Top 10 Things To Do in Lyon in October 2019

Watching movies in a concert hall that holds 17,000 seats, wine tasting in places such as a Chamber of Commerce, learning about French cuisine in the capital of gastronomy… Lyon is rich in culture, and here is a list of 10 things the city offers in October that you probably wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else.

 

Lyon 2019 contemporary art biennale showcases the work of 50 international artists

Go to an old factory to appreciate art

Every two years, artists from around the world transform Lyon into a magnificent stage for their installations and masterpieces. The theme for the Biennale d’art contemporain this year is Là où les eaux se mêlent (Where Water Comes Together With Other Water, in the English version) and it showcases the work of 50 international artists.

NEW FEATURE: This year they added a new venue – the Usines Fagor (a former factory of home appliances in the 7th arrondissement).

The event also offers art workshops for children and adults, as well as guided tours in sign language, a tour for the blind or visually impaired, a backstage tour, and more.

When:

  • Until January 5th, 2020
  • Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Late Fridays (until 10 p.m.): October 11th, November 15th and December 13th

Where:

  • Usines Fagor
  • Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon
  • Institut d’Art Contemporain Villeurbanne
  • Central Peninsula (at Rue République, Rue Grolée, Rue Carnot, and Lyon Parc Auto)

Fare:

  • Full Price: 16€
  • Concessions: 13€ (for people under age 26, job seekers, cultural professionals and late-opening days after 6 p.m.)

 

International Marathon of Beaujolais

15th international marathon of Beaujolais – Registrations are open!

Subscribe to run and sip wine in Beaujolais

Created in 1996 and inspired by the New York Marathon, the Marathon International du Beaujolais has grown to be a one-of-a-kind, Beaujolais-esque marathon experience. Very much so because it combines wine and running (and also costumes, for an extra fun twist).
Four different races are offered. The main marathon takes place in the small roads of Beaujolais, but runners will also go through castles and vineyards.
Running in costumes is highly encouraged. Click here to register.

When:

  • November 23rd, 2019

Where:

  • Parc des Expositions
  • 221 Avenue de l’Europe – 69400 Villefranche/Saone

 

Lyon Wine Tasting festival

Wine tasting room inside Palais de la Bourse

Taste as many French wines as you wish in Lyon’s Chambre of Commerce

If running after wine sounds overwhelming, this might be a more relaxed alternative to try Beaujolais wine. In fact, at Lyon Tasting over 300 wines from all over France will be offered in the great salons of Palais de la Bourse (the Chamber of Commerce of Lyon). As well as musical performances and 6 master classes with internationally known sommeliers.

NEW FEATURES: The Toques Blanches Lyonnaises and Bouchons Lyonnais have joined the event’s board to contribute with new wine pairings.
The Café des Lumières, a wine bar that will gather entrepreneurs, experts, and young connaisseurs for tasting and debating.

When:

  • October 19th, 2019
    Open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • October 20th, 2019
    Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where:

  • Palais de la Bourse de Lyon
  • Place de la Bourse, 69002 Lyon

Fare:

  • One-day pass: 25€
  • Le pass journée + abonnement: 27€
  • Two-day pass: 39€

 

Lyon's Cité de la Gastronomie

Discover why Lyon is the capital of gastronomy © Fred Crouzet

Learn about food in the Capital of Gastronomy

Starting this month, the Grand Hôtel-Dieu in Lyon will be the host of the first cultural center entirely dedicated to gastronomy for the next 362 days. Conferences, workshops and expositions will revolve around the theme “Gastronomy, at the Crossroads of Food and Health”, which focuses on a healthy approach to food and international cuisine.

The venue for the International City of Gastronomy was a natural choice: a former hospital that has always been dedicated to the health industry in the 4th most star-rated city in France (Lyon has a sum of 20 Michelin stars).

When:

  • Opening day October 19th, 2019
  • Exhibition spaces: open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Le Cellier, coffee-shop: open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where:

Fare:

  • Full price: 12€
  • Reduced price: 3€ (students and job seekers)
    *Free entry for children under age 5.

 

Screening at the Halle Tony Garnier in Lyon

A movie screening at La Halle Tony Ganier during Festival Lumière

Watch the Godfather trilogy at Halle Tony-Garnier

Every October, the birthplace of cinema welcomes the Festival Lumière, which was created after the Lumière brothers’ legacy in the movie industry. The Festival includes 424 movie screenings of 190 movies in 60 locations around Lyon.

Every year, one special guest receives the Prix Lumière, in honor of his work in the industry. In the past, the Festival honored people such as Quentin Tarantino, Jane Fonda, Martin Scorcese, Clint Eastwood, and Gérard Depardieu. This year’s honoree is Francis Ford Coppola – director and producer of The Godfather trilogy. (How picturesque is going to an overnight screening of The Godfather followed by breakfast at La Halle Tony Garnier?)
Other honorable guests will be hosting master classes during the event, such as Donald Sutherland and Gael García Bernal.

The full program can be found here.

When:

  • October 12th – October 20th, 2019

Fare:

  • Tickets for a movie screening will usually be around 6€/ 4€ for teenagers under 14.
  • All the tickets available can be viewed here.

 

They Call Me Rico concert

They Call Me Rico’s new project

Go to a blues concert at Ninkasi Brewery

They Call Me Rico, a one-man band who plays the blues, formed by Frédéric Pellerin (Rico, on stage) will be joined by other musicians to perform his new project They Call Me Rico + The Escape at Ninkasi this October.
Originally from Canada, but now established in Lyon, They Call Me Rico has played in festivals like: Les Nuits de Fourvière, Jazz à Vienne, and Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. His profile was also featured on the cover of Rolling Stones France this past January as “a name to remember”.

When:

  • October 10th, 2019
  • From 8:30 p.m. to 11:55 p.m.

Where:

  • Ninkasi Gerland/ Salle Kao
    267 Rue Marcel Mérieux, 69007 – Lyon, France

Fare:

  • The early bird tickets are sold out.
  • Regular tickets: 15,90€
  • Discounted tickets (under age 16): 9€

 

A spectacle on the Rwandan genocide in Lyon

Unwanted, the spectacle on the Rwandan genocide

Participate on theatrical debates on global issues

After ten years on the road, the international theater festival, Sens Interdits, comes back for their 6th edition with 22 spectacles that raise questions on today’s world and our daily lives, inciting deep thoughts about our reality.

This time, through the participant international theatre companies, the festival explores different countries’ perspectives on conflict, female resistance and work.

From a story of an industrial worker in Tijuana, Mexico to an analysis of rape as a genocide weapon in Rwanda, Sens Interdits brings it all to the table.

The full program and prices can be found here.

When:

  • October 16th – October 27th, 2019

 

Tony Garnier architecture

Architect Tony Garnier’s Industrial City

Visit the city architect Tony Garnier envisioned in the 20th century

Tony Garnier was born in Croix-Rousse in 1869, amid the busy silk industry in Lyon. Son of a silk worker and a weaver, and confronting the hard living conditions of silk workers from an early age, he grew up to be an architect concerned about social housing and a city planner who changed the face of Lyon (stade de Gerland, Halle Tony Garnier, Edouard-Herriot Hospital, Quartier des Etats-Unis…);

This year, as part of his 150th birthday celebrations, the exposition Le Maire et l’Architecte, rereads his biggest project – the Industrial City – through a 3D visit of the residences, parcs, and administrative buildings he designed.

When:

  • October 16th – March 21st, 2020
  • Tuesday to Saturday – 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Where:

  • Archives Municipales de Lyon
    1 Place des Archives, 69002 Lyon

Fare:

  • Free

 

Le Bistrot de Lyon restaurant

Le Bistrot de Lyon offers Entrée + Plat + Dessert for 32,90€ in their Menu Tous Au Restaurant

Take advantage of Bogo time in French cuisine

We all know meals with multiple courses can be expensive, especially in France. But, if you have been postponing this experience for financial reasons, the month of October brings good news for you.

For no more than two weeks, it’s buy one get one time at some restaurants and breweries around France. The premise of Tous au Restaurant is “your guest is our guest”, which means, when you buy a menu (a multiple course meal) your guest gets the same thing for free.

The capital of gastronomy‘s list of participant restaurants and menus are available here.

When:

  • September 30th – October 13th, 2019

 

Imagine Picasso exhibition in Lyon

An idea of how Imagine Picasso will look like

Touch one of Picasso’s masterpieces

Have you ever imagined being inside one of Picasso’s masterpieces? Or feeling his striking angles and shapes with your hands? That’s the experience Imagine Picasso proposes through 3D laser projections and audio immersion over 200 paintings of the Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso.

Approved by Picasso Administration, the project created by Annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron, alongside architect Rudy Ricciotti and art historian Androula Michael, will have its worldwide debut in Lyon, la ville des Lumières, this October.

When:

  • From October 17th, 2019 to January 19th, 2020
  • Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Closed on December 25th and January 1st.

Where:

Fare:

  • Adults: 12,90€/ 13,90€ (on weekends)
  • Seniors: 11,90€/ 12,90€ (on weekends)
  • Students, job seekers, and people with disabilities: 10,90€/ 11,90€ (on weekends)
  • Tarif Jeune (5-18 years old): 9€/ 9,90€ (on weekends)
  • Tarif Famille (2 adultes + 2 enfants): 36€/ 39€ (on weekends)