VacationSelector
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Vine rows before the snow-capped Andes in the Uco Valley, Mendoza
MendozaVine rows before the snow-capped Andes in the Uco Valley

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

Lyon or Mendoza?

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

  • culture and sights
  • live music and the arts
  • getting around

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

Choose Mendoza for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Mendoza’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, Mendoza 6: Lyon leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Lyon 84, Mendoza 68: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Culture & sights. Lyon 77, Mendoza 30: Lyon leads by 47 points.
Nightlife. Lyon 58, Mendoza 40: Lyon leads by 18 points.
Nature & outdoors. Lyon 64, Mendoza 83: Mendoza leads by 19 points.
Day trips. Lyon 77, Mendoza 52: Lyon leads by 25 points.
Good for families. Lyon 62, Mendoza 42: Lyon leads by 20 points.
Getting around. Lyon 77, Mendoza 48: Lyon leads by 29 points.
Shopping & style. Lyon 58, Mendoza 33: Lyon leads by 25 points.
Affordability. Lyon 42, Mendoza 56: Mendoza leads by 14 points.
Live music & performing arts. Lyon 68, Mendoza 33: Lyon leads by 35 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Lyon 40, Mendoza 55: Mendoza leads by 15 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Lyon
Best match
60match

Wins on culture and sights and live music and the arts with your weighting.

Mendoza
46match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and wellness 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

Mendoza in July

15 °Cdaytime high
2 °Cnight-time low
5 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
10 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
LyonMendoza

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre). Mendoza: 1991-2020 normals, Mendoza Aerodrome (8.5 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLyonMendoza
Official languageFrenchSpanish
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Argentine Peso (ARS)
SocketsCE230 V, 50 HzCI220 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightLeft
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-3
Emergency number112117 or 911
Elevation160 m769 m
Main airportLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinationsGovernor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport (MDZ)8 km from centre5 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days16 days

By the numbers

MeasureLyonMendoza
City population519,127127,160
People per km²10,8382,355
Museums within 10 km431
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km20

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Lyon or Mendoza 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 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.