World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport (LYS)
Tel: (0826) 800 826. Fax: (04) 7222 7471.
Website: www.lyon.aeroport.fr

Lyon-St-Exupéry Airport (formerly known as Lyon-Satolas) is France’s fastest growing airport in terms of passenger numbers. It is located 25km (15.5 miles) to the east of Lyon city centre. Lyon-St-Exupéry welcomes over six million passengers each year. More than 40 airlines regularly use the airport, flying to over 100 destinations, including 38 international cities.

Major airlines: Air France (tel: (08) 0280 2802; website: www.airfrance.fr) is the national airline. Other carriers include Alitalia, British Airways, Continental Ailines, Delta Airlines (which operates a direct line between New York and Lyon), Lufthansa and SAS.

Approximate flight times to Lyon: From London is 1 hour 35 minutes; from New York is 11 hours; from Los Angeles is 15 hours 40 minutes; from Toronto is 11 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 24 hours.

Airport facilities: These include ATMs, a post office, travel agency, infirmary, snack bars, restaurants, a newsagent, pharmacy, duty-free shops in all departure lounges and two hotels – Sofitel (tel: (04) 7223 3805) and Kyriad (tel: (04) 7223 9090). There are also several car hire companies including ADA, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Citer and Sixt. All car hire offices are situated on a specific car park opposite Terminal One.

Business facilities: The Business Centre (tel: (04) 7222 8374; fax: (04) 7222 7471; e-mail: centre.affaires@lyon.aeroport.fr) provides office facilities and rooms, which are available for hire by the hour or day. All rooms are equipped with telephone and paperboard, while other facilities, such as overhead projectors, sound systems, VGA-SVGA video projectors, video recorders and TVs, Minitel and slide projectors are available on request. Secretarial and catering services are also available.

Arrival/departure tax: Included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: The cheapest alternative to the city centre is the Satobus coach (tel: (04) 7268 7217), which operates Monday-Sunday 0600-2320, costing ¬8.20 for a single, or ¬14.60 return (journey time – 45 minutes). Taxis are also available at the airport and a fare to Lyon city centre costs approximately ¬30.50 during the day or ¬40 at night with GIE Taxi Aéroport (tel: (04) 7222 7221).

There is a High-Speed Train (TGV) station (tel: (04) 7222 7790), for connections to Paris, Avignon, Cannes, Nice and other destinations around France. Contact SNCF (tel: (0892) 353 535, for fare and timetable information, reservation and booking; e-mail: webra@sncf.fr; website: www.sncf.fr) for further information.