Beaujolais Nouveau Day Trip to Lyon: Christmas Market, First Sunday

14:00. Wheels down in Lyon, and the myth going round is that if you time a day trip for the weekend after Beaujolais Nouveau release, you'll land in the middle of some big uncorking ceremony in the street. You won't. The rule is the wine gets released on the third Thursday of every November, so for this trip that's Thursday 19 November 2026, three days before you touch down. There's no published 2026 release event for Lyon itself, so don't build the day around chasing one. What you actually land in is something better for a day tripper: the wine's already out, every bar and bouchon has it on the list, and the Christmas market's just opened for the season. Less performance, more actual drinking and eating.

Flights came in around £50 return on our board when we checked on 26 September 2026, but they move daily. See today's times and price for Sun 22 Nov 2026.

Just here for the market? Its dates, and every day you can do it from the UK, are on our Lyon Christmas market 2026 page.

Myth: you need to be there Thursday for it to mean anything

Reality: turning up three days later is arguably the smarter move. Thursday night in a Beaujolais town can mean queues and everyone filming the first pour for their phone. By Sunday the novelty's worn off and it's just normal service, Beaujolais Nouveau by the glass, no fuss. Lyon's bouchons (the small traditional bistros the city's known for) will have it on the board rather than making an event of it. Ask for it by name when you sit down. Nobody's going to make you feel daft for ordering the new stuff, it's exactly what locals are drinking that week too.

Myth: the Christmas market's only worth it once December starts

Reality: this trip lands on the market's first Sunday, so you're not early and you're not fighting December crowds either. Place Carnot market is open 10:30 to 20:00 on Sundays, so it's open from the moment you get into town until 20:00. Just don't leave the second visit too late.

It's free to wander in, so the only spend is stalls, food and drink once you're wandering round. Go once when you get into town, then again after dark when the stalls light up properly. Two visits, same market, completely different feel.

Myth: you can do Beaujolais and Christmas market and see the whole city

Reality: don't try. With about 8 hours on the ground, picking a lane matters more than ticking boxes. A sensible shape for the day: land at 14:00, get into town, then straight to Place Carnot for a first look at the market while it's still light. Wander for a bit after, maybe the old town, then back to the market as it gets dark for the stalls properly lit up, mulled wine, the works. Finish with an early dinner at a bouchon and a glass of the new Beaujolais, that's the whole point of doing this trip on this exact weekend rather than any other. The market shuts at 20:00 and your flight home is 22:25, so dinner is the natural last stop.

What we'd skip: don't spend the day hunting for a release-day event that doesn't exist for this date. Don't try to cram in major sights across town if the market and a proper bouchon dinner are the actual reason for the trip. The market's free to get into, so save the budget for dinner and the mulled wine.

Getting the timing right

Flights move daily and today's price is on the page, so check before you commit to the date. With landing at 14:00 and the flight home at 22:25, you've got about 8 hours on the ground, tight enough that you shouldn't waste the afternoon deciding what to do. Book your bouchon for dinner in advance and check it's open, some close on Sundays. Treat the market as bookends to the day rather than the single stop. Sunday 22 November works because it's the market's first weekend and the wine's had three days to settle into normal service rather than launch-day chaos. That's the actual case for this date, not some event that isn't happening.

See the full day

Lyon on Sun 22 Nov 2026: flight times, time on the ground and today's price

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Top photo: Florian Pépellin, CC BY-SA 4.0.