Daily life
Titre de séjour
TEE-truh duh say-ZHOOR
Your residence permit. If you arrived on a long-stay visa you validate it online within three months and it becomes your titre de séjour.
ANEF
a-NEF
The online platform where almost all immigration procedures now happen. Slow, occasionally broken, and unavoidable.
Carte Vitale
kart vee-TAL
The green health insurance card. Getting one takes months; in the meantime you pay and claim back, so keep every receipt.
Garant
ga-RAHN
A guarantor for your rent — the central obstacle in French renting. Visale is the free state-backed alternative if you have no French guarantor.
Attestation
a-tes-ta-SYON
A certificate or proof of something. French administration runs on them and you will be asked for several you did not know existed.
La Presqu'île
la press-KEEL
The peninsula between the Rhône and the Saône — the commercial heart of the city and the main shopping district.
Crit'Air
kree-TAIR
The windscreen sticker classifying your vehicle's emissions, required to drive in the low emission zone. Order it before you need it.
Culture
Traboule
tra-BOOL
A covered passageway cutting through buildings between streets — Lyon has hundreds, mostly in Vieux Lyon and the Croix-Rousse, and many are open to the public.
Bouchon
boo-SHON
A traditional Lyonnais restaurant serving offal-heavy local cooking. Certified ones carry a plaque; a great many places using the word are not.
Social
Gone
gon
A Lyonnais, particularly one born and raised here. Local and affectionate, and a marker that someone is from the city rather than a recent arrival.
Emergency
15 / 17 / 18 / 112
—
15 for medical emergencies (SAMU), 17 for police, 18 for fire. 112 works for all of them and has English-speaking operators.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.