Published on 2 May 2024
Are you organising an event?
Lyon has everything you could want: cultural heritage, easy accessibility, innovation, tourist attractions and, of course, great food!
Lyon: a city with many key assets
Lyon is the perfect city in which to organise your events. Both you and your visitors will be won over by its many advantages and overall attractiveness.
- A city listed on the UNESCO World Heritage register
- The world capital of gastronomy
- France's second largest economic area
- France’s most popular business tourism destination, outside Paris
- Largest hotel capacity in France (after Paris) with more than 19,300 rooms available, including the Intercontinental, voted best hotel in France in 2021
- Ranked among the top 10 European cities for specialised entrepreneurship: biotechnology, environment, E-sport, etc.
Lyon: an exceptional city that has won several awards
Lyon h as won several awards in a variety of fields over recent years, making the city a leading destination for business tourism:
- The world's leading emerging tourism destination in 2021 (World Travel Awards 2021)
- 2nd most popular city in France for hosting conferences (according to ICCA 2022)
- 2nd Best European Urban Destination 2021 (World Travel Awards)
- 1st European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019 (European Capital of Smart Tourism)
- France's leading industrial region in 2021 (CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Étienne Roanne)
- No. 1 ranked city in France for the fifth year running, according to the barometer concerning the attractiveness and dynamism of French cities with more than 1 million inhabitants (Arthur Loyd 2022)
- Lyon, Leading French City for Sustainable Tourism (GDS - Index) in 2021
- Europe’s leading city-break destination (World Travel Awards 2016)
Sustainable tourism in Lyon
Lyon tops the list of French destinations committed to a more sustainable tourism strategy, according to a ranking published by the Global Destination Sustainability Index. The city is ranked 7th in the world.
But, what exactly does it mean when we talk about "committed to a more sustainable tourism strategy"?
Three of the four criteria taken into consideration by this designation are directly linked to the issue of sustainability: cultural heritage & creativity, sustainable development and accessibility.
Accessibility and mobility
2018 Access City Award Winner:
Everyone who lives or visits the Lyon metropolitan area can take advantage of its vast public transport network; and that notably includes persons with impaired vision or reduced mobility. Moreover, Lyon won the Access City Award for being the most accessible town in France in 2018.
Lyon City Card, promoting culture and eco-mobility
The Lyon City Card costs between €21 and €49 for one day, the latter price including transport from the airport. It gives visitors free access to all the city's museums for a day (all museums, even the smallest ones, which is not the case in all cities). The card is also available at special rates for two, three and four-day periods, with the same advantages. The Lyon City Card also gives you access to all public transport services, including park-and-ride facilities, so you can leave your car parked outside the city centre for free.
Soft mobility
The city has an active policy of developing "green and blue infrastructures" (French "trames vertes et bleues" scheme, i.e. areas combining green spaces and wetlands/water courses), pedestrian walkways and cycle paths. The metropolitan area has more than 540km of cycle paths and 4,000 Vélo'v (self-service) bikes available 24 hours a day, spread across 428 bike stations! Cycling tourists can also enjoy riding along the 815km of the "ViaRhôna", a cycle path that runs along the Rhône River from the Mediterranean to Geneva, via Lyon and Miribel.
Moreover, the "vaporetto" boat shuttle and the Bateaux lyonnais give visitors the opportunity to discover the city from a different perspective, at a gentle pace. Some of the boats are even propelled by electric motors.
Local tourism
The Mon week-end à Lyon (My weekend in Lyon) card helps promote local tourism is the 58 neighbouring municipalities. The use of public transport is also highlighted as an option for getting to and from the different locations.
Sustainable development
The city of Lyon is actively committed to reducing its energy consumption, as illustrated through two key examples:
- Since 2017, St Exupéry airport has been certified carbon neutral (making it one of just 25 airports in 9 countries to have received such certification).
- The installations for the Fête des Lumières (Light festival) use low-consumption lighting solutions.
Moreover, the city has had a "zéro-phyto" (zero-pesticide) management policy for its parks and green spaces since 2008. Several drinking water fountains are available in public spaces.
The LVED Label
The city of Lyon has created the "Lyon Ville Equitable et Durable" (LVED [Lyon; a fair and sustainable city]) label. This is a reference label for eco-responsible businesses, shops and restaurants in Lyon. So far, 10 establishments have been awarded the label in the 'tourism and hotels' category, and 26 others in the 'restaurants' category.
Business tourism: the advantages of Lyon
As the second most popular city for hosting congresses in France (according to the ICCA 2022 rankings), Lyon ticks all the boxes if you are looking to organise an event: a central location in Europe with easy access by plane, train or car, state-of-the-art venues, excellent accommodation facilities and the charm of a two-thousand-year-old historic old town – listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – with the Rhône and Saône rivers running through the city centre.
Discover Lyon events' four high-quality venues, which complement each other perfectly, enabling us to provide the best possible setting and solution for every type of business event: trade fairs and consumer fairs, congresses, conventions, product launches, gala dinners, corporate seminars, etc.
Whether you are looking for a modular exhibition park, an internationally-renowned convention centre, or events spaces set in the environment of a sports stadium or an arts and cultural venue, you'll find just the right solution for your event!
Thanks to its vibrant economy, excellent infrastructures and high-quality hotels, Lyon has established itself as a major destination in the European business tourism market.
Lyon, a beautiful city:
Lyon is a city that has retained a "human scale", making it a great place to live on a day-to-day basis, thanks to its beautiful location, history and vibrant economy!
With its rich architectural heritage, Lyon has lots of different areas to discover and explore, from its historic districts to its more contemporary developments.
The city hosts many international cultural events, from concerts and shows to art exhibitions and festivals.
As the "capital of gastronomy", Lyon is renowned for its great food, with its many traditional "bouchons Lyonnais" and Michelin-star restaurants.
Lyon, an attractive city:
Lyon is a vibrant and dynamic city, thanks to its strong economy, infrastructures, historical heritage and geographical location!
Today, Lyon has established itself as a major economic hub in France and Europe.
To maintain its standing in the future, the city is carrying out large-scale spatial planning projects, and has implemented various plans to support businesses and local communities.
Lyon, a city that is easy to get to
Lyon has made the most of the natural advantages of its location and developed a highly efficient network of land, air and rail infrastructures.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is a major hub for international transport links, whether via the Rhône Valley, the Alpine passes, the region's seven airports, its waterways or the Mont Blanc and Fréjus tunnels. The Rhône valley has also always been a major route for road and river traffic.
Naturally, Lyon has taken full advantage of its geographical location and developed an excellent transport and communications network: Lyon Saint-Exupéry international airport and its TGV (high-speed train) station – which facilitates air-rail connections –, the TGV (high-speed train) network and an efficient road and motorway network.
Lyon has everything it takes to host your events and make them a success.
If you would like to organise a trade fair, consumer show or corporate event in Lyon, please contact us or send your request by email to: commercial[@]gl-lyonevents.com.