Life in Lyon: André Allix Residence: Where can you go ?

André Allix

In this article, you can find some essential information concerning day-to-day life staying in André Allix. It is good to know a little about these student halls and the types of bedrooms they offer, but it is also useful to know where to go to buy certain things and to know some details about the transport links here. It is possible that in the future I will gain even more information about living here in St Irénée, so if that is the case, I will just add it to this blog.

In this section, you will find:

• Transport
• Food and drink
• Other shops

Transport

St Irénée is quite far from the metro and the tram but don't panic, there are buses that go through the residency and André Allix isn't far from the cable car at St Juste, it is just a short walk and the journey takes under 10 minutes.

Buses

The buses are:

• 46: Boyer to Perrache
• 49 : Ste-Foy Châtelain to Perrache
• C20 and C20E: Francheville Taffignon

Despite the fact the buses start from different places, the 46 and the 49 take the same route from the residency, to Perrache or you can take the metro line, route A or the T1 or T2 tram.

These buses are very practical if you want to go to Lyon 2 university in the morning because T1 leaves from Lyon 2 university (Claude Bernard campus is the first stop), and from Lyon 3 and Lyon 1, I think. What's more is that the T2 is the only form of transport (not taking the bus into account) which goes to Lyon 2 campus, Portes des Alpes - the journey takes between 30-40 minutes.

The 46 and the 49 come every fifteen minutes yet, the only problem is the fact that the two buses practically arrive at exactly the same time, so if you miss both of them, you have to wait 15 minutes or more for the next one despite the fact there are 2 buses that go to Perrache, so it isn't always the most practical option.

The C20 and C20E are virtually the same bus because they start and finish at the same time, yet they come down the hill in different routes. Le C20 goes past Trio and St Juste where you can take the cable car and the C20E takes the same route as the 46 and the 49. These buses are really useful if you want to go to the town centre and also if you are going the opposite direction to the residence, towards Francheville Taffignon because you can find the closest supermarket to André Allix.

There are two bus stops for the residence; one is by the main entrance at St Irénée and the other is the stop called St Irénée Croix Blanche which is the most practical option for those who live closes to the other entrance. The stop at the back of André Allix is only for the 46 and the 49 but the stop on Rue Commandant Charcot is useful if you want to take the C20, C20E or the 49. There are signs at every stop which show the times the buses operate.

The cable car

The cable car isn't far away since the garage is located at Saint Juste which is possible to walk to in 10 minutes. The cable car operates throughout the day from the early hours of the morning until midnight between Saint Juste, Minimes and Vieux Lyon, so it is really useful if you miss the last C20 to Bellecour. To Vieux Lyon, it is possible to take Line 5 on the metro towards Gare de Vaise and Gare de Vénissieux. Also, during the strikes, certain buses don't operate and certain metro lines slow down so the cable car acts as a great alternative.

Instead of taking the tram every time to Lyon 2 campus, Port des Alpes, you can take the metro to Grange Blanche and change for the T2 tram. However, I do think it is best to return using the metro because it is practically impossible to take the tram since it is full of people from Grange Blanche. There is always more than a million people that want to take the T2 tram from here! There isn't a time difference in the two different voyages, whether you take the metro and the tram or if you take the bus to Perrache and then the T2 tram from Perrache. This stop is the start of the line so it is likely that you will have a place to sit.

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Food and drink

Going food shopping is an essential part of every day life and it is always practical to know the best places where you can shop easily. Also, it is useful to know how to save some money so below, please find some information about the closest, more expensive and cheapest supermarkets. As well, I will tell you about a little shop in St Irénée and the closest 'boulangeries'.

Carrefour

In the first semester, I always went to Carrefour in Confluence. It is a new supermarket so there is lots of space, light and it is always almost empty compared to Carrefour in Part Dieu. I like to do my shopping here because I prefer somewhere quieter. However, I did find that it was sometimes difficult to find certain things and sometimes, when something has run out, the shelves are left empty for weeks. Once, I wanted to buy serviettes so I went to Carrefour 4 times in 3 weeks but the shelf was still empty and nothing had changed. For me, there isn't a huge choice of fruit and vegetables either. Although I like Carrefour, for me it is sometimes quite expensive even if I buy the 'Carrefour Discount' brands.

How to get to Carrefour: the 46 and 49 buses to Perrache and then the T1 tram towards 'Hôtel de Région Montrochet'.

Simply

It is easier to get to Simply and it is a bit cheaper so you can save more money. Although the store may smaller than Carrefour, you can find everything here. There is a huge selection of fruits and vegetables. The hours are really convenient because the store is open until 20:00 and on Sundays, the store is open until 12:30.

How to get to Simply: You can walk via the 'Rue de Commandant Charcot' until you reach the gas station or you can take the C20 bus or C20E towards Francheville Taffignon.

Lidl

Lidl is not my favourite place because the food doesn't really attract me but I know a lot of students like to shop there because it's not really expensive. There are two Lidls near the residence and I think the distance to both of them is the same. One is opposite the Lyon 2 University building on Rue de la Université, near the Rhone so it is convenient for some students after classes, and the other is near Confluence.

How to get to Lidl: Take the 49 or 46 bus to Perrache, then take the T1 tram to Sainte Blandine (towards Hotel de Région Montrochet) or to get to the other, the T1 tram to Rue de l’université (towards Feyssine IUT).

The small shop next to the church

If you are desperate for food and all the shops are closed, you can guarantee that this store will be open. I think it is open 24/7 because I've neven seen it shut before. It is a run down shop but it is easy to find all the essential stuff here. Having said this, I was told that the store can be quite expensive but I don't go often.

The 'Boulangeries'

Near the church by the bus stop to the entrance of the residence, on the way to Perrache, there is a small boulangerie and pâtisserie which has a tea room. I go there often to buy half a bageutte. The bakery is very popular among students and school students also go there on their lunch hours. Sometimes, I find that the baguette is not really fresh. Normally the bakery is open on Sunday mornings. There is another bakery next to Simply, but it is further away.

McDonalds

Yes, there is a McDonalds almost 200m from the back of the residence. It is really useful if you are hungry and you have nothing to eat or when you have a hangover! This McDonalds is really big and modern and is located on Rue Commandant Charcot between the residence and Simply.

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Other shops and other useful information

Tobacco shops

On the corner of Rue Commandant Charcot Avenue and Avenue de la Première DFL, there is a tobacco shops where you can buy cigarettes, several magazines, get a lottery ticket and download TCL cards every month, but I use the machines at the cable car station in Saint Juste. Also, there are sweets, chocolates drinks, paper and crisps to buy so this shop is really useful.

Post offices

If you want to send something or send something that does not fit in the mailbox, there are two post offices close to the residence. One is towards Boyer at Point du Jour, which you can easily walk to. The other is located in Trion and you can walk there too. It's really easy to send a letter using the machines and you just need to show some identification if you want to buy a stamp.

Other shops

Close to the tobacco shop, there is a hairdressers that offers cheaper prices for students and there is a pharmacy here that can be really useful too.

Overall, I think the Residence Andre Allix is well linked to the city of Lyon, and there are plenty of essential shops near here so it is not a problem that the residence is not in the centre. It's quieter here and it is simple to get to the centre of Lyon.

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