I had almost decided to skip Lyon on my upcoming trip to Provence in May (thank you to all who so kindly responded to recent post regarding that). However, American AA has changed my flight times, (which I found out quite by accident, not by their notification)! Now I will have an extra hour before leaving Paris for Miami (plane leaves at 12:30), so I could have time to train directly that morning from Lyon to CDG, therefore giving me an extra day.

I would have to drop one Provence day. Would take an early TGV from Avignon to Lyon, having the rest of that day and all of the next for Lyon. I can't do this same AM train from Avignon to CDG, as there really isn't time. I was going to do an afternoon train from Avignon to airport, then spend the night there, which doesn't excite me.

My main question is: would it be easy enough to get a taxi from central Lyon to catch the 7:56 AM train to CDG (leaves from Part Dieu). Traffic-wise, ease of getting taxi, etc.,as I don't know distances there at all(a Thursday).Train arrives at 10:04, which would seem to be plenty of time for my checkin.Plane leaves from terminal 2A(at least it always has before)!

Anyone ever done this from Lyon? It might frazzle my nerves, but would give me an extra day. Not much time for Lyon, really, only a day and a half..is it worth it for that amount of time?

I've only done it the other direction but I absolutely think it's worth it and very do-able. I'm sure your hotel can arrange a taxi for you. Lyon is a big, sophisticated city! It will be wonderful to spend an afternoon and evening wandering around the old city and eating at one of the outdoor restaurants.

Enjoy Lyon!

and go up the funicular to the overlook and Roman ruins...

I think it's very possible to do too. Though like Grasshopper, I've only done it in the opposite direction. The Part-Dieu train station is about a mile from the Presqu'ile heart of Lyon.

For a splurge view you might look at Le Meridien hotel. It's at the top of the Credit Lyonnais building nicknamed "le crayon" (the pencil) which is attached by a pedestrian bridge to Part-Dieu. You could enjoy your view, get up the next morning and walk to the train station.

I had an expensive drink at the bar atop the building last May. 11 euro for a mixed drink, but I figure it was an "admission" price and I got a drink thrown in.

It's not as charming around the train station, a lot of concrete and shopping mall stuff. Public transportation is excellent. You can easily take the subway from Part-Dieu to the old city.

I'll be in Lyon over the May 1st holiday weekend. As I look out my window at the snow still falling, I can't wait to go!

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.
I had wondered about staying near the train station for the convenience, but kind of hate to because of the lack of ambiance, you know what I mean. But it certainly would be nice coming in from Avignon, and definitely leaving for CDG early in the AM.

I think it would be really easy to get from the centre of Lyon to Part Dieu at that time in the morning. If you book the taxi in advance, it probably wouldn't take more than 15 minutes. You can also take the tram from Perrache direct to Part Dieu, or take the metro. There's no reason why it should be nerve-frazzling at all

Sue4, thanks for the heads up. I'll be taking that flight from CDG to MIA in July, and this is the first I've heard about it changing to 12:25 instead of 11:20. I wonder if AA was thinking of letting us know?

I have booked the above mentioned Le Meridien in Lyon for two nights in July. Got an internet rate of 117 euro per night. Maybe the hotel lacks the usual ambiance you might be looking for -- but the views and the rooms have to be spectacular. Have you looked at it on the website? It is the highest (tallest) hotel in Europe, by the way. We're just pausing in Lyon for two nights between Cannes and Beaune, and decided it was a good place to stay -- just wheel our luggage the couple of blocks to and from the train station. And there is apparently an easy and frequent tram to the old city, which is where we stayed last time.

Patrick, if you are also taking Flight 62 to Paris from Miami, they have also changed the time from 7:35 P.M. to 6:20 P.M. I wonder if American was going to let us know, too! Last May they had cancelled Flight 63 from Paris to Miami altogether, and had me on a flight connecting in New York. I also found out about that by accident!

The Meridien actually sounds like a good idea, and the views look fabulous. I checked some websites (including their own) to get prices, after I read Indytravels post, and the lowest I found (on their site) was $125. For a 2-night stay, and the early AM train I need, I just might do the same. Wish I could do better than $125 though.

No, we're actually flying JFK to London going over (after flying Ft. Lauderdale to New York for a few weeks first).

Do you mean $125 or 125 euro for Le Meridien? Considering their normal prices, either is still a very good rate. My confirmation shows 234.40 euro for a "passport promotion" rate, which I did on the internet with the Le Meridien site. By the way, if you do stay be sure to join the Le Meridien "Moments" club for a couple free benefits and a good chance of getting a nicer room. While I also like old world ambiance, we stayed at the rather new LeMeridien in Munich last year, and it was one of the finest hotel rooms ever!

Duh, I meant that the 234.40 euro was the total for the two nights.

Patrick, I just re-checked the Meridien, and it was 125 euros, for the "passport promotion" rate, not dollars. I also checked the rate for July, and that was your rate. Guess May is more, but I was surprised about that, for Lyon. Anyway, 125 euros isn't bad, for that type of hotel, you're right. I just might go for it, if I definitely decide to spend those last 2 nights in Lyon.

Patrick, note that there is no tram that goes direct from Part-Dieu to the old town. The tram goes south from P-D through the 3rd and 7th arrondissements, and then crosses over the Rhone to Perrache station.

You can get the public transport maps and timetables (in French) for Lyon at www.tcl.fr