Anna is a Lyon local who covered the city for our France guidebook. Here she shares the best time to pay a visit to Lyon.
A rare and special thing; Lyon is great at any time of year, like a flannel shirt that works equally well thrown on for a summer evening or layered up in winter. That’s because it’s not dressed up for tourists, but thoroughly lived in, so there’s plenty of events taking place no matter the month you visit.
Lyon enjoys real seasons. Winter is reliably cold, with daytime temperatures hovering around 4 ℃ (39℉), but many of the days are clear, and the snow capped peak of Mont Blanc can be seen from Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière, the church which crowns Lyon’s highest hill.
Temperatures soar in summer, and while the average daily temperature is in the low 20s ℃ (60-85℉), it’s not uncommon for the heat to rise to the mid-30s (95℉). However, the numerous urban parks and verdant banks of the River Rhône mean there’s always a shady spot to picnic. Rainfall is lower here than in the average French city, so it’s rare that any trip will be a washout, although May and October tend to be the rainiest months.
Even if the weather is inclement for your trip, there are enough museums, galleries and restaurants to keep even the most active traveler content.
September to November is wine time
Ask a Lyonnais how many rivers there are in Lyon, and they may well tell you “three”, leaving you puzzling over the map to find the third. The third river is garnet red: wine. Beaujolais to the north and the Rhône Valley to the south keep the residents of Lyon watered throughout the year. September is harvest season, and the vineyards around the city teem with life.
In October, independent winemakers show their wares at the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants. There’s nothing that you’ll recognise from a Carrefour aisle – hundred of winemakers from all over the country attend, and for the paltry entrance fee you can drink your way from the Hauts-de-France to Corsica. Take note: tasting sizes are noticeably larger for those that sweet talk the winemakers. Beaujolais Nouveau arrives in the third weekend of November, celebrated with (almost) as much zest in Lyon as in neighboring Beaujolais, where at the Beaujolais Wine Marathon, more than 20,000 runners charge through the vines, clad in full fancy dress rather than Lycra.
December to March is for bluebird days and candlelit nights
Lyon’s closest ski slope is just 90 minutes away, and some of the finest skiing in the Alps takes only two hours to reach. The Lyonnais know that you don’t have to drop hundreds on a chalet for the week, or ski through a whiteout – you can nip out for the day as soon as the weather is fine, and be back in time for dinner. Skimania offers day passes (transport and ski pass) for as little as €60, or €30 for hikers (but take earplugs to drown out the exuberant students on the bus).
During the weekend closest to December 8th, a third of Lyon’s annual tourists descend all at once, for the Fête des Lumières, the largest lights show in the country. Projections take place on the Hôtel de Ville, Cathédrale Saint-Jean and in the vast urban park, La Tête d’Or, among numerous other city sites. Windows in Vieux Lyon (the Old Town) and all the way up to Fourvière are lit with candles. Book accommodation months in advance to avoid disappointment.
April to July is when Lyon gets lively
Every month here is festival season, but visit Lyon during these months and your calendar risks being busier than the motorway at rush hour. Late April welcomes the beer festival, dispelling any myths that Lyon is solely about wine.
At the start of May, the five-day electro extravaganza Nuits Sonores takes over the former SNCF locomotive factories in south Lyon.
In June, the city hosts an enormous street food festival, with demos and tastings by top chefs, and the prestigious jazz festival, Jazz à Vienne, transforms a millennia-old Roman amphitheater, 30 minutes south of Lyon, into the most scenic of concert halls.
Not to be outdone by its smaller neighbor, Lyon’s own amphitheater programs two months of concerts during June and July: Nuits de Fourvière. The smaller Roman amphitheater in the city center joins in too, turning into an experimental theater festival, Le Nid de Poule.
If raucous partying isn’t your scene, hire a bike and explore the many trails in and around the city before the temperatures get too high, in particular the ViaRhôna, which runs all the way from Geneva to the Mediterranean.
August is best for avoiding the crowds
From mid-July to the end of August, the Lyonnais escape the heat of the city for the mountains and coast. Temperatures are at rock bottom, and it’s possible to get reservations at even the hottest new restaurant at the drop of a hat – provided they haven’t decided to shut up shop for the month. You’ll need to be able to withstand the heat, and it requires some advance planning (never assume a restaurant or bar is open in August; always check in advance), but if you’re looking to live the high life in Lyon on a shoestring, August is an absolute steal.