VacationSelector
The Semperoper, Dresden
DresdenThe Semperoper
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière

Photos: Dresden by Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.

Dresden 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 Dresden for

  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors
  • live music and the arts

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

Choose Lyon for

  • food and drink
  • shopping
  • nightlife

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. Dresden 10, Lyon 12: Lyon leads by 2 points.
Food & drink. Dresden 45, Lyon 84: Lyon leads by 39 points.
Culture & sights. Dresden 79, Lyon 77: Dresden leads by 2 points.
Nightlife. Dresden 47, Lyon 58: Lyon leads by 11 points.
Nature & outdoors. Dresden 74, Lyon 64: Dresden leads by 10 points.
Day trips. Dresden 76, Lyon 77: Lyon leads by 1 points.
Good for families. Dresden 60, Lyon 62: Lyon leads by 2 points.
Getting around. Dresden 74, Lyon 77: Lyon leads by 3 points.
Shopping & style. Dresden 42, Lyon 58: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Affordability. Dresden 55, Lyon 42: Dresden leads by 13 points.
Live music & performing arts. Dresden 76, Lyon 68: Dresden leads by 8 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Dresden 42, Lyon 40: Dresden leads by 2 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Dresden
57match

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

Lyon
Best match
60match

Wins on food and drink and shopping with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

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

Dresden in July

26 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
80 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine 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

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
DresdenLyon

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Dresden: 1991-2020 normals, Dresden-Strehlen (3.8 km from centre). Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureDresdenLyon
Official languageGermanFrench
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCE230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation126 m160 m
Main airportDresden Airport (DRS)10 km from centre13 non-stop destinationsLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureDresdenLyon
City population562,764519,127
People per km²1,71310,838
Museums within 10 km7043
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km12

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Dresden 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). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). 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. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

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.