Part-Dieu

Business district with modern hotels and a big shopping mall. Convenient for train connections but no charm or local atmosphere. Pickpockets around the station, empty streets after work hours. If you're here for business or catching a train, fine. Otherwise stay elsewhere.

Part-Dieu is built around the main TGV station and a big shopping center - office towers, business hotels, functional buildings. This is for business travelers and commuters, not tourists looking for Lyon's character. Weekdays you'll see professionals in suits grabbing lunch and hurrying to meetings. The shopping mall is one of Europe's bigger ones, all the major brands and chain restaurants. Hotels and chains have staff who speak English since they get international business travelers. There's security but pickpockets work the station and metro, especially going after people with luggage. The whole area feels corporate and impersonal. No historic architecture, no local atmosphere, not where you go for authentic Lyon. Solo dining is fine in hotel restaurants and chains, but it doesn't have the warmth or cafe culture you'd find in central Lyon. After 6pm when workers leave, the streets empty out even though they're well-lit. Late at night around the station, be more careful. Part-Dieu works if you're catching early trains or in town for business - modern, convenient, good metro access. But if you want to actually experience Lyon, you'll spend your time in the old center, Croix-Rousse, or Presqu'île.