Itinerary
Friday night to Sunday afternoon. Eight stops, properly sequenced for visiting drinkers.
Friday 17:00 — Arrival drink · Presqu'île · $$$ · Cocktail Bars
Lyon's most awarded cocktail bar. Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.
Friday 22:00 — Local district drinking · Confluence · $$$ · Rooftop Bars
Hotel rooftop bar at the rivers' meeting point. Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.
Sunday 17:00 — Last quiet drink · Croix-Rousse · $$ · Cocktail Bars
Small cocktail room on the silk-worker hill. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.
The plan starts polished on Friday night and peaks Saturday late. We've left Sunday afternoon for recovery, a brunch cocktail, and a quiet last drink before you fly out. Every stop is editor-picked and walkable from at least one of the others.
Total spend across the weekend: roughly £200-£350 per person on drinks alone (not counting food). Reservations are essential at any room flagged 'destination'. Book those first; the rest you can walk to.
Each stop links to the full bar page if you want to dig deeper. Treat timings as guidance — adjust to your pace.