VacationSelector
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Sint Servaasbrug over the Maas, Maastricht
MaastrichtSint Servaasbrug over the Maas

Photos: Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Maastricht by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Lyon or Maastricht?

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 Lyon for

  • live music and the arts
  • food and drink
  • culture and sights

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

Choose Maastricht for

  • wellness
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Maastricht’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. Lyon 12, Maastricht 8: Lyon leads by 4 points.
Food & drink. Lyon 84, Maastricht 58: Lyon leads by 26 points.
Culture & sights. Lyon 77, Maastricht 60: Lyon leads by 17 points.
Nightlife. Lyon 58, Maastricht 42: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Nature & outdoors. Lyon 64, Maastricht 58: Lyon leads by 6 points.
Day trips. Lyon and Maastricht are level on 77.
Good for families. Lyon 62, Maastricht 55: Lyon leads by 7 points.
Getting around. Lyon 77, Maastricht 74: Lyon leads by 3 points.
Shopping & style. Lyon 58, Maastricht 60: Maastricht leads by 2 points.
Affordability. Lyon 42, Maastricht 38: Lyon leads by 4 points.
Live music & performing arts. Lyon 68, Maastricht 40: Lyon leads by 28 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Lyon 40, Maastricht 52: Maastricht leads by 12 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Lyon
Best match
60match

Wins on live music and the arts and food and drink with your weighting.

Maastricht
52match

Wins on wellness 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.

Lyon in July

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

Maastricht in July

24 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
73 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
LyonMaastricht

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre). Maastricht: 1991-2020 normals, Maastricht Airport Zuid Limburg (10 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLyonMaastricht
Official languageFrenchDutch
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCE230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation160 m49 m
Main airportLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinationsMaastricht Aachen Airport (MST)9 km from centre5 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureLyonMaastricht
City population519,127120,227
People per km²10,8382,000
Museums within 10 km4321
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km25

Where else could you go?

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