VacationSelector
The Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza, Calgary
CalgaryThe Calgary Tower above Olympic Plaza
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Photos: Calgary by abdallahh, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.

Calgary or Lyon?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Calgary for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • families
  • wellness

What lies behind each score is written up on Calgary’s own page.

Choose Lyon for

  • culture and sights
  • food and drink
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Lyon’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Calgary 8, Lyon 12: Lyon leads by 4 points.
Food & drink. Calgary 45, Lyon 84: Lyon leads by 39 points.
Culture & sights. Calgary 35, Lyon 77: Lyon leads by 42 points.
Nightlife. Calgary 40, Lyon 58: Lyon leads by 18 points.
Nature & outdoors. Calgary 88, Lyon 64: Calgary leads by 24 points.
Day trips. Calgary 55, Lyon 77: Lyon leads by 22 points.
Good for families. Calgary 68, Lyon 62: Calgary leads by 6 points.
Getting around. Calgary 42, Lyon 77: Lyon leads by 35 points.
Shopping & style. Calgary 42, Lyon 58: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Affordability. Calgary and Lyon are level on 42.
Live music & performing arts. Calgary 46, Lyon 68: Lyon leads by 22 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Calgary 42, Lyon 40: Calgary leads by 2 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Calgary and Lyon.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Calgary
46match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and families with your weighting.

Lyon
Best match
60match

Wins on culture and sights and food and drink with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Calgary in July

25 °Cdaytime high
11 °Cnight-time low
44 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Lyon in July

28 °Cdaytime high
17 °Cnight-time low
66 mmrain in the month
9 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
CalgaryLyon

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Calgary: 1991-2020 normals, Calgary Int'l CS (8.2 km from centre). Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCalgaryLyon
Official languageFrench, EnglishFrench
CurrencyCanadian Dollar (CAD)Euro (EUR)
SocketsAB120 V, 60 HzCE230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC-7, UTC-6 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number911112
Elevation1,045 m160 m
Main airportCalgary International Airport (YYC)9 km from centre103 non-stop destinationsLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureCalgaryLyon
City population1,306,784519,127
People per km²1,58310,838
Museums within 10 km1343
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km02

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Calgary or Lyon somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.