Month guide · Lyon · France
Lyon in March
What March is really like in Lyon: weather, crowds, prices, events and what to pack.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Matt Neale from UK, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
March is a shoulder-season month. Expect average highs of 14°C (57°F), lows of 4°C (39°F), about 8 rainy days and roughly 11.8 hours of daylight. Mild days return and café terraces reopen; changeable weather.
Key facts
- Average high / low
- 14°C (57°F) / 4°C (39°F)
- Rainy days
- About 8
- Daylight
- About 11.8 hours
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in March
March is the 8th-warmest month in Lyon: days average 14°C (57°F) against a yearly average high of 17°C (63°F), and nights fall to about 4°C (39°F). Rain falls on roughly 8 of its 31 days. Compared with February (9°C (48°F)), March is warmer; by April highs climb to around 17°C (63°F).
- Sunrise (15 March)
- About 06:54
- Sunset (15 March)
- About 18:46
- Daylight
- About 11.8 hours
Spring (March–May). Mild days, blossom in the parks and café terraces reopening, with occasional showers and storms.
Crowds and prices
On a 1–5 scale, March rates 2 for crowds (the peak is December at 5) and 3 for hotel prices (highest in December). Prices sit in the middle of the year's range.
Events in March
- Quais du Polar — crime-fiction festival (usually late March or early April)
Dates move from year to year. Check the organiser’s site before booking travel around an event.
What to do in March
Mild, settled days suit walking, viewpoints and time outdoors.
Museum · Terreaux
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Even if you skip the museum, sit in the shaded cloister garden for a quiet break.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
Museum · Confluence
Musée des Confluences
Opened in 2014 at the point where the Rhône and Saône meet, this deconstructivist cloud of glass and steel holds a science and anthropology museum covering the origins of the universe, life on Earth and human societies, with fossils, a mammoth skeleton and ethnographic collections.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Nature
Street · Terreaux
Fresque des Lyonnais
Combine it with a walk along the Saône quays towards Vieux Lyon.
- Time needed
- 20 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Kids
- Photo spot
Museum · Monplaisir
Institut Lumière
The Lumière family's Art Nouveau villa houses a museum of the Cinématographe and early cinema, next to the factory where Louis and Auguste Lumière filmed workers leaving in 1895, one of the first films ever shown.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
What to pack
For highs near 14°C, lows near 4°C and 8 wet days: layers, a warm sweater and a jacket for cool evenings; a packable rain jacket for showers; comfortable walking shoes.
Is March a good time to visit Lyon?
A shoulder-season month, with a notable event on the calendar. If your dates are flexible, April–June and September–October are better overall. Compare every month.
Lyon in other months
Questions travellers ask
+Is March a good time to visit Lyon?
It is a shoulder-season month. Mild days return and café terraces reopen; changeable weather.
+How warm is Lyon in March?
Average highs are around 14°C (57°F) and lows around 4°C (39°F).
+Does it rain a lot in Lyon in March?
Expect rain on about 8 days of the month.