5 Best Hostels with On-Site Bars in Lyon
5 top-rated hostels with bar in Lyon Handpicked for travelers who want the best.
Lyon's hostels with on-site bars split clearly into two camps: the big-chain bar (The People's ground-floor restaurant-bar open to non-guests), the Pentes-nightlife feeder (SLO Pentes' hostel bar that doubles as pre-game for Rue Sainte-Catherine), and three quieter lobby-bar operations (YASI, HI Hostel, SLO Saxe) where 'on-site bar' means a few taps, simple wine, and some snacks from 17:00 to midnight. The five hostels below are the only places in Lyon where you can order a beer without walking outside. Pick based on whether you want the bar to be the center of your evening or a quiet backup after a long day.
Lyon drinks well: the Beaujolais vineyards are 45 minutes north, the Côtes du Rhône 30 minutes south, and the city's craft beer scene runs modest but present (Ninkasi is the local mini-chain). Hostel on-site bars compete against Rue Sainte-Catherine (7-15 min uphill walk from most 1st-arr. hostels), the péniches on the Rhône in summer (May-Sept only), and the bouchon wine-by-the-glass culture. What a hostel bar offers that the city doesn't: convenience, a built-in crowd of travelers, and no minimum consumption expectation. What Lyon hostels' bars don't offer: cocktails. You're drinking beer, Côtes du Rhône by the glass, and maybe a gin & tonic. For mixology, walk to the Pentes.
🏨Why Lyon is Perfect for Bar
Lyon's bar scene concentrates on Rue Sainte-Catherine and Place des Terreaux (1st arr.), and the walk is uphill from most hostels. Having a decent on-site bar gives you the option of a chill first drink without committing to the 7-minute uphill walk you'll have to reverse at 2am.
The People's bar model (restaurant plus bar, open to non-guests) is the strongest hostel bar in Lyon because it operates at neighborhood-venue scale. Non-guest regulars dropping in make the crowd feel real rather than captive. This is the model that SLO Pentes emulates at smaller scale.
Price matters: hostel bars charge €4 a beer versus €6 on Rue Sainte-Catherine; Côtes du Rhône by the glass at €4-5 versus €6-7 in the Pentes. For a traveler on a budget, a €10 hostel-bar night beats a €30 Rue Sainte-Catherine night, and the atmosphere at The People or SLO Pentes is genuinely close to what you'd get outside.
Traveler's take
“I had drinks at all five over six nights and the scene varies a lot. The People's bar is a real neighborhood restaurant-bar at the ground-floor plaza level — open to non-guests, runs a €12 lunch formula, and becomes a proper drinks venue from 18:00. SLO Pentes' bar is the loudest of the five — opens 16:00, becomes a pre-game for Rue Sainte-Catherine by 22:00, runs informal bar-crawl departures around 21:30. HI Hostel has a café-bar that's more café than bar — good coffee, €3 beer, closes around midnight, not where the party is. YASI's bar is the quietest — a few wines, a few craft beers, open until 23:00, mostly used for pre-dinner aperitifs. SLO Saxe's bar sits in the middle — open until midnight, simple selection, calm clientele. Book The People or SLO Pentes if the bar is the destination; book the other three if the bar is a convenience.”
Our Top 5 Picks
Hostels in Lyon with bar, sorted by guest rating.
YASI Hostel
Baraban (3rd arr.)
Excellent
4,357 reviews
The highest-rated hostel in Lyon (8.6, 4357 reviews), on Rue Baraban a 10-minute walk from Part-Dieu TGV station. Forty-bed independent property with a dedicated on-site chef for breakfast, a garden terrace, and the most consistently praised staff in the city.
From
€32//night
Why travelers love YASI Hostel
“The highest-rated hostel in Lyon earns it through sleep quality, kind staff and a chef-cooked breakfast reviewers name by first name. Baraban is residential and quiet — the opposite of the Pentes.”
SLO Hostel Lyon les Pentes
Pentes de la Croix-Rousse (1st arr.)
Very Good
2,880 reviews
Seventy-bed hostel in a 19th-century building on Rue Alsace-Loraine, deep in the Pentes de la Croix-Rousse — six minutes from Place des Terreaux and a one-minute walk to the nearest metro. The Pentes party-adjacent sibling of SLO Saxe: loud ground-floor bar, bar-hopping energy, bunk accommodation without pretension.
From
€33//night
Why travelers love SLO Hostel Lyon les Pentes
“The party-adjacent hostel: in the Pentes, on-site bar until 2am on weekends, 3-minute stagger to Rue Sainte-Catherine. Ask for a 3rd-floor dorm to escape the bar noise.”
SLO Hostel Lyon Saxe
Saxe-Gambetta (3rd arr.)
Very Good
1,761 reviews
Fifty-bed hostel on Rue Bonnefoi, Lyon 3rd arrondissement, on the Saxe-Gambetta metro line (Line B and D interchange). The work-friendly sibling of SLO Pentes — same family, quieter neighbourhood, better for long weekends with laptop evenings. Has the breakfast, the kitchen, and a small courtyard; skips the party scene.
From
€30//night
Why travelers love SLO Hostel Lyon Saxe
“The work-friendly sibling of SLO Pentes: same family, quieter 3rd-arrondissement building, best metro interchange in Lyon at the door. Kitchen until 23:00, courtyard to sit in.”
The People Lyon Hostel
Croix-Rousse slopes (1st arr.)
Very Good
3,883 reviews
French-chain 180-bed hostel on Montée des Carmélites, at the base of the Croix-Rousse slopes (the Pentes) in Lyon's 1st arrondissement. The biggest social hostel in Lyon: on-site restaurant-bar, air-conditioned rooms with city views, lift to all floors. Base-of-the-Pentes location puts you three blocks from the Rue Sainte-Catherine bar circuit.
From
€33//night
Why travelers love The People Lyon Hostel
“The biggest social hostel in Lyon with hotel-grade rooms: private en-suite bathrooms, air-con, lift. Base-of-the-Pentes location puts you 7 minutes from Rue Sainte-Catherine.”
Hostel Lyon Centre
Vieux Lyon, Chemin Neuf (5th arr.)
Good
1,497 reviews
Lyon's Hostelling International flagship, 130 beds on Montée du Chemin Neuf overlooking Vieux Lyon from the Fourvière hillside. Renovated 2018, with the single best terrace view of any Lyon hostel — the Saône, the cathedral, the old town roofscape. Institutional-feeling but genuinely renovated. Cheapest rate in Lyon.
From
€27//night
Why travelers love Hostel Lyon Centre
“The cheapest Lyon hostel with the best view — renovated 2018, Vieux Lyon rooftops from the sun terrace, 10-minute uphill walk to get home after dinner. Book a front-facing room, not a back 10-bed.”
💡Tips for Choosing a Hostel with Bar in Lyon
- 1Book The People if the bar is the main attraction — it operates as a real neighborhood venue with non-guests dropping in, which keeps the energy high without being party-hostel loud. Book SLO Pentes if you want the pre-game-for-Rue-Sainte-Catherine vibe. The other three have bars as conveniences rather than destinations.
- 2Check the bar hours against your schedule — The People runs until 01:00 Fri-Sat, SLO Pentes until 02:00 Fri-Sat, but YASI and SLO Saxe close at 23:00 and midnight respectively. If your flight lands at 22:00 and you want a drink before bed, this matters.
- 3Pre-game economics: if the bar charges €4 a beer and Carrefour City charges €1.50, a dorm-room pre-game makes sense before heading out. Most Lyon hostels are chill about this as long as you're quiet; check the common-room policy at check-in.
- 4For cocktails, walk 7 minutes uphill from The People to Antidote (Rue Sainte-Catherine) where a proper cocktail is €10-12. No Lyon hostel bar does good cocktails; don't try to order a negroni at SLO Pentes.
- 5In summer (May-Sept), the péniches on the Rhône quais between Pont Wilson and Pont Lafayette are the outdoor alternative — Ayers Rock Boat (touristy) and La Marquise (where locals go) both open from 18:00. 15-20 min walk from most 1st-arr. hostels.
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