Décines-Charpieu

Décines-Charpieu, a countryside town

Fancy leaving your car behind and heading out of Lyon for some fresh air? Décines is the place to go! The town has quite the natural heritage, including the Jonage canal, the Le Grand-Large lake, and the Biézin farmlands. Built at the end of the 19th century to power the Cusset hydroelectric power plant, the Jonage canal and its “Le Grand-Large” reservoir have proved highly popular with locals. Though EDF (the French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state) is still the concessionary of the development, the site is first and foremost a place of leisure. Visitors to Le Grand-Large can sail, row, windsurf, swim or fish.

And in the surrounding area, the projects for the Anneau Bleu (i.e., blue ring, the area demarcated by the Jonage and Miribel canals) were conceived with the public in mind. This area, which features a network of paths linking urban areas to the Anneau Bleu, a greenway to cross the canal, and a recreation area along the banks, is heaven on Earth for cyclists and walkers! Le Grand-Large is also part of the Grand Parc Miribel Jonage, where visitors can get in a round of golf, go mountain biking, ride horses, or play tennis. There’s plenty to keep you busy on warm sunny days!

Another green space, Biézin, which covers 25 hectares between Décines and Chassieu, is a great place for walks or bike rides. Biézin also features a number of playgrounds: you just have to look up to admire a range of fauna and flora as varied as it is unexpected.

The Groupama Stadium, an exceptional facility

Weather unpredictable? Head down to OL Vallée, the Groupama Stadium's indoor leisure centre. Time for bowling, indoor football, padel tennis, the gym, or an escape game? This 25,350m² venue has activities to suit all tastes. You can even surf on the biggest indoor wave in Europe at CitySurfPark or learn the secrets of Lyon’s football club at the Olympique Lyonnais (OL) museum.

The Groupama Stadium is the home of OL and the 3rd biggest stadium in France. Inaugurated in 2016, this exceptional sports facility can welcome up to 60,000 spectators for OL matches, concerts or international sports events such as the Rugby World Cup 2023 or the 2024 Olympic Games.

The OL Vallée campus is a real focal point for sports and leisure in the east of Lyon and is adding two new prestigious facilities in 2023, the All-In Tennis Academy, a top-level tennis coaching and training centre founded by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Thierry Ascione, and a large 16,000-seater Arena concert hall.

Culture in Décines

Equipped with a cinema, a concert hall, an exhibition hall, and a media library, le Toboggan puts on an extensive programme in the town centre. Its USP? A commitment to musical, theatrical and choreographic eclecticism! 

Another emblematic venue, the Armenian Culture Centre, which stands opposite the genocide memorial, bears witness to a key chapter in the history of Décines. Décines was a town with a flourishing textile industry back in the 1920s and welcomed in a large number of survivors of the 1915-1918 genocide to expand the local labour force. In 1931, Armenians made up one quarter of the town’s population. This beautiful community has greatly contributed to the development of the town, which has since become Greater Lyon’s “Little Armenia”.