR (5 EUR reduced), and it does not include the exhibition ticket.

Saturdays and Sundays outside school holidays draw the biggest crowds, with queues at the gallery entrances. Wednesdays are the calmest, which is no help on a weekend.

Lugdunum, Roman Lyon at a child’s eye level

17 rue Cleberg, Lyon 5th, up on the Fourviere hill right beside the two Roman theatres. The museum is free to under-18s, 4 EUR full price outside temporary exhibitions (7 EUR during one), 2.50 EUR reduced (4.50 EUR during one). Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month.

The museum opens Tuesday to Friday, 11:00 to 18:00, and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. The Roman theatres themselves are open to everyone every day, 7:00 to 21:00 from 2 May to 30 September, and 7:00 to 19:00 the rest of the year.

In practice the theatres give you a free half-hour outing that is usually enough for a five to seven year old, without setting foot in the museum.

Piscine Garibaldi

221 rue Garibaldi, Lyon 3rd. A covered municipal pool with a 33-metre basin and its original changing cabins. 4 EUR full price, 2.60 EUR reduced (under-18s, sixth-formers, students under 26, RSA and disability benefit holders), free under 4. A ten-entry card costs 32 EUR.

At the weekend it opens Saturday 10:00 to 17:00 and Sunday 9:00 to 12:45. Closed on public holidays. On weekdays it mainly works midday and late afternoon, except Wednesday, which stays open 12:00 to 20:00.

Sunday afternoons do not exist here: the pools close at 12:45. Bring a 1 EUR coin or a token for the locker.

Le Ciel, a stage for children and young people

22 rue du Commandant Pegout, Lyon 8th. Le Ciel puts on about a dozen shows a season, half of them from European companies, sorted by age (from 3, 5, 7 and 12 up).

The theatre does not split child and adult prices: you choose between 10 EUR, 12 EUR and 15 EUR according to what you can pay, with a 5 EUR reduced rate for residents of the 8th, students and people on minimum benefits.

The programme changes each season. Check the recommended age for each show on the website before booking, above all with a child sitting right on the edge of a bracket.

Ferme du Pre de Justin, in Charly

519 rue de la Brosse, 69390 Charly, fifteen minutes south of Lyon. A teaching farm run by the Au Pre de Justin association, and you can turn up without booking.

8 EUR per person, free under 3. On site: wheelbarrows for feeding the animals, a few enclosures you can walk into, play areas and picnic tables. Payment by cash, bank card or cheque.

During term time the farm only opens to the public on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00. During zone A school holidays it opens daily 9:00 to 17:00. The other days are booked out to groups.

By public transport: metro B to Hopital Lyon Sud, then bus 78 to Le Pelet, and seven minutes on foot. By car you park in the outside car parks and walk in.

Two things to know before you go

On the TCL network, children aged 0 to 3 travel free with no ticket. From 4 to 10 inclusive the ride is still free, but it needs a TCL card loaded with a pass, tapped on at every boarding like any other ticket.

Two closures to plan a weekend around: the zoo in the Parc de la Tete d’Or shuts on Tuesdays, and the Musee des Confluences shuts on Mondays outside zone A school holidays. A long weekend has to work around both.

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