Parc de la Tête d'Or

Parc de la Tête d'Or is a cherished green space in the heart of Lyon, and one of the largest urban parks in France. Loved by both locals and visitors, it offers a diverse range of attractions and activities amidst its beautiful natural setting. Here’s what makes it special: 1. The Lake: A peaceful oasis in the city, where you can rent a boat and enjoy a leisurely ride on the water. 2. The Zoo: A family favorite, this free zoo hosts a variety of animals, from playful monkeys to elegant deer and colorful birds. 3. Botanical Gardens: Wander through these gardens, home to over 20,000 plant species, with lush greenhouses showcasing a remarkable collection of flora. 4. Rose Garden: Don’t miss the rose garden, where you'll find a stunning display of roses in bloom, offering a feast for the senses during the blooming season. 5. Sports Facilities: Whether you’re into jogging, playing sports, or even horse riding, the park has something to keep you active. 6. Cultural Events: The park is also a cultural hub, hosting various events, concerts, and festivals throughout the year, adding vibrancy to its tranquil atmosphere. 7. Picnic Areas and Playgrounds: Perfect for a day out with family or friends, with plenty of space to relax, have a picnic, and let the kids play. Parc de la Tête d'Or is more than just a park; it’s a versatile escape within the city, offering something for everyone—whether you’re looking to connect with nature, stay active, or simply unwind. It’s a must-visit spot in Lyon, where the blend of natural beauty and recreational opportunities creates an unforgettable experience.

Quite a huge and pleasant park. There is a zoo in there. There isn’t that many types of animals but still seeing giraffes, zebras and flamingos in an open setting was a delight. The gardens are thematic like rose and bamboos. The park and the zoo is free. Such an unexpected gem.

I love this park. It's the Central Park of Lyon. There are so many activities to enjoy. Walking, biking, picnics, botanical gardens, zoo, playgrounds, children's carousel, beautiful lake - the list goes on and on. Right now, the leaves are changing, and the atmosphere says fall has arrived.

The park is a bit further away from the city centre but it's definitely worth the trek. The park itself is enormous with many entrances. There is a huge greenhouse, an orangerie, a bamboo section, a carnivorous plants section, roses and much more. It's beautiful and peaceful. One can easily spend the whole day here exploring all the nooks and crannies. I would highly recommend coming here to experience the place yourself if in Lyon.

Great park to go for a walk. We witnessed a wedding on the day we went. The botanical gardens and Africa park were great too in the park. Impressive monument.

A very large park in the centre of Lyon. It has formal gardens, a zoo, a large lake, a small karting track, cafés and kiosks. Lots of people go there for a stroll or to have a rest. They seem to be investing a lot in improving the planting and I think it will be really amazing in a few years.

The lungs of Lyon. This is one of the best parks in France. People jog here, stroll, ride a bike or boat, or just relax on the grass. It is quite big, so even in good weather you can find a place where there is not a lot of people.

It was an amazing park! Free entrance - also to the zoo. Lot of space and room for everyone to be there and have a great time. Beautiful flowers and plants all around. The zoo was great! The animals seemed to have lots of space to walk on and could also go to a place away from the people watching them. So they had room to be just animals. We saw the giraffes, flamingos, pelicans, zebras, turtles and a lot of other animals. We had an absolutely lovely day, and would gladly return.

I have to give it 5 stars, it is a free zoo in the middle of the park and you can easily see thing like monkeys, lions, zebras, giraffes, etc. I'm not sure why you would give a bad review to something that is free and interesting right in the middle of the park. When I was there it was raining and not the best conditions, but I was still able to walk around and see lots of different animals. If you are in the area, go check it out.

This park was so gorgeous in June. The free botanical gardens had a beautiful rose garden section. There is so much to do here, with walk and bike paths, a zoo, and rental boats at the lake.

This is a very pleasant park for a stroll. I was staying at the Marriott, which backed up to this area. I had just arrived in Europe from the US and needed some time outdoors to help acclimate my clock. The temperature was rather moderate for the season. I walked around this rather large parcel of land for about 30 - 45 minutes and enjoyed the lake views, the covered bridge and the general sense of being in a green space. There was a garden and some artistic expressions just to round out the repertoire. It served my purposes very well, and apparently did the same for others as there were many people there walking about, jogging or riding their bikes. Not surprisingly, it seemed quite a popular place to bring children. One interesting thing occurred when 4:30 PM came around, as there was a police vehicle that rolled through the park blaring something over their loud speaker. Not having a very good working knowledge of French and noticing there were no unusual commotions taking place, I surmised it had to be a closing warning. I also noticed a general movement of people toward various exits and, sure enough, as I reached the gate through which I entered, there was a policeman waiting to lock up, which he did at 5:00 PM (around sunset that time of year). So that is something about which to be aware. This place offers is a good chance for some fresh air if are staying at one of the adjacent hotels, or if you are attending an activity at the convention center, or if you are in the area for some other purpose. It is worth taking a short stroll or an extended walk if you have the time and need to get your steps in for the day.

May 13, 2017 Saturday - 11 AM for a walk in the park 5 adults Review for the Zoo. May 13, 2017 Saturday - 11 AM for walk in the zoo 5 Adults Atmosphere - 3 stars Animals - 4 stars Service - N/A stars Background - We were already walking in the Parc de la Tête d'Or and saw the deer so we had to explore more. Atmosphere - The environment seemed be ideal sized for the deer, emus, and the turtles. Wow a lot of turtles. The giraffes seemed to be in area that was too small. I hope they have more space somewhere else in the zoo so they could roam. As the place is very small and walking area seemed limited for these giants. Animals - There are not many animals in this free zoo. Giraffes were a pleasant surprise. We missed the elephants, at least the map showed there were elephants in the zoo. The signs for the animals were in French only. There was a little sign about the history of the zoo going back 1858 that in multiple language. Service - This zoo is pretty much walk in and the animals you want to see on your own. No interaction with any one from the zoo staff. Future - Yes, so I can find the elephants.

The Parc de la Tête d'Or (Park of the Golden Head), established in 1857, is located near the river in Lyon. We stayed at the Lyon Marriott Hotel Cité Internationale which is located adjacent to this beautiful 290 acre urban park.The park has a man made lake, a small zoo (giraffes, deer, reptiles, gibbons, etc.), and a botanical garden. There are also sports facilities, walking trails, running trails, boat rentals, and a miniature train. It's one of the nicest parks of this type that we've visited, and is considered to be one of the finest parks in France. The trails and flowers are nicely maintained, with statues, shade trees and plenty to do and explore. It's a great place for a picnic lunch under a shady tree by the lake. Or take a seat at the outdoor restaurant for a café au lait or café Américain. We've visited Paris numerous times, and opted to stay in Lyon when we completed a river cruise from Avignon to Lyon, and we were glad we did. The Parc de la Tête d'Or allows visitors to slow down and enjoy a glimpse of a more laid back lifestyle in France's third largest city.

I absolutely love this parc. It's just beautiful with so much to do and see. And because it's so big, even when it's crowded you can still find a quiet place for yourself.

I'm in a group of fast walk in Lyon. This park is one of our favorite place to walk as it's very big (the foot pod says 7km when we go there) and we can enjoy nature even if we are in the city of Lyon. The lake allow a bunch of different activities from duck feeding to pedal boating. You can travel the world for free through the botanic garden and the zoo. And if you are not like me and don't want to walk 7km when you go there, you can also visit the park by little train. It's a perfect place for children to play, for sportspeople to exercise, for people who don't have a car or time to leave Lyon to take a breath, and for everybody to have a digestion stroll, to chill out, to read, to take photos, to get tan, to have a picnic, etc. ... I put 4 stars and not 5 because I don't like to see animals in cage, and even if the firefox is incredibly cute, I was sad to see it running like crazy, looking for a way to escape his little place to live. Did you know? The name is "Parc de la tête d'or" = "park of the golden head" because of a legend. This legend says that a status of the Christ has been buried beneath the park. This status would have its head made with gold.

I can't give this zoo 0 stars. I broke down into tears seeing the things I saw at this zoo. I will truly never forget any of it. Anybody who is leaving a good review on this zoo was so blind to what was right in front of their eyes. They clearly have no knowledge on animals, and did not see the horrible treatment that we saw when we visited this zoo. The enclosures at this zoo were the worst I have ever seen. It needs to be shut down immediately. The animals here were in terrible states, depressed, malnourished and overfed the wrong food, injured and put in very small cages. We saw three giraffes in a very small enclosure for their size and living style walking in the same circle path with their necks crooked for almost 20 minutes. These giraffes are beyond DEPRESSED. Pacing is a common form of depression for caged animals. The WORST thing we saw was a fox that kept repeatedly heaving and vomiting and then eating its own vomit. Absolutely horrible. The monkeys lived in unkept enclosures. Many of them were injured and overfed with lack of nutrients. The lions were kept in extremely small enclosures. It has been 2 years since I visited this zoo and all of the horrible images still cannot be removed from my mind. This zoo was free, so that may be the first reason why it was so awful. It needs to be shut down immediately and these wild animals must be sent to better facilities with vast open grasslands (there are a few that exist in the world.) Newsflash! Free zoos are zoos that don't care for their animals. Seeing depressed animals is NOT FUN! Do you see the photos of the giraffes from other reviewers? Notice how they are all walking on the same short route in the same tiny enclosure, all day everyday? That enclosure is far FAR too small for majestic animals like those to be living in. They should have vast open grasslands to live in.

Spread out over 117 hectares (290 acres), this 'park of the golden head' is a frequent destination of the Lyonnais and tourists. I fell in love with this park 6 years ago. To me, it is a childhood dream of roaming, exploring and seeing. My favourite past time is going to the closest boulangerie (you wont have to walk far) and buying numerous tarts, macarons and other yummy delights and visiting the zoo and watching the animals, in particular the deer's. If you want more French riveria and the weather is nice enough, hire out a bicycle boat and paddle around the lake or alternatively hire a bike and cycle. There are numerous things to see and do in this park, like visit the botanical gardens, rose garden, a miniature train and numerous sports facilities. One could easily spend a day just walking around. I think this park is definitely up their with Central Park in New York! It's a must in Lyon, especially as it is so close to the city, there is no excuse!!

Large public park North of Lyon. It has a free zoo. While the zoo is small by zoo standards, it is very impressive by free public park standards. We saw giraffes, monkeys, flamingos, some sort of predatory cat, and le petite panda. Good opportunity to practice my French (I only know the French words for animals, and a small handful of related verbs and adjectives)

Every city needs a huge park. And Parc de la Tete d'Or is that for Lyon. It's got everything you could ever want in a city park. There are tons of walking (yes, walking, since there aren't nearly as many runners as I would have expected in a city) paths, benches in the shade, a lake, a zoo, a rose garden, a botanical garden, and even children's puppet theater. It seems that every time you round a corner, there's another treasure to be found (see the picture of the statue of people raising the world). Since many of these activities are best discovered over time, I don't think you can really appreciate the Parc unless you're living in Lyon for several weeks. During the summer of 2003, when it was brutally hot, we actually had class under the willow trees because there was more of a breeze there than coming from the "air conditioner" in our class room. It's quite an old park , so it has some lovely architectural features - fancy entry gates and historic greenhouses that are as lovely as the plants that are grown in them. It's a great place to escape in August, when everyone is on vacation and all your favorite bakeries close. #Yelp365 - 198/365

Gorgeous park! It was hard to find large green spaces in France so this was an amazing spot to relax and play if you have kids. Shade from trees, paved walkways for walking or running, paddleboats for rent at the lake, and a pretty rose garden. A nice way to spend an afternoon in Lyon!

A big park in witch there is a lake where you can do pedalo. You can also see a lot of animals and assist to a famous guignol show. It's a perfect place to go with your family.

Lyon must be a really rich city, as this large, well-kept and pretty park, housing both a botanical garden and a Zoo, is open for the audience completely for free! Exotic plants and animals, rose gardens, old trees, lakes, pons, walking avenues, cafés - just a perfect place to go with kids or even for a romantic walk :) Highly recommended!

A fun park for the whole family, the Par de la Tete d'Or has great crepes and an inside zoo (where you can see all the animals up close too)! It's a perfect place to go unwind. Even with the large amount of people the parks size means you never feel claustrophobic. Certainly, worth a trip if you're in Lyon but don't forget to bring drinks :) and eat before hand. There are plenty of sweets stands but savory food in and around the park is harder to come by.