My Top 5 Places to Live in Lyon! - jadorelyon (2023)

Where would I choose to live in Lyon?

This is actually a very good question I have been asked many times by people interested in Lyon as well as I started to ask myself as I am also at the stage of my life when I do search for a new home in Lyon. That is why the question of where to live in Lyon is very interesting for me and I guess for many people who consider coming to Lyon or moving in Lyon. So far I did a good research trying to find a place ideal for me to live in Lyon and I got a bit of experience visiting many places. I made my shortlist of places to live in Lyon ideal for me with My Top 5 Areas!

But I understand that this is just partly helpful for you as all of us search for something relevant to their preferences and resources. This is why before you start your research for a place to live in Lyon you need to answer yourself few questions. And I need to disappoint you here, even if you do all these researchers, after all, it still comes to the point on whether you fell in love with the place from the first sight or not. ..the French call it ‘le coup de coeur’ But let’s try to be sensible here and let’s prepare us well.

• What’s your budget?
• Do you want to buy or rent?
• Do you have a family and kids?
• Where do you work?
• Do you like access to the busy life and city center?
• Do you have car or not?,etc

There is always so much to consider that it looks scary and like a mission impossible to find an ideal home, the ideal place to live in Lyon, yet I found something which has given me a lot of support. This is a super website called seloger.com. It’s a huge database of smaller and bigger real estate companies so while you are searching through it you can be sure to see everything that is on market in Lyon and narrow the results in relation to your preferences! It’s very easy to contact the real estate agents and they seem very responsive. The good news is that more and more real estate agents can speak English so it is very useful to know and not be scared to contact them! So don’t worry to get in touch with them and start your viewings! Another interesting and useful thing about French real estate agents is the fact that they will make an effort and meet you easily after work or some of them even during weekends (I mean even Sunday!) Anyway, it seems like I do some advertising for them now! So let me come back to the main subject – what are My Top 5 Places to Live in Lyon!

St Rambert – because I have already been renting a place here and I fully tested it. So, firstly it’s beautiful, green, quiet, clean, family-friendly. It’s away from busy city center but you can get to it in less than 25 mins. It has school, little commerce area with Casino Shop, post office, pharmacy etc. It’s next to Ile Barbe and the best Lyonnais bakery Jocteur. Not to mention the fact that you get a beautiful view and very nice neighbors. It’s safe. So are there any bad things about living here? Well, no metro but bus which takes you to Vaise station in 10 mins and the price. It’s not the cheapest to buy here yet affordable.

Vaise – I also know it a little bit. So, ideal it’s a Vaise Quartier d’Industrie modern part next to the metro. There are new beautiful buildings, the area has nice bars, restaurants, quite a big Casino shop. There are many big companies and it’s close to the Saône river if you would like to have a walk. It’s very convenient to live here yet there are few things that put me off: there is no atmosphere of community, everyone seems to be in a hurry. It’s not green enough for me. It’s louder and tends to have a lot of traffic. It’s more expensive but affordable. If you need to access the center of Lyon easily, quickly and cheaply, it’s only 10 mins on line D – very efficient and convenient.

Caluire et Cuire – equally beautiful, green, welcoming, safe as my beloved St Rambert. It can be next to metro (the price will be higher) or not. Without metro, there are always many buses going to the center so you won’t feel isolated yet living in Caluire et Cuire will make you want to stay in the area as there is a nice sense of community. The bad thing about searching for a place to live in this area is that the most of the buildings are old and that’s further away from the center so if you work in the city you need to be prepared to spend at least 30 mins in a bus. Some people don’t mind.

Villeurbanne – here we have to be careful because it’s a big area and some parts should be avoided and some parts are very good to live in. Because it’s not as expensive as Lyon yet it’s very close to the center. There’s metro, many buses, trams and so in few mins you can be in La Part-Dieu, Parc de la Tête d’Or etc. It’s affordable so you can find better quality flats and bigger. It’s a bit like a little village in Lyon, it has shops, parks, its own community. It could exist itself yet it is nicely connected with Lyon. Any negatives? Well, quite a few as always and because I try to be objective and careful in my researches. So firstly, Villeurbanne used to be unpopular, not pretty, not safe with a bad reputation but it changed within many parts. There has been a lot of investment done so there are modern and new and affordable flats. Another thing not ideal is the fact that it’s very residential so there are many and mostly blocks of flats. So that creates a boring and no pretty landscape. But again for getting a big beautiful flat, I don’t mind so much…

Villeurbanne by LyonCapitale

Montplaisir, Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d’Or, Champagne-au-Mont-d’Or – I would love to live there but I can’t. Why? Well, Montplaisir– because it’s too expensive yet it’s beautiful, family friendly, green, safe, in the city center but not in the crowded part. It’s next to the metro and well connected with any part of Lyon. Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d’Or– as I would love to have one of the houses there which comes with the beautiful garden and the view. I love the surrendering, space, the little town center with a church, doctor, bakeries etc. It has a relaxing atmosphere, good neighbors but if I won’t win a lottery, I’ll not be able to live there. Because buying a big house in France is expensive. On top of that you need to have at least one car otherwise you have to be patient when using buses. I could do it – try to be patient in exchange for the peace that comes with the area. The same is with the Champagne-au-Mont-d’Or. It’s still expensive but you can find affordable flats so you are not limited to the houses. It has some shops and charming town center, it has nice people living there but it’s far away from Lyon, with one or two buses. Difficult…

Anyway, I hope this gave you a rough idea of Lyon’s accommodations top choices. Now over to you! Are you planning to move to Lyon or have you been living in Lyon and can share your experience? Would you recommend any place in Lyon ideal to live? I would love to hear from you and find more places to consider for my future home in Lyon! Because even if I write this article now I bet I will be still searching for a flat in Lyon so it’s always relevant for me but especially for others;-). And this is not a fault of Lyon but probably one undecided woman who felt in love in Lyon, France and everything French ;-). Please help me and others out to find an ideal place to live in Lyon, will you?

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