Will be going to Lyon in mid-January for 8 days to join my 15 year old daughter currently on exchange. I am looking for suggestions for accommodation (for 2 people). Either a pension style or apartment style, near Place Bellecour or Place Carnot (garede perrache). Any recommendations?

Also, what is the status of French trains and strikes. To fly to Lyon from Paris requires a 4.5 hour connection time, so I was thinking a train may be the way to go. Are the trains running and are they likely to continue running? Thanks in advance for any help.

I don't remember pensions & apartments in Lyon mentioned much on this forum. If you are ok with usual hotels, do a text search with keywords " lyon & hotels". Often recommended is La Résidence 3* (1 minute walk to Place Bellecour) but you will find many other names too. Also very inexpensive Campanile 2* is right on Place Carnot (ask for higher floor / Place Carnot side for a nice view, including of La Basilique Fouvière).

Pari- Lyon, TGV train is the way to go. Only 1 hour ride from Paris center to Lyoncenter. Not worth flying, too much hussle and time. The recent strike is over. I heard they were talking about December strike but I don't know how likely it is to happen. As to January, I would say no strike but other people might be better informed.

Yes, Hotel la Résidence gets lots of recommendations here. I've stayed there a couple of times and it's good value for money and well located.

I'm not such a fan of Place Carnot/Perrache as an area to stay - though there's nothing really wrong with it, it wouldn't be my first choice. But perhaps you have a specific reason for wanting to stay in that area?

Apartment-wise, you could try Citadines Lyon Presqu'ile. http://www.citadines.com/en/france/lyon/presqu_ile.html My mother and aunt stayed in a serviced apartment there for ten days when they came to visit me when I was living in Lyon. They were really pleased with the accommodation and the location, a short walk from Place Bellecour and not far to the old town. The only issue was that, as it's right by a pedestrian street that is full of restaurants, noise could have been a problem, so they made a point of requesting a room overlooking the courtyard rather than the street. (In winter this is less likely to be a problem, however.)

As for trains, that is definitely the easiest way to get to Lyon from Paris - it's a two-hour journey and there are two trains an hour for most of the day, so even if there was another strike, there are so many trains running you'd have to be really unlucky to be stranded for long. Of course there's no guarantee that a strike won't happen, but if it were me I think I'd take the risk and get the train tickets.

(Anyway, if there was another strike, getting to/from the airport would be problematic too, so it wouldn't necessarily be easier to fly...)

hanl is right. Paris - Lyon is 2 hour TGV ride.

Thanks so much for your help - I'll look into the suggestions, and I think I'll take my chances on the trains!