Hostel Lyon Centre

Hostel Lyon Centre (officially HI Hostel Lyon, part of the Hostelling International network) sits halfway up the Fourvière hillside on Montée du Chemin Neuf, with a south-facing sun terrace that gives you the single best view of any hostel in Lyon: Saône river below, Vieux Lyon's Renaissance rooftops stepped in the middle distance, and Presqu'île's Haussmannian grid on the far bank. Views like this are usually reserved for €300 hotel rooms — HI gives you one for €27 a dorm bed.

The catch is the walk. Vieux Lyon metro station (Line D) is 10 minutes downhill; HI is uphill. Coming home from dinner in the old town is a climb, and the 6-seater funicular up to Fourvière doesn't pass HI — it runs a parallel track further north. Plan for a 10-minute uphill walk after any crosstown evening. On the positive side: once you're at HI, the Fourvière Basilica is 12 minutes further up, the Jardin des Curiosités viewpoint is 8 minutes, and you can walk to Vieux Lyon restaurants downhill in 10 minutes.

Renovated 2018, the building is institutional in scale — 130 beds across 4-bed, 6-bed and 10-bed mixed dorms plus private twins and family rooms — but the fit-out is contemporary (new metal bunks with reading lights, fresh linens, proper showers). Reviewers consistently call out cleanliness and value; they also consistently flag three weaknesses: the uphill access, the basic breakfast (included, but cornflakes and packet croissants), and thin walls in the 10-bed dorms. Air conditioning is NOT installed throughout; upper-floor rooms get hot in August.

There's an on-site café-bar (beer, wine, simple snacks), a communal kitchen (open 07:00-23:00), a garden adjacent to the sun terrace, and a games/TV lounge with board games. HI-standard social evenings (weekly, free) bring guests together. Breakfast buffet included in most rates, served 07:00-09:30.