VacationSelector
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
The Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo, Mexico City
Mexico CityThe Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zócalo

Photos: Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Mexico City by Oscar Dominguez, Pexels License.

Lyon or Mexico City?

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

  • getting around
  • nature and the outdoors
  • beaches

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

Choose Mexico City for

  • prices
  • nightlife
  • shopping

What lies behind each score is written up on Mexico City’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, Mexico City 5: Lyon leads by 7 points.
Food & drink. Lyon 84, Mexico City 90: Mexico City leads by 6 points.
Culture & sights. Lyon 77, Mexico City 88: Mexico City leads by 11 points.
Nightlife. Lyon 58, Mexico City 80: Mexico City leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Lyon 64, Mexico City 50: Lyon leads by 14 points.
Day trips. Lyon 77, Mexico City 75: Lyon leads by 2 points.
Good for families. Lyon 62, Mexico City 58: Lyon leads by 4 points.
Getting around. Lyon 77, Mexico City 50: Lyon leads by 27 points.
Shopping & style. Lyon 58, Mexico City 76: Mexico City leads by 18 points.
Affordability. Lyon 42, Mexico City 75: Mexico City leads by 33 points.
Live music & performing arts. Lyon 68, Mexico City 72: Mexico City leads by 4 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Lyon and Mexico City are level on 40.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Lyon and Mexico City.

Your match

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

Lyon
60match

Wins on getting around and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Mexico City
Best match
63match

Wins on prices and nightlife 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

Mexico City in July

25 °Cdaytime high
13 °Cnight-time low
176 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200JFMAMJJASOND
LyonMexico City

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre). Mexico City: 1991-2020 normals, Mexico Central, D. F. (7.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLyonMexico City
Official languageFrenchSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsCE230 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-6
Emergency number112911
Elevation160 m2,240 m
Main airportLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinationsMexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)7 km from centre109 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days9 days

By the numbers

MeasureLyonMexico City
City population519,1279,209,944
People per km²10,8386,202
Museums within 10 km43108
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km26

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Lyon or Mexico City 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. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. 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.