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Best Coffee Shops in Lyon!
- annatripp757
- May 30, 2020
- 6 min read
After living in the beautiful city of Lyon for a year as an English language assistant, I found my favorite spots around the city to eat, drink, and chill with friends. One place my friends and I found ourselves at often was a coffee shop. We lived all over the city, so we would switch up our coffee shop of choice depending on our schedules for the day.
Now the French café culture is a bit different from the American one. In France they drink espresso more than your normal "cup of Joe", and the French LOVE their espresso. Whether it's for breakfast, after lunch, for "quatre heure" (snack time normally taken around 4 in the afternoon), after dinner, or all four, it's easy to find a "real" french café, where you can stop in for a quick espresso.
Because these cafés are easy to find in any French city, this isn't the type of coffee shop that I'll be talking about in this post. For me, the American that I am, I consider a coffee shop to be a place where I can order different types of coffee drinks, maybe a snack, and sit down with my laptop and work or chill with friends. Now, I'm not saying that you can't do these things at a French café, but it is just not very normal to see someone doing so in that environment.
In my opinion, that is the big difference between coffee culture in France and the US. With the coffee culture growing so quickly in the US I thought it would be helpful to list some of my favorite places in Lyon where you can get the American coffee culture feel, while in France!
Below you will find descriptions of my favorite shops, whether they are workable places with Wi-Fi, and if they are open on Sundays (a treasure in France, where most things are closed on Sundays). Enjoy!
Slake Coffee House
Slake is the coffee shop that everyone talks about, and for a good reason! Here you can get a really good coffee, a rocking chai latte (pictured here), tea, or a simple espresso. It is a really nice place to sit down with friends for a coffee, and you can get their drinks to-go. They also have fresh breakfast/lunch options and yummy desserts! Every Sunday they have a brunch that costs 22.50 euro from 11h-13h30, by reservation only.
Besides the coffee and food, the aesthetics of the shop are very well done. Their furniture is rustic and comfy, the floors are covered in pretty black and white tiles, and the light fixtures are super fun. My favorite piece of furniture, is the bathtub turned into a bench! They have two larger tables towards the back of the shop which are perfect for getting some work done.
Disclaimer: Because of Slake's popularity it is sometimes hard to find a spot to sit, especially if you are with a bigger group of friends. Thankfully the quai (sidewalk along the river), and Place des Jacobins isn't far so you can grab your coffee to-go and find a spot to sit on a nice day! Also, they do only provide Wi-Fi during the week, as the weekends are usually very busy.
They speak good English here, so its easy to ask questions if you need to! When you arrive you can order at the counter and then they will bring your drink to your table. They are located conveniently between metro stops Bellecour (Line A and D) and Cordeliers (Line A).
Open on Sunday!
Le Perko Café
is a place that my friends and I found ourselves often because of its central location (a few minutes from Hôtel de Ville (Metro A), and for me it was close to a good friend's apartment making the location even more ideal. Perko makes the list of my top three favorite coffee shops in Lyon. They have a huge terrace, awesome furniture indoors, including tables, couches, and swings! Yeah, real swings at a raised table. I loved sitting at this table because I could swing while I worked!
Perko has a wide selection of coffee drinks and teas! My personal favorite being the "Perkcaramel", which was kind of a latte with caramel on top, sweet to perfection. They also have a small, but delicious lunch menu.
Normally the menu hosts house made lasagne and galettes (savoury crêpe, with different ingredients inside). It is a sizeable amount of food for an honest price.
They have good Wi-Fi and tables where you can peacefully get some work done! Everyone that works here is super nice and most have very good English. When you arrive you can choose a table and they will come to you to take your order. When you are finished don't forget to pay at the counter before you leave!
Website: https://www.leperkocafe.fr/
Open on Sundays!
Away Hostel and Coffee Shop
Aways hostel is also in a very convenient location, just across the street from the Croix-Paquet metro stop (line C). This is, as you can tell by the name, is also a hostel, but towards the back of the ground floor there is a nice sized coffee shop with Wi-Fi all week-long.
There are multiple large tables and a few smaller ones, perfect for working. Another plus is that there is normally an available outlet or two to plug up your computer. There have always been enough spots to sit during the week, but be cautious not to go for just a coffee on Sunday before 15h (3 o'clock), when they are serving brunch.
They have your normal coffee and tea drinks here, plus some delicious snacks! There are breakfast and lunch options, and a notable Sunday brunch (from 11h30 to 15h, reservation recommended, 18.50 euro). When going in you can order from the counter, pay, and wait for your drink there.
Website: https://www.awayhostel.com/en/
Open Sunday!
COMME À LA MAISON Coffee Shop
This is the perfect place to grab a nice coffee and sandwich/soup combo and get some work done, all while feeling at home (as the name suggests). The ambiance here is comfy and calm, and there are a lot of different seating options.
They have decent Wi-Fi here and all your typical coffee and tea options, very well made! You can order and pay at the counter and they will bring your drink/food to your table when its ready.
NOTE: They have another coffee shop by the same name closer to downtown (by Hôtel de Ville) which is also lovely, but this one, with their name in all caps (close to Jean Macé metro stop, line B), is my favorite.
Check website for hours.
Patchwork Café
This is one of the biggest shops that I've been to in Lyon. They are located not too far from Part Dieu, near the metro stop Garibaldi (D line). This is a very popular place for students and young professionals to work. Because of its size there is normally a place to sit, even on the weekends. You can find a loft upstairs which provides even more seating, including tables of all sizes and comfy options! They have a bright and colourful interior which makes it even more inviting to stop in.
Here they have simple coffee drink options, as well as tea, wine, and beer and really good food, my favorite being the pizza! They have regular events so check out their website and social media to hear about what's going on. I've mainly gone here during the day to work or hang with friends, but I often see people gathering for meetings, a chat, or board games.
You can order your drink, pay, and wait at the counter for it to come out.
Not open on Sundays.
Website: https://www.patchwork-cafe.com/
Coney Cookies
As the name suggests this is much more than a coffee shop, it's also a cookie shop! Coney Cookies is an adorable little store located close to the Saône river and the Fresque des Lyonnais (one of the popular murals in the city). Here you can enjoy deliciously made and beautifully decorated cookies with a nice cup of coffee or tea.
Not only can you go into the shop to enjoy a cookie, but they also sell cookies on their website along with kits and some cookie accessories.
There isn't too much seating inside the store, but don't let that hold you back you from stopping in for a cookie break! And when there is seating it is a perfect cozy place to meet with a friend for a snack and a chat.
Open on Sunday (13h-19h).
Website: https://coneycookies.bigcartel.com/
Anna'a Top 3 Coffee Shops:
(All of the shops I mentioned are a great choice, and there are a few others around the city, but this is my personal list if I have to choose.)
ENGLISH SPEAKERS: Under the map you can find some helpful French vocabulary just in case, but like I said a lot of the baristas in Lyon speak very good English.
Well, there you have it friends! Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions feel free to reach out, or if there is anything else you want to know about Lyon don't hesitate to ask!
Helpful French Vocab:
Ouvert = open
Fermé = closed
Midi = lunch time/ mid-day
Repas = meal
Café = coffee
Thé = tea
Glacé = iced
Carte = menu
Je voudrais...s'il vous plaît = I would like ... please
Je vais prendre...s'il vous plaît = I will take...please
SVP = s'il vous plaît = please
Merci = thank you
Petit déjeuner = breakfast
Déjeuner = lunch
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