Le Flneur Guesthouse

A friendly team, a nice outdoor courtyard, and regular events made this a good base for exploring Lyon. The kitchen has loads of equipment, and they provide towels for €2, padlocks, and even a hair dryer. Great value for the money. I’d recommend it to anyone comfortable with this kind of accommodation.

The cooperative setup really comes through in the atmosphere. The people working there felt more like partners than service providers, and the place was friendly and pleasant. The mattress was very comfortable, and the metal luggage box under the bed opens quietly. You can get a lock for it with a deposit. The metal bunks have no curtains or other divider, though. I stayed in a four-bed room with its own shower and toilet. The sink is outside that room, so switching on the light at night can disturb others. It’d also help if the shower light switch were inside, so you could close the door before turning it on. The kitchen has no ventilation, and cooking smells linger for a long time. They let you leave your luggage and use the kitchen for free on check-in and check-out days, including before check-in and after check-out. The whole hostel is wheelchair accessible, and the toilets and showers are queer and trans friendly, which fits the cooperative’s values nicely. The neighborhood is cute, and Les Belles Âmes Pâtisserie is only a two-minute walk away. It’s a lovely vegan pastry shop and cafe, with croissants and vegan brioche.

I actively hated coming back here at the end of the day. The whole hostel was dirty, and the bathrooms smelled awful. The faucets were frustrating to use, with just one temperature and pressure setting. It also seemed like dozens of very elderly people lived there full-time, taking up more than their share of space and crowding others. I couldn’t use my outlet because a man I described as senile had his respirator plugged into it, and the machine made an absurd amount of noise at night.

I spent four months at Le Flâneur Guest House, through some of the hardest days of my life, and it became one of the best things that happened to me after I came to France. I learned a language I hadn’t known and met people from France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the UK, Italy, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America. It really is a melting pot, and I hope I made friends for life there. The team is kind, helpful, and welcoming. They rotate jobs, so the person at reception may clean the bathrooms, and the kitchen cleaner may be on reception the next day. It’s an equal setup, with a lot of humanity. Misunderstandings happen because people are people. I had some myself, but never encountered rudeness or bad intentions. The bathrooms are extremely clean, staff clean them every day without exception. Some things you may read in reviews, like complaints about noisy or uncomfortable beds, unclean bathrooms, rude staff, or long-term guests, aren’t completely false, but they don’t tell the full story. The beds were perfectly fine for me, and I have no complaints. The kitchen is lovely and has everything needed to cook your own meals. It’s among the cheapest places in Lyon and also one of the best values. The neighborhood might seem intimidating at first in the evening, but that’s just how it looks. Access to the city is excellent, and I always felt safe. Whatever luxury might be missing, if anything, is more than made up for by the warmth, effort, and human connection. Come with an open mind, or even with your eyes closed. It’s somewhere you can feel safe, welcome, and at home. Backpackers and travelers will probably meet amazing people here, though that part comes down to luck. The place itself is special.