TETE D'OR PARK
With its 117 ha, a lake, a free-admission zoo, Tete d'Or Park is the largest urban park in France.
This fabulous expanse of greenery includes a botanical garden with 15,000 plants (6,000 of them in green houses) and is considered one of the finest collections in Europe. Then wander on the rose gardens and its 500 different varieties.
The park has snacks bars scattered around the grounds, pedal boat and rowboat rentals by the lake, a Guignol puppet theatre, a playground, a mini golf, etc.
Open 6am-11pm from 1 April to 30 Sept., & until 9pm the rest of the year.
Free admission
Parc de la Tête d’Or - 69006 LYON
Tel: +33(0)4 78 89 02 03
PARC DES HAUTEURS AND ROSARY GARDEN
Fourviere hill, Lyon's 1st tourist site, overlooks the Saone river and the historic districts of St Jean and St Paul. Breath-taking belvederes, woody slopes, fields and gardens of large church domains, archaeological sites and recreation areas.
Rosary Garden: a succession of gardens sets the scene for a pleasant stroll from Fourvière basilica to the Saint Jean quarter.
Everyday 9am to the dusk.
Free admission
How to get there: cablecar from St-Jean/Vieux-Lyon to Fourvière.
Colline de Fourvière 69005 LYON
GERLAND PARK
This city park along the Rhone was created on former industrial wasteland.
The landscape artist M. Corajoud put in a large green and garden running along the river banks.
In this rapidly changing and developing neighbouthood, the park offers the opportunity for a leisurely stroll, sports activities, refreshments and the restful sight of flowers and plants in the strips of Mégaphorbaie. Skate rink. Free admission.
How to get there: Subway B, stop : Gerland
Allée Pierre de Coubertin - 69007 LYON
CERISAIE PARK
A former cherry orchard, the park is home to Villa Gillet, a Tuscan-inspired mansion built in 1913, now occupied by the Centre for the analysis and dissemination of contemporary thought and art.
The park is linked by paths to the Saone river.
April, May, Oct., Nov. 7am to 7pm.
Dec. to March: 8am to 10pm.
How to get there: Bus 61, stop : Residence, Le parc
25 rue Chazière - 69004 LYON
ROSA MIR GARDEN
You may have heard of the Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval - well Lyon has its own version in the form of an "art brut" work by Jules Sénis, a Spanish mason living in the Croix-Rousse in the early 1950s. He spent 25 years building an extraordinary garden for his mother, Rosa Mir. Using over 100,000 seashells and stones from all over the world, punctuated with a large variety plants, he composed a baroque fantasy world of 400 square metres.
From April to Nov.
Saturday 3pm - 6pm
How to get there: Subway C, stop: Croix-Rousse
87 grande rue de la Croix-Rousse - 69004 LYON
Tel : +33(0)4 78 39 26 28
PARILLY PARK
The Park is located in the municipal areas of Bron and Vénissieux.
It attracts schoolchildren all year round, as well as nature-lovers, joggers and cyclists, and many athletes use its stadium. The 178 ha (440 acres) of Parilly Park are divided between a wooded area and a sports area. Free admission
How to get there: Subway D, stop Parilly
Boulevard Emile Bollaert - 69500 BRON
Tel: +33(0)4 72 61 73 98
ILE BARBE SITE
Just outside Lyon, Ile Barbe island, with its medieval atmosphere, emerges from the Saone, and entices walkers to discover this secretive and shady bastion on the water.
Private residences beyond the park and playground.
The seat of a powerful abbey in the Middle Ages, the Benedictine monastery housed the "Charlemagne Library" destroyed by the Protestants in the 16th century.
On site: a gourmet restaurant called l'Auberge de l'Ile.
Concerts of traditional music, Sunday evenings in the summer.
How to get there: Bus 43 & 31, stop: St Rambert, île Barbe
Ile Barbe - 69009 LYON
