2 Days from Lyon: The Day-Trip Itinerary
Two days from Lyon means one hotel and one real day trip: settle into a Presqu’ile base on day one, then spend day two entirely in Beaujolais wine country, 30 to 45 minutes away by car or tour, the closest and easiest gateway trip Lyon offers. Need more days out of the city? Step up to the 3-day or 7-day version of this same plan.
Book these before you go
- Hotel: check Presqu’ile or Vieux Lyon rates on Booking.com
- Beaujolais half-day wine tour: browse times on GetYourGuide
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from Lyon |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Base in Lyon, Presqu’ile orientation | In Lyon |
| Day 2 | Beaujolais wine country | 30-45 min |
Day 1: Base in Lyon, Presqu’ile orientation
- Land in Lyon and check into a base near Part-Dieu or Perrache, both stations run the TER trains that do the heavy lifting on this trip.
- Buy a TCL day pass or single EUR 2.10 tickets for getting around the city itself; the regional TER ticket you’ll need tomorrow is a separate purchase.
- Spend the afternoon walking the Presqu’ile, Place Bellecour to the Opera, so your first Lyon orientation doesn’t happen on tomorrow’s day-trip morning.
- Dinner at a certified bouchon, book ahead, the genuinely good tables fill fast even for a base-camp night.
Day 2: Beaujolais wine country
- Beaujolais sits 30 to 45 minutes north of Lyon by car or organized tour. Public transport into the actual vineyard villages, Fleurie, Morgon, Julienas, thins out fast, so a tour or a rental car matters here more than anywhere else on this list.
- A half-day tour typically visits 2 to 4 domaines with tastings included. If you booked the full-day option instead, add the Pierres Dorees golden-stone villages, Oingt among France’s Most Beautiful Villages.
- Beaujolais Nouveau Day, 19 November 2026, is a genuine local event with real crowds, not a marketing stunt, so book well ahead if you’re traveling that week.
- Back in Lyon by evening for dinner in the Presqu’ile.
Is 2 days enough for a Lyon day-trip base?
It’s enough for exactly one gateway trip done properly, Beaujolais, without rushing it. It skips Vienne, Perouges, and Annecy entirely. If any of those matter to you, this is a taste of what Lyon can do as a base, not the full plan, look at the 4-day or 5-day itinerary instead.
Do you need a car for Beaujolais wine country?
Public transport thins out fast once you’re off Lyon’s main train lines and into the vineyard villages themselves. A rental car or an organized minivan tour matters more here than for Vienne or Perouges, both of which sit on direct rail lines. Skip the car-rental headache on a 2-day trip and book a half-day tour with tastings built in instead.
Book the Beaujolais tour before the hotel, not after, the good small-group departures fill first on summer weekends. Want the city itself covered properly instead of a wine day? Our Lyon travel guide and its own 2-day itinerary stay inside Vieux Lyon and Fourviere the whole time.