Lyon Launches Navigône: a Scenic New Water Bus on the Saône 

Lyon’s new Navigône water bus offers a scenic and practical way to travel along the Saône, connecting key city spots with ease and offering plenty of photo ops...

Lyon was born and lives by its rivers. Its picturesque waterfronts are among its prime attractions. What a surprise, then, that it has no municipal water traffic as extensive as Paris’s bateaux-mouches or Geneva’s mouettes to make the best of them. Until now. On 18 June, Transports en Commun Lyonnais (TCL), Lyon’s transport provider, launched the Navigône, a water bus running roughly north-south through the historic centre of the city along the river Saône. And although the Navigône is presented as a regular city water bus, free with TCL’s period ticket subscriptions, it’s clearly pitched at visitors. 

This isn’t quite Lyon’s only riverine excursion service: as TCL’s own materials clarify, it’s “the first fluvial service integrated into the network.” The Bateaux Lyonnais river tours offer hour-long guided trips; the Water TaxiLyon is just what it says. However, the Navigône is much cheaper – €3 adult single versus €15 for the Bateaux Lyonnais. In fact, the Navigône replaces one of Lyon’s previous private river bus services, the Vaporetto, which ran along much the same route and ceased operating on 18 May 2025.  

The Navigône complements the renewal of the Confluence district at the southern tip of Lyon’s Presqu’île, the promontory between the Saône and Rhône rivers enshrining the UNESCO-listed heart of the city. Under redevelopment since the mid-1990s, the Confluence now boasts a glossy waterfront of its own – mall, shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, mini-marina, TCL connections, and a new four-star hotel – and many visitors to Lyon may already be staying here.  

The full Navigône service runs up the Saône from the Confluence to Vaise Industrie north of the city centre, with stops along the way at Terrasses Presqu’île and Subsistances. The whole voyage, some 6.3 km long, takes some 40 minutes, and Confluence is a logical starting point for most visitors. As its name suggests, Vaise Industrie is one of Lyon’s more industrial and commercial districts, and tourists might be best advised to stick to the most picturesque stretch, and get off at Subsistances, or even Terrasses Presqu’île. For passengers who stick the whole distance, however, the Vaise Industrie wharf is just over five minutes’ walk from the Gare de Vaise Metro station, and right by the stop for Bus 31, which runs upriver from the town centre to the charming little suburb of Saint-Rambert-l’Île-Barbe, with the Jean Couty Museum of Lyonnais art, and the jewel-like Île-Barbe itself, marooned midwater.  

The Navigône boats are medium-sized motor vessels, with covered seating in front and a bare covered viewing deck astern. TCL ticket readers and credit card payment terminals are positioned by the boarding gate. The service isn’t exactly bare-bones, but it is bus style: no commentaries, refreshments or cocktail tables. It still gives you the full experience of the Saône quays, though: the historic stone and brick facades of Vieux Lyon, the Gothic towers and steeples of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist and the church of Saint-Georges, the monumental pillared Palais de Justice – all overlooked by the Basilica of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower’s smaller twin on the hills of Fourvière. And if you descend at Terrasses Presqu’île, you’re right by the delicious cafes and restaurants of the city centre. 

The Navigône service is also under development: the two current diesel boats will be replaced in April 2026 by four electric catamarans, with frequency gradually rising. Visitors should note that the Confluence stop is currently served only on Wednesdays, weekends and holidays, and that the Confluence departure times tend to lag those listed on the Navigône website by about 15 minutes. There’s no sign yet of any plans for a service along the Rhône to complement the Saône service – but that would be the chef’s kiss.  

Information: 

• TCL’s own Navigône website – All the basic details, including maps and route guides, ticket buying, timetables, etc. 

• The Confluence District – Lyon’s own visitor’s guide to the attractions, amenities and facilities of the up-and-coming Confluence district – the ideal point of departure for a Navigône jaunt.