ENS de Lyon has two campuses, the René-Descartes campus and the Jacques Monod campus, located in the Gerland area of the 7th district of Lyon, near the Pont Pasteur bridge of the river Rhône. The university is near the centre of Lyon and easily accessible by public transport. The Part-Dieu and Perrache railway stations make the university accessible from all areas of France. The city has regular bus, tram and underground metro services. Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport is about 30 minutes to the east of the city.

The university has two halls of residence and can accommodate some 700 students. At Résidence Debourg, students are mostly in double rooms with shared kitchens. Each room has access to Wi-Fi via a wall socket. A shared room is 208€ per month and a single room is 328€ per month. At Résidence Bonnamour, students can be in single or double rooms arranged into apartments of 3, 4 or 5 rooms. Each apartment has a shared entrance, kitchen and lounge. The rooms are mostly single and each has a private bathroom with hand basin, shower, bathroom cabinet and toilet. Each room has unlimited internet access. A single room is 340€ per month and a couples room is 398€ per month.

Diverse sports facilities including two gymnasiums, a tennis court, climbing wall, a dance room and two weights rooms. Qualified tuition is offered in sports such as badminton, basketball, kick-boxing, martial arts, canoeing, dancing, climbing, fencing, fitness, football, handball, weight-training, swimming, hiking, rugby, tennis, downhill and cross-country skiing, volley-ball, mountain-biking and yoga.