VacationSelector
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
The Frauenkirche towers and the Mariensäule, Munich
MunichThe Frauenkirche towers and the Mariensäule

Photos: Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Munich by 0xd1ma, Pexels License.

Lyon or Munich?

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

  • food and drink
  • prices
  • nightlife

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

Choose Munich for

  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Munich’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, Munich 28: Munich leads by 16 points.
Food & drink. Lyon 84, Munich 62: Lyon leads by 22 points.
Culture & sights. Lyon 77, Munich 79: Munich leads by 2 points.
Nightlife. Lyon 58, Munich 56: Lyon leads by 2 points.
Nature & outdoors. Lyon 64, Munich 82: Munich leads by 18 points.
Day trips. Lyon 77, Munich 86: Munich leads by 9 points.
Good for families. Lyon 62, Munich 78: Munich leads by 16 points.
Getting around. Lyon 77, Munich 86: Munich leads by 9 points.
Shopping & style. Lyon 58, Munich 72: Munich leads by 14 points.
Affordability. Lyon 42, Munich 32: Lyon leads by 10 points.
Live music & performing arts. Lyon 68, Munich 84: Munich leads by 16 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Lyon 40, Munich 62: Munich leads by 22 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Lyon
60match

Wins on food and drink and prices with your weighting.

Munich
Best match
67match

Wins on wellness and nature and the outdoors 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

Munich in July

25 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
119 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
LyonMunich

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre). Munich: 1991-2020 normals, München (1.9 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLyonMunich
Official languageFrenchGerman
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 m519 m
Main airportLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinationsMunich Airport (MUC)29 km from centre210 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureLyonMunich
City population519,1271,505,036
People per km²10,8384,844
Museums within 10 km4374
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km21

Where else could you go?

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