Lyon Saint Exupery LYS: the complete layover guide

Lyon Saint Exupery is the main airport for France's second city, about 25 km east of Lyon near Colombier Saugnieu. VINCI Airports runs it, Santiago Calatrava designed the rail station next door, and nothing on the site is more than a 15 minute walk from anything else. That compactness is the airport's best feature for a layover.

There are two passenger terminals joined landside by a central building. Terminal 1 is the big one. Its circular main building, opened in June 2018, holds check in area 10 and departure gates B and C; the older brick wing alongside carries check in areas 11 to 19 with departure areas F and G upstairs. A tunnel links the new building to a small satellite housing the D gates, used mainly by easyJet and Transavia France.

Terminal 2 is a smaller twin of the old Terminal 1 wing, with check in areas 20 and 21 and boarding areas P and Q upstairs. It is essentially an Air France building. If your ticket says Air France, start at Terminal 2; almost everyone else starts at Terminal 1.

There is no airside link between the terminals; switching buildings means a flat, signposted landside walk of roughly 10 minutes through the central building, then security again. Allow at least 90 minutes for a connection that changes terminal, more with bags to collect and recheck.

A footbridge from the central building leads to Gare de Lyon Saint Exupery, the high speed rail station, and to the Rhonexpress tram terminus.

Lyon Saint Exupery keeps its lounge inventory in Terminal 1, and the airport itself operates the two that matter. Both sit around Place des Lumieres, the central airside plaza, and both sell entry directly: 33.90 euros for adults, 14.90 euros for children aged 2 to 12, or 37.90 euros bundled with fast track security.

The Confluence lounge serves Schengen departures and opens early, from about 4:30 am most days, closing between 7 pm and 9 pm depending on the day. The Mont Blanc lounge serves non Schengen departures near gate C, on the first floor after the border police checks, and keeps shorter hours: 8:30 am until somewhere between 7:15 pm and 9:30 pm. Both offer catering, drinks including alcohol, and unlimited high speed wifi, though the airport notes that showers are temporarily unavailable. Tickets bought online stay valid for 12 months from purchase.

Priority Pass coverage at LYS is thin. The one entry we can verify is Alpage in Terminal 1, a restaurant rather than a lounge, where the card buys 23 euros off your food and drink bill. Whether the Confluence or Mont Blanc lounges accept Priority Pass or other lounge cards is to be confirmed, so budget for the 33.90 euro door price instead. Air France runs its own lounge in the Terminal 2 Schengen area for Business customers and Flying Blue and SkyTeam elites, with hours that follow the flight schedule.

Beyond the lounges, dining means cafes, bakeries and a few sit down restaurants around Place des Lumieres in Terminal 1, with thinner pickings in Terminal 2 and at the D gate satellite. Nothing reliably stays open overnight, so if you land late, eat before security.