Loving the view at Lake Annecy
Here's a lovely photo of a lovely couple looking at a lovely lake by jelm6. From Lyon, snow-topped mountains, spectacular lakes (like the one above) and charming small towns await.
If you're planning on collecting a car hire at Lyon Airport, keep on reading and we'll take you through what you can expect so you're all clued up. Still need to book your Lyon Airport car hire? Get a quote here… Don't forget to check our France car hire page to see all our locations.
And for more information on Lyon Airport, check out our Lyon Airport guides.
Car hire at Lyon Airport
It's all big name car hire companies at Lyon Airport. But with various car hire brands partnered up, there are more names represented than it seems.
On-site Lyon Airport car hire includes: Avis/Budget, Enterprise/Citer, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt. But along with these, if you've got an Alamo car rental, you can head to the Europcar desk and if you've got a Firefly or Thrifty car hire, you can head to the Hertz desk. Depending on how you see it, there's either more choice than it seems or less!
It's also worth noting that all these companies are located at Gare Lyon Part-Dieu, Lyon's biggest railway station. With the exception of Sixt, they're also all available at Gare Lyon Perrache, Lyon's second biggest train station. See our Lyon car hire guides for more information about key locations.
Lyon Airport
Located less than 30kms south west of Lyon's city centre, Lyon Airport is within easy access to the A42 and A43 motorways. It's also less than two hours drive to nearby ski resorts and just over an hour's drive to fabulous lakeside towns including Aix-les-Bains and Annecy.
If you've already read our arriving into Lyon Airport guide, you'll know that it has three terminals. The car hire desks are actually not located inside any of the terminals. But they're still easy to get to!
Finding the car hire desks and car parks
You'll find all car hire about 1km away from the airport terminals and there is a regular airport shuttle bus that takes passengers between the terminals and car hire offices.
Car hire shuttle bus stop this way...
The airport has several airport shuttle buses. You need the one for car hire. It's well sign-posted and has two dedicated bus stops: one outside terminals 1 and 3 and a second stop outside terminal 2.
From Terminal 1, after leaving baggage reclaim, head straight out of the airport and you'll see the shuttle stop for car hire towards your left.
From Terminal 3, it's a longer walk (about 10 minutes) to the exit but once outside, you'll see the shuttle stop towards your right.
Exit for Terminal 1
Car hire shuttle bus stop outside Terminal 1 and Terminal 3
From Terminal 2, after leaving baggage reclaim, exit the airport and you'll see the car hire bus stop directly outside.
Car hire shuttle bus stop outside Terminal 2
If you need to stop for something before you continue on your way (like for money, information or something to eat for example, after leaving baggage reclaim, head towards The Square, which is located on the first floor between terminals 1 and 2. See our arriving guide for more information.
The shuttle bus does a loop stopping outside Terminal 1/3, Terminal 2, the staff car park and then heading to the car hire location. It'll first stop close to Europcar, Avis/Budget and Hertz before stopping at Enterprise/Citer and then at Sixt. It sounds like a lot of stops but the car hire offices are all within a short walking distance from each other. The shuttle has a regular service (roughly every 7 minutes) from 5am to midnight.
Here's a closer look at each of the car hire offices and car parks...
Europcar (also for Alamo car hire)
Europcar office and car park
Avis and Budget car rental
Avis and Budget office and car park
Hertz car hire (also for Firefly and Thrifty)
The Hertz office and car park
Enterprise/Citer car hire
Enterprise/Citer office and car park
Sixt car rental
Sixt car hire office and car park
Already in the city and want to collect a Lyon Airport car hire?
Don't forget that with (nearly!) the same selection of car hire companies available at two of Lyon's main railway stations, you may well be better off just collecting a car hire direct from the city centre. However, it might be worth still choosing an airport pick up and drop off if, for example, you're spending a few days in Lyon before heading out to explore elsewhere and want to return your rental straight to the airport.
Anyway, if you do, the best way to get to Lyon Airport from Lyon is with the Rhône Express tram. It goes from Lyon Part-Dieu Station to the airport in about 30 minutes and stops at the Lyon-Saint Exupéry train station (the airport train station). The train station is connected to the airport via a raised walkway. To get to the car hire location from here, you'll need to head to the airport first and then make your way down to the ground floor exit and head towards the car hire shuttle stop as described above.
Lyon-Saint Exupéry Railway Station is conveniently located on the high speed TGV train route between Paris and Marseille so if you're coming from a stop on this line, a Lyon Airport car hire is also a good option.
Heading towards the airport terminals and airport car hire from the train station
Once in the airport, head downstairs and exit for the car hire bus stop
There are also a number of coach services to Lyon Airport. These will take you directly outside terminals 1 and 2 but you'll need to make your way down one level (just head into the airport and then use the exit downstairs) to reach the car hire shuttle stop.
See our guide to getting to and from Lyon Airport with public transport for more information.
Finally, if you want to pick up a Lyon Airport car hire and are taking a taxi, just let your taxi driver know you want to go directly to the car hire location. They should know where they are!