VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro, Paris
ParisThe Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Paris by Efrem Efre, Pexels License.

Nairobi or Paris?

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 Nairobi for

  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors

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

Choose Paris for

  • getting around
  • day trips
  • culture and sights

What lies behind each score is written up on Paris’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. Nairobi 4, Paris 9: Paris leads by 5 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Paris 96: Paris leads by 48 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Paris 97: Paris leads by 62 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Paris 80: Paris leads by 22 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Paris 52: Nairobi leads by 32 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Paris 92: Paris leads by 64 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Paris 79: Paris leads by 24 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Paris 88: Paris leads by 68 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Paris 98: Paris leads by 53 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Paris 25: Nairobi leads by 35 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Paris 88: Paris leads by 53 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Paris 40: Paris leads by 15 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Paris.

Your match

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

Nairobi
41match

Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Paris
Best match
70match

Wins on getting around and day trips with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Nairobi in July

24 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
11 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
12 hdaylight a day

Paris in July

26 °Cdaytime high
16 °Cnight-time low
58 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiParis

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Nairobi: 1991-2020 normals, Nairobi ACC/FIC/RCC/MET/COM/ (13.3 km from centre). Paris: 1991-2020 normals, Paris-Montsouris (4.6 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiParis
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliFrench
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Euro (EUR)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzCE230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999112
Elevation1,661 m27 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsCharles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG)22 km from centre277 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days11 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiParis
City population5,545,0002,103,778
People per km²7,96719,960
Museums within 10 km4251
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km04

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Nairobi or Paris 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). 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. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. 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.