Lyon’s parks, from the Tête d’Or lake to the viewpoints
There’s more to Lyon than cobbles and bouchons. Between the Tête d’Or, old military sites turned green, hilltop gardens and the big estates of Greater Lyon, there’s always a patch of grass for a picnic or an early-evening stroll.
Parc de la Tête d’Or
Lyon’s great park, with its lake, botanical garden, big glasshouses and rose garden. The park is free, zoo included, and the African plain never fails to win over children. You can spend the whole day here: cycling, picnics, play areas for little ones, a nap under the tall trees.
Place Général Leclerc, 69006 Lyon
Parc de Gerland
On the banks of the Rhône, next to the stadium, a modern, flat park, perfect for bikes and pushchairs. Its promenade runs alongside a mégaphorbiaie, a fancy word for a garden of tall grasses and big flowers, laid out in six plots. A large playing field, a skatepark and allotments. Metro D, Gerland stop.
24 allée Pierre de Coubertin, 69007 Lyon
Parc Blandan
A former barracks in the 7th arrondissement turned into a park, with nearly a kilometre of ramparts, moats and the Château Lamothe. Children make a beeline for the play areas, including the Vague des remparts, older ones for the skatepark. A nice surprise for anyone who only knows the Tête d’Or.
37 rue du Repos, 69007 Lyon
Jardin des Curiosités
High up in Saint-Just, a small garden given by the city of Montreal, with one of the finest views over Lyon. Settle into the engraved chairs and take in the rooftops, the Part-Dieu towers and, under big clear skies, the Alps in the distance. Funicular to Saint-Just, then a few minutes on foot.
Place Abbé Larue, 69005 Lyon
Parc de la Cerisaie
On the Croix-Rousse plateau, the former estate of a family of silk dyers, with its villa and sloping lawns. A little nod to the canuts, the silk workers of old Lyon: a vineyard plot of 300 vines. A quiet neighbourhood park for reading or letting the children run about, far from the bustle of the Presqu’île.
25 rue Chazière, 69004 Lyon
Domaine de Lacroix-Laval
Just outside Lyon, in Marcy-l’Étoile, 115 hectares of meadows, woods and ponds around a château and its formal French garden. The kitchen garden and the rose garden keep old Lyon varieties alive. Play areas, a picnic meadow, ponies on some days: the classic family Sunday outing.
1171 avenue de Lacroix-Laval, 69280 Marcy-l’Étoile
Grand Parc Miribel Jonage
East Lyon’s great breath of fresh air: 2,200 hectares of nature, lakes and branches of the Rhône. People cycle out from Lyon on the bike paths to walk the trails, paddle on the Lac des Eaux Bleues or, in summer, swim at the lifeguarded beach at L’Atol’.
Chemin de la Bletta, 69120 Vaulx-en-Velin
Updated 10 November 2026.