10 Things to do in Lyon with Kids

The plans in the city of Lyon are almost endless. In addition to attracting thousands of tourists from around the world for its cultural and historical charm, picturesque neighborhoods, murals, museums, monuments, viewpoints, and a wide range of traditional and international cuisine, it also offers activities to enjoy with the little ones.

For example, the Guignol Museum offers different shows and an exhibition of thousands of puppets from around the world. Or you can take a trip back in time at the Cinema and Miniature Museum. And how about a boat ride, the Tête d'Or Park has it all. Hikes through nature trails, a botanical garden, a zoo, and you can even picnic while your kids have fun

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Meet, learn and discover the wonders of the marine world and the species that inhabit it is an opportunity not to be missed.

At the Aquarium, located in the district of La Mulatière, children can observe a fascinating variety of marine animals, and even touch some of them and appreciate the majestic sharks, among other predators while they are being fed.

Species from America, Europe and Africa, such as clown fish, sea urchins, seahorses, octopuses, jellyfish, and some more exotic and tropical species of different colors, sizes and characteristics that inhabit deep waters, will awaken the admiration and curiosity of children.

Useful information

• Hours: The aquarium is open all year round from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. except December 25 and January 1.
• Price: Adults from 11 years old pay about 18€ and children about 8€ (3 to 4 years old) and 14€ (5 to 10 years old). Children under 3 years old are free.

To captivate children and adults has been the purpose of La Maison de Guignol Theater, on the Place de la Trinité, for more than 20 years. The universe of the puppet and the Guignol - a representative character of Lyon, created during the 19th century - will offer you different family shows every day of the year and has more than a thousand puppets from around the world, each with a magical story that stimulates the imagination and creativity.

Tour the two-level space with an audio-guided tour that tells the story of the creation of Guignol through amazing animated scenes that you will certainly enjoy.

The theater has a very varied program. During the day you can enjoy family puppet shows, live shows, and even meet the artists backstage.

Although no longer recommended for children, this theater is not to be missed among the activities to do in Lyon at night. At that time, you will have fun with the café-theater performances, stories inspired by love, couples, work relationships, naturism, the art of seduction, among many other themes, which will make you laugh and spend a very comforting moment. A unique experience.

Useful information

• Hours: The theater-museum is open all year round. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance. It is recommended to book online.
• Museum entrance fee: about 11 € per adult and about 9 € for children. The theater-Café costs about 18 € (subject to seasonal adjustments).
• The performances are recommended for children from 3 years old.

If you are a movie fan, you should take advantage of being in Lyon to learn about the history of the Lumière brothers, who created the cinematograph, as the first device to project moving images was known, an innovative and creative process, exhibited at the Lumière Institute.

The institute, located in the brothers' mansion in the historic Monplaisir district, has a museum, a projection and editing center, and an exhibition of more than 1,400 restored films, galleries, bookstores, café, among other spaces.

You can enjoy films of different genres in the Hangar movie theater, sessions with guests, among other activities. And, on the third floor of the mansion, you will find a library, where you can find magazines, photographs, books, posters, a large database for you to become an expert on the subject.

It even offers meetings for young children every Sunday morning with fun short films for them. And if you visit the Institute on March 19, your children can participate in the filming of a short film, which takes place every year, in the same place where the Lumière brothers shot the first film.

It is a place full of magic where you will also find the first film cameras.

Useful information

• Hours: The Hangar cinema, the photo gallery, the Premier-Film Bookshop and the Café Lumière are open from Tuesday to Sunday.
• Movie ticket prices: between €7 and €10. Children under 7 years old are free. The meeting with the artists costs about €6.

This 117-hectare open space, which receives more than 3 million visitors a year, is ideal for a family outing. There you can relax while walking along the paths, visit the botanical garden and the rose garden.

There you can stroll through the velodrome, and see the giraffes, lions, turtles, waterfowl, elephants, squirrels, and many more animals in the zoo; take a boat ride on the lake -in summer-, ride a bike and play mini-golf or take a ride on the tourist train.

The Parc de la Tete d'Or or Golden Head Park, with 8 entrances, is located in a central area of the city of Lyon and in addition to the public events such as film screenings, theaters, exhibitions, you can have fun in the playgrounds or have a picnic with the little ones.

Its location makes it easily accessible. You will definitely see it if you take any guided tour of Lyon. In addition, if you are looking for plans in the city for Christmas, a skating rink is installed inside.

Useful information

• Price: Entrance to the park is free, except at the rose garden gate.
• It offers commercial spaces and restaurants, among other services.
• Hours: Admission is from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (subject to change).

If you visit the Cinema and Miniatures Museum, you will enjoy in one place an amazing collection of more than 400 pieces related to cinema, 6 complete sets, different objects used in 200 films, among many other things that will surprise you in 12 exhibition rooms.

In the Museum, located in the historic center of Lyon, you will also have the opportunity to learn about the realization of special effects, 3D animation, and you will enjoy a large collection of costumes and iconic characters from different genres of cinema, such as superheroes, Harry Potter and even the scooter from the movie Back to the Future 2, the Gremlins, among others.

In an area of two thousand square meters you will see more than 100 handmade miniature scenes, representing different situations and everyday spaces in which they have used more than a thousand objects made with great care and detail to recreate churches, houses, kitchens, bathrooms, rooms, supermarkets, and even some landscapes and world famous places like Maxim's restaurant in Paris or the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. A fascinating and fun place.

Useful information

• Hours: Open daily from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
• Price: Admission is approximately €12.50 or free with the Lyon City Card. Children under 5 years old do not pay admission.

If your kids are more adventurous and want a little more adrenaline, you can take them to the France Aventures park, and spend a fun-filled day in the three outdoor parks it offers: Amnéville, Lyon Fourvière and Saint Etienne.

The professionally guided and supervised tours allow you to relax and enjoy some food and drinks in the picnic area, while your children enjoy nature and demonstrate their skills and abilities.

At Amnéville you can enjoy 13 tree climbing courses, outdoor laser games, archery, maxi bungee and interactive rallies.

At Lyon Fourvière you can go on an ultimate adventure in the Explor Games, a mix of orienteering course and escape game, solving riddles and many challenges that you will enjoy with your family, while the little ones take part in activities designed for them, such as the squirrel festival or the chocolate egg hunt throughout Easter.

And at Saint Etienne, located in a private forest in Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds, the activities are countless for adults and children. You'll find more than 10 tree climbing trails by day and night, workshops, courses, neon evenings, pajama party, escape games and much more fun and entertainment.

Useful information

• Hours: The parks are open on weekends and Wednesdays **from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.**m.
• Ticket prices: range from €4 to €25, depending on age.
• For some activities, such as tree climbing, a minimum age of 4 years is required.
• Due to the high number of visitors, we recommend reserving a date and time slot.

If you are looking for activities to do in Lyon and your children love speed, racing and dream of being the best drivers in the world, the Karting complex, one of the largest in Europe, located just 15 minutes from the center of Lyon, offers safe fun, a sense of freedom and many surprises that you will enjoy to the fullest and they will thank you.

The place, with an area of 16 hectares has five independent tracks and more than 250 cars, to enjoy day and night. There is even a mini-track of electric karts for the little ones to enjoy with their parents, while the older ones can test their driving skills in any of the categories they choose.

The services offered by Karting range from leisure karting to professional karting on a national and international scale, for those specialists in this motor sport. At the end of the year, it even gathers the best drivers (from 11 years old) and teams from the five continents, in the most important leisure karting exhibition in the world. You will spend an exciting afternoon full of adrenaline.

also offers short courses for those who have not yet mastered the kart, laser game, bowling track, tree climbing, as well as team races with different obstacles and relays to test the endurance of the competitors.

Useful information

• Hours: Open every day of the week, from 9 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Price: Each activity has a different price, depending on age and circuit, starting at 19€.

Those who go to Lyon in June, when the weather is much better, can go to this park for their children to enjoy.

Wakko Park offers different options for recreation and multiple activities, from physical exercise to being in contact with nature, stimulating their senses.

In one place, your children can climb trees, jump on the trampolines, climb up and down the bouncy castle, hide in the maze, or enjoy the water battle with sprinklers to cool off on summer days or share with them in the spring games or tunnels, plastic animals and large balloons, developing motor and playful skills.

The park, located southeast of downtown Lyon, also offers acrobatic rides, pedal go-kart track, tricycle track, safe inflatables, rope course and zip lines for the more adventurous. It also has a restaurant service and nature walks, being a tourist attraction mainly for families because most of the attractions are for children.

Useful information

• Hours: The park is open daily from 10 a.m. to 19:00 a.m.
• The rides are for children from 2 to 12 years old.
• Price: The entrance fee is approximately 12 ¤ for children and 2 ¤ for a companion. Children under 2 years old do not pay

In a combination of fun and learning, visiting Touroparc Zoo, is to meet more than 600 animals among mammals, birds and reptiles, such as red pandas, lions, giraffes, giant tortoises, camels, orangutans, wild boar, tigers, monkeys, pink flamingos, Indian rhinoceroses; and many more.

The complex, which covers 12 hectares of nature, allows you to walk through trails that transport you to different scenarios and environments, learning about different terrestrial and aquatic animals, characteristics and feeding, as well as the care of nature.

Touroparc has a leisure area, where you will find attractions for the family with free access. An aquatic area, an area of 36 games outside the pool, 5 slides, which will ensure you fun.

And, as if that were not enough, you will have the opportunity to browse thirty stores, enjoy the bar, restaurant and picnic areas. Also souvenir stores, workshops, geological exhibition, museums and an amusement park with playground, tourist train, among many other options.

Useful Information

• Hours: The attractions are open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Price for adult or child: about 15€, depending on the season of the year and the number of people to enter.
• Due to the large number of visitors, it is recommended to book online.

Surprise your children with miniature replicas of different buildings and landmarks of the French city of Lyon such as the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the Colline de Fourvière, the Rhone pool or Place Bellecour.

The animated miniature park with an area of 4,500 square meters offers multiple attractions in motion suitable for the whole family. It is a space of magic, color and a spectacular scenery made up of 70,000 mini inhabitants, reproduced buildings, vehicles, trains, moving trucks, light projections, projections that recreate the day and night, accompanied by sounds and stimulating projections.

I recommend that you walk with your family through each of the perfectly recreated scenarios, such as the world of the countryside, with farmers, tractors and crops, and the colorful environments in the mountains or the ice-covered slopes. The best thing is to let yourself be infected by the magic, the famous characters, scenes that refer to movies and cartoons and even life-size dinosaurs.

Useful information

• Hours: The park opens at 10:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm.
• Admission fee: for adults from 14 € and for children from 9 €.