France
Lyon in December
🧥 WinterCold and some showers.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings
Why December scores 8.1What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort7.3
- !Cold (8°C highs / 2°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 2.6°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~54 mm rain)
- Air quality8.3
- ✓Moderate (PM2.5 ~16 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline7.5
- ·Increased caution
| Dec | Jul | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.1 Very good | 9.5 Excellent |
| Season | 🧥 Winter | ☀️ Summer |
| High / low | 8° / 2° | 28° / 17° |
| Rain | 54 mm | 67 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 3° | dew pt 14° |
| PM2.5 | 16 µg/m³ | 6 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: Lyon Bron weather-station normals. Rainfall: Lyon - Bron weather-station normals (national met service).
Holidays & crowdsDecember 2026
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- Christmas Day 25–27 Dec · 3 days off in a row
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore LyonEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyFrance's third city at the meeting of the Rhône and Saône, visited for its Renaissance old town, Roman ruins and celebrated food.
Fête des LumièresDate variesUsually four nights around 8 December
Light installations and projections on buildings, rooted in a tradition of placing candles in windows on 8 December.
Why go: Huge crowds; book accommodation well ahead and expect some areas to be one-way for pedestrians.
Where: Across the city centre
Coming up later
Les Nuits de FourvièreDate variesUsually June to July
A summer festival of music, theatre and dance in the ancient theatres.
Why go: Bring a cushion; seating is on stone steps.
Where: Roman theatres of Fourvière
Bastille DayEvery year14 July every year
France's national day, with fireworks over the city.
Why go: A public holiday; many shops close.
Where: Across the city
Vieux Lyon
One of Europe's largest Renaissance quarters, with narrow streets and courtyards.
Traboules
Covered passageways through buildings, used historically by silk workers.
💡 Some are open to the public during the day; respect residents' privacy.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière
A 19th-century hilltop basilica with views over the city.
💡 Take the funicular up from Vieux Lyon.
Roman theatres of Fourvière
Ancient Roman theatres on the hill, still used for performances.
Musée des Confluences
A science and anthropology museum at the confluence of the two rivers.
Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse
An indoor food market of cheese, charcuterie and seafood stalls.
Quenelles
Light dumplings, often of pike, in a creamy Nantua sauce.
💡 Bouchon restaurants
Salade lyonnaise
Frisée salad with bacon lardons, croutons and a poached egg.
💡 Bouchons
Saucisson brioché
Sausage baked in brioche.
💡 Bouchons and charcuteries
Tarte aux pralines
A tart of crushed pink pralines in cream.
💡 Bakeries
Cervelle de canut
A herbed fresh cheese spread.
💡 Bouchons
Silk
Scarves and ties from Lyon's historic silk industry.
💡 Croix-Rousse workshops and shops
Pink pralines
Sugar-coated almonds used in local pastries.
💡 Bakeries and Les Halles
Beaujolais and Rhône wines
Wines from the vineyards north and south of the city.
💡 Wine shops