VacationSelector
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon
LyonThe Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
Château Frontenac from Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City
Quebec CityChâteau Frontenac from Dufferin Terrace

Photos: Lyon by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Quebec City by Jeangagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Lyon or Quebec 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

  • food and drink
  • getting around
  • day trips

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

Choose Quebec City for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Quebec 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, Quebec City 18: Quebec City leads by 6 points.
Food & drink. Lyon 84, Quebec City 57: Lyon leads by 27 points.
Culture & sights. Lyon 77, Quebec City 70: Lyon leads by 7 points.
Nightlife. Lyon 58, Quebec City 42: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Nature & outdoors. Lyon 64, Quebec City 79: Quebec City leads by 15 points.
Day trips. Lyon 77, Quebec City 58: Lyon leads by 19 points.
Good for families. Lyon 62, Quebec City 64: Quebec City leads by 2 points.
Getting around. Lyon 77, Quebec City 50: Lyon leads by 27 points.
Shopping & style. Lyon 58, Quebec City 45: Lyon leads by 13 points.
Affordability. Lyon 42, Quebec City 45: Quebec City leads by 3 points.
Live music & performing arts. Lyon 68, Quebec City 52: Lyon leads by 16 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Lyon 40, Quebec City 55: Quebec City leads by 15 points.
0255075100

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

Your match

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

Lyon
Best match
60match

Wins on food and drink and getting around with your weighting.

Quebec City
53match

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

Quebec City in July

25 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
119 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

-10°0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0255075100125JFMAMJJASOND
LyonQuebec City

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Lyon: 1991-2020 normals, Lyon / Bron (10.6 km from centre). Quebec City: 1991-2020 normals, Beauport (3.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureLyonQuebec City
Official languageFrenchFrench, English
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Canadian Dollar (CAD)
SocketsCE230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-5, UTC-4 in summer
Emergency number112911
Elevation160 m98 m
Main airportLyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)20 km from centre141 non-stop destinationsQuebec Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB)13 km from centre34 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days10 days

By the numbers

MeasureLyonQuebec City
City population519,127574,482
People per km²10,8381,184
Museums within 10 km4316
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 Quebec 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.