Getaways from Lyon: day trips and destinations close by.

Everything that leaves Lyon goes by hire car

There are direct flights to Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport (LYS) from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Seville, and from Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and Lanzarote. What leaves Lyon on Geocalia goes by hire car, collected at the airport or in the city: the volcanoes and high-mountain valleys are far from stations and spread among small villages.

There are two exits, in opposite directions. To the west, the A89 crosses towards Clermont-Ferrand and puts you in the Chaîne des Puys: via the D941 you climb to Orcines, at the foot of the Puy de Dôme, and exit 26 leads to Lemptégy. To the east, the motorway goes to Grenoble and the D1091 goes up the Romanche valley to Villar-d'Arêne and La Grave, in the northern Écrins. Past the Chambon reservoir there is a narrow stretch for cars only: with a motorhome you enter via Gap or the Fréjus tunnel.

Without a car there is little to do at those two destinations. From Clermont-Ferrand a shuttle runs to Lemptégy from April to November, and the Grenoble or Briançon bus stops at Villar-d'Arêne with a reservation at least 24 hours ahead, but the full plans need a car. By train from Lyon, on the other hand, you reach Annecy, although there is not yet a timed plan leaving from here.

The Auvergne volcanoes are a good two hours away

Between two hours and two and a half, the Auvergne volcanoes. The Puy de Dôme and the Pariou crater, about 2 h 10 away, goes up by rack railway to the summit, eats at an inn in Orcines and spends the afternoon on foot round the crater. Inside a volcano, about 2 h 20 away, is the day with children: guided visit inside the Volcan de Lemptégy, truffade facing the Puy de Dôme and the afternoon at the Vulcania park. With more time, two nights in the Chaîne des Puys sleeps in Orcines and adds a balloon flight at dawn, paid separately.

Between two and three quarter hours and almost three, the high mountain. La Grave in a day, about 2 h 45 away, goes up by cable car to 3,200 m, beside the Girose glacier, eats at the top at La Cabine and comes down to the Jardin du Lautaret. The Alpe de Villar-d'Arêne refuge, about 2 h 50 away, is an easy 8.8 km route up to 2,071 m with a Sunday menu at Le Faranchin. It is a lot of hours of driving for a day: two nights in La Grave add a guided via ferrata and the Emparis lakes.

Auvergne in May, June and September, for two nights

From April to October, Auvergne. Lemptégy and Vulcania are both open in that season; in September and early October, Vulcania closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. La Fontaine du Berger, the inn in the Puy de Dôme plan, closes Mondays and Tuesdays all year. For the two-night getaway, May, June and September.

From mid-June to mid-September, the Écrins. The La Grave cable car runs from 6 June to 13 September 2026, the Lautaret garden opens from early June to early September and the Alpe refuge is staffed from 11 June to 20 September. In July and August, the cable car and the garden open every day.

In winter, of what Geocalia has from Lyon only the Puy de Dôme train keeps running, with possible snow on the Pariou stairs. The Écrins do not yet have a winter plan from here.

To the Puy de Dôme by rack railway

• On a Sunday: the Puy de Dôme by train and the Pariou, a good two hours away.
• With children: Lemptégy and Vulcania, between April and October, avoiding Mondays and Tuesdays in September.
• With two nights in summer: La Grave, facing La Meije.