Healthcare and Emergency

Emergency services in Lyon

Emergency numbers you must know

In addition to being able to call 112, France has separate numbers for each of the emergency services.

These are as follows:

Fire service: 18
Police: 17
Ambulance: 15

If you need to go to A&E (in French, Les Urgences), there are three hospitals with Accident and Emergency services in Lyon:

Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Pavillon N (Grange Blanche metro station, line D)
Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud (bus C7 from Part-Dieu train station)
Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse (Hénon metro station, line C)

Pharmacies and Chemists

A pharmacy or chemist should be your first place of call for any form of medicine. Unlike in the UK, supermarkets do not stock medicine.

If you need medicine after normal opening hours, you need the pharmacie de garde (night-time pharmacy). You can find the address of your local night-time pharmacy on the entrance of any closed pharmacy.

There are also three 24-hour pharmacies (chemists):

Grande Pharmacie Lyonnaise, 22 rue de la République, 69002 Lyon
Pharmacie de l’Horloge, 14 place Vauboin, 69160 Tassin-la-Demi-Lune
Pharmacie des Gratte-Ciel, 28 avenue Henri Barbusse, 69100 Villeurbanne
Be aware that there is an additional charge for any medicine bought outside of normal opening hours.

Doctor, dentist, etc.

If you need an English-speaking doctor, then the American embassy has a list that you can view here.

When booking an appointment, be aware that some doctors are conventionné (secteur 1), and others are non-conventionné (secteur 2). The former have consultation prices set by the state (€23), while the latter are free to set their own price. You may be able to see a doctor quicker if they are non-conventionné, but this is not guaranteed.

Outside of working hours (before midnight), you should call +33 4 72 33 00 33, where a nurse/doctor will talk through your symptoms and direct you to a Maison médicale de garde (night-time medical clinic).