Lyon Saint-Exupéry International Airport (French Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry, IATA code – LYS), formerly Lyon-Satolas (French Aéroport de Lyon-Satolas) – is located 25 km east of the city center. Opened in 1972, it is the third or fourth largest in France after Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Nice. For tourists from the USA and Australia, it is one of the main airports where they fly to visit ski resorts in winter and relax in the mountains in summer.
Airport guide and terminal map
Saint-Exupery airport terminals
The complex of buildings was built in an original way and resembles a bird. The French love such architectural masterpieces. There are only 3 passenger terminals at Lyon Airport*. The transition is carried out on foot or with the help of a special free bus. Carts are available.
Terminal No 1 is the main one, the flights to Africa, Malta and the Middle East, some charter flights. It is a “puck” and a wing adjacent to it. Please note that in a round building, on the official scheme, the basement is designated as the passenger arrival level, and the second as check-in and departure, but in reality we find the opposite. It is possible that the administration, depending on the season and load, “optimizes” the zones, mobile changes everything for the convenience of passengers and greeters ..
Terminal 2 is the national carrier of Air France. “Shuttle” to Charles de Gaulle airport, to Nantes – the Loire Valley, to Normandy, to Caen and to Nice, to Brussels. Recently, planes fly to Turkey, Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), Tunisia and Spain.
N1 and N2 – located in close proximity to each other and connected by an area called “Le Centre”. The Center has waiting areas and fast food outlets. The arrival level on the plan is located on the ground floor (0th), and the departure level is on the second (in French it is the 1st floor).
Terminal 3 serves for the “low-cost airlines” such as EasyJet. It was necessary to get into it through terminal 1. This area is undergoing constant reconstruction, part of the functions was transferred to the “puck” (T1). * For 2020, T3 is not marked on the official scheme at all.
The official website of the LYS airport, where you can find out the flight schedule, flight delays and online scoreboard in French: www.lyonaeroports.com
Why is Saint-Exupéry airport good? Lyon is a very convenient and fairly close arrival zone to the mountain resorts of the Alps. And he himself is very interesting in terms of tourism. On the day of arrival and departure, you can always watch it on the way to your place of rest. Tourists from the USA, Canada and Australia love to see the Old City (Vieux Lyon), located to the west of Sona. In addition, it is interesting to visit the basilica, the Metal Tower (mini-Eifel), local museums, beautiful squares and cellars with wine .. See the section below.
The main ski resorts that usually follow from the airport:
– Courchevel / Courchevel (Savoie, “three valleys”)
– Les Menuires / Les Menuires (“three valleys”)
– Val Thorens / Val-Thorens (“3 valleys”)
– Les Arcs / Les Arcs and La Plagne (La Plagne) / La Plagne (Savoie)
– Val-d’Isere / Val-d’Isère and lake Tignes / Tignes (Department of Savoie)
– Alpe d’Huez / L’Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes / Les Deux-Alpes, (Isère)
– Lake Annecy, Bourget and Aix-le-Bains
Lyon airport transfer – ski resorts
“Taxi in Paris and Nice”. English speaking driver. Clarify prices, choose the type of car (minibus), include the selected express tour or develop your individual route (we are the developers!) Depending on the flight time, good spirits and body 🙂 group composition, age and interests and other factors… :
Phone +33659354620 (Your duty dispatcher and guide in the Alps).
Cost depending on the chosen type of car (minibus):
Transfer Lyon Airport – Courchevel
Business class: Mercedes Viano – 590 Eu; Mercedes E – 590 Eu
VIP class: Mercedes S – 690 euros, Range Rover – 690
Les Menuires
Val Thorens
Business class: Mercedes Viano – 530 Eu; Mercedes E – 590 Eu
VIP class: Mercedes S – 710 euros, Range Rover – 710
Private sightseeing Tours in Lyon
If you are arriving at LYS airport for summer or winter holidays in resorts in the Alps, it makes sense for an hour or two to drive into the city itself, see its interesting places and continue moving to your desired destination. Depending on the time of arrival and the distance of the road, fatigue or cheerfulness, the initial acquaintance with the sights of this ancient and beautiful city can be done in the “express” version or “in full”, with a separate guide-artist. Below we offer the best options worked out for decades by our senior colleagues.
Overview, Express option. Fourvier Hill and Notre Dame Cathedral, Gallo-Roman buildings. The old quarters of the Renaissance and the “peninsula” area. Narrow lanes and stairs, the Croix-Rousse hill, the “canyu” quarter of famous weavers and artistic creativity. Countless shops, exhibitions and antique shops .. We also recommend adding mini
Gastronomic tour. People here like to eat delicious food and know how to cook well. Authentic French cuisine with local flair. Famous chefs and restaurateurs, followers of Paul Bocuse. It’s good to combine the initial acquaintance and the trip above with lunch at a restaurant (grand table) or a tavern (bowshon), as well as buy “something” to take with you on vacation. Something tasty and what it is good to drink and celebrate the arrival. A few photos in winter, in January. No snow, warm 🙂.
Grand tour around the area. Very interesting and informative, but requires from 4 to 8 hours, or even more. It will be cheaper if you travel immediately upon arrival along the road, but you can also on any day convenient for you (then we will simply calculate the route options, timing and prices). Do not forget to take into account the weather conditions, you need to look at the weather forecast in order to plan your vacation optimally. We are already used to the fact that we ourselves, as smart navigators, offer to rebuild the route when weather conditions change online. And so, the best for travel:
Medieval village of Perouge. Stone houses of the 15th and 16th centuries, a church and narrow streets. Many films were filmed here, including The Three Musketeers. A trip to such a place is a great gift for yourself or a child. The local “Perugian sugar pie” is also considered a culinary masterpiece, the children are all delighted. Parents too. Located 40 km. Tour from Lyon to Perouge takes 3-4 hours.
Wine tours and tastings. To the north of Lyon stretch the vineyards from which young Beaujolais and vintage wines of Burgundy are made, and to the south grow the vineyards of Côtes-Roty, Côte-du-Rhone and Ardèche.
Beaujolais or “the land of golden stones”. The region lies to the north of the Rhone and to the south of the Saone-et-Loire. An ancient French province with the historical capital of Beaux and the modern one – Villefranche-sur-Saone. The main unofficial holiday of the country, Beaujolais Nouveau, is celebrated by the name of the wine (see report and reviews). The main attractions are the castles (“Chateau”) de Bagnoles, de Pisay, Corcel, Julienas and Montmelas. Tourists are also very fond of the medieval village of Oint. The duration of the tour from Lyon is 4-8 hours, but you can “hang out” for a long time 🙂 Anything can happen.
List of tours and routes: Grenoble, Annecy, Chambéry… the whole list…
Reviews and personal experience. An example of a tour organized by an honorary member of the “Union of Taxi Drivers”, the engineer and car tester, Cossack Nikolai Turoverov, nephew of the famous poet and son of a military historian. This route has been worked out over the past twenty years and is based on the personal experience of our previous drivers and French colleagues.