img_logo_impression Cité internationale

Cité internationale


One of Lyon's new development hubs, the Cité Internationale is a multi-functional project deftly balancing nature, business, culture and communication.

At the North-East gate of central Lyon, the Cité Internationale development project (224,000 sq. m) includes installations for services, shops and cultural activities as well as a residential and hotel sector. A central pedestrian concourse, the backbone of the site, links the various elements of the project.

The Cité Internationale stands on the former site of the International Fair Hall of Lyon which moved to Chassieu in 1984, and became known as Eurexpo. The City of Lyon launched a design competition for the vacant site and awarded the contract to the Italian architect, Renzo Piano. The landscape designer chosen for the project was Michel Corajoud, known for his conception of landscaping as a means of enhancing architectural designs.

The Cité Internationale was designed in harmony with its natural environment. Located between the Rhone and Tête d'Or Park , its buildings are set out in a curve that follows the river bank and the roofs recall the greenhouses in the park.

This new district is easily accessible. The T.G.V. station at Part-Dieu is only 5 minutes away, the Bron business airport can be reached in 10 minutes and Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport in 20 minutes. It is close to the north beltway leading to the French and European freeway network. And its position in the heart of the city links the Cité Internationale to the other districts of Lyon.


The Cité Internationale offers an exceptional quality of life and working conditions. The architectural and landscape design are aimed at creating an intelligent and functional unit in perfect harmony with the beauty of the natural surroundings. Nature is omnipresent thanks to a 10 hectare (25 acre) extension of Tête d'Or Park , lush greenery and the revamping of the Rhone embankment. The works included the laying of a 30 km pedestrian and cycle promenade lined with trees and which follows the river all the way to the Gerland neighborhood in the south, by way of the city center, and to Miribel-Jonage in the north.

The Cité Internationale complex includes office buildings which fit in perfectly with the overall architecture of the site.

The international criminal police organization (INTERPOL) established its world headquarters here in 1990 and thus laid the first international stone on the site shared with the Cité. The summit meeting of the world's top 7 industrial nations was held at the Cité Internationale in June 1996.
Cité Internationale has become a lively area with a variety of attractions and activities: a convention center, an international hotel, a casino, a leisure and culture center with the Ciné Cité UGC cinema complex and the Museum of Contemporary Art and a residential sector. Cité Internationale continues to develop: the Convention Center  expanded thanks to the construction of a 3000-seat hall and exhibition space of 7900 sq. m. There are also plans for a new hotel.