Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Lyon

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Metro, tram and bus

Dogs under 6 kg travel free on TCL in a closed bag or basket no bigger than 45 x 30 x 25 cm, and can't take a seat. Bigger dogs are allowed on a lead and muzzled, with an attestation issued against the dog's microchip or tattoo number, online or at a TCL agency. Carry it with the dog's identification card for ticket checks. TCL sells a Waf dog pass for dogs over 6 kg, valid for 1 day, 7 days, 1 month or 1 year, and you still need your own ticket. Dangerous-category dogs are excluded. The rules cover the Fourvière and Saint-Just funiculars too, but check with TCL before relying on them with a big dog.

Parks and quays

The Berges du Rhône and the Saône quays are the everyday walks. The Parc de la Tête d'Or in the 6th is the big one, and the Parc Blandan in the 7th and the Parc des Hauteurs with the Jardin du Rosaire on Fourvière are the other green spaces. The Tête d'Or's botanical garden and zoo close on heat-alert days.

Dog areas

The Parc de la Tête d'Or has a dog agility area close to the velodrome. There are more dog areas at the Parc Blandan in the 7th, an 800 m² area near Clos Layat in the 8th, the Jardin des Plantes and the Parc de la Garde. Further out, the Parc de Parilly in Bron has an agility area near the Berliet entrance and the Domaine de Lacroix-Laval has one near the Varenne entrance.

Dogs in restaurants

Villa Florentine and Mama Shelter allow dogs in the restaurant. Château de Bagnols keeps them out of the dining rooms, and OKKO keeps them out of the Club at breakfast and in the evening. Outside the hotels, ask at each bouchon rather than assuming.

Weight limits

OKKO takes one dog under 15 kg. The InterContinental takes any size, and Château de Bagnols takes two dogs under 10 kg or one over. Villa Florentine takes small dogs only. The other hotels don't publish a limit, so ask with a big dog.

Fees

Free at OKKO and at Mama Shelter with the pet package. EUR 39 per dog per stay at the InterContinental. EUR 19 per stay at TRIBE Lyon Croix Rousse, EUR 25 a night at Fourvière Hôtel and Hôtel de l'Abbaye, and EUR 30 a night at Villa Maïa. Villa Florentine, Château de Bagnols, the Alexandra and MHL charge a supplement without publishing the amount, and the Carlton and Le Roosevelt don't publish a fee.

Heat

Lyon summers are hot. Walk the river early and late in July and August, and expect some park facilities to close on orange heat alerts.

Emergency vet

SIAMU, the emergency and intensive-care unit at the VetAgro Sup veterinary hospital, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1 avenue Bourgelat, 69280 Marcy-l'Étoile, about 20 minutes west of the centre by car. Phone 04 78 87 07 07 before you arrive. The Métropole de Lyon also has a 24/7 emergency vet line on 04 72 30 40 40, or 3115.

Getting there

Pet dogs can't fly in the cabin on commercial flights into Great Britain, so most UK dog owners drive via Le Shuttle or a Channel ferry. Calais to Lyon is roughly 750 km. From Ireland, it's a ferry to a French port and then the drive.

Best walks

The Berges du Rhône along the left bank, which runs right below OKKO Pont Lafayette and a few minutes over the Pont Wilson from the InterContinental. The Saône quays below Vieux Lyon, reached from the Presqu'île by the footbridges off Quai Tilsitt. The Parc de la Tête d'Or in the 6th, the Parc Blandan on the site of an old barracks in the 7th, and the Jardin du Rosaire and Parc des Hauteurs on the Fourvière slope. In the Beaujolais, the vineyard lanes of the Pierres Dorées start at the gate of Château de Bagnols.

When to go

Spring and early autumn are the easy seasons for a dog, with the quays and parks comfortable all day. July and August are hot, so plan riverside walks for early morning and evening, and expect the Tête d'Or's botanical garden and zoo to close on heat-alert days. There are no beaches, so there are no seasonal beach rules to plan around.