Season guide · Lyon · France
Lyon in spring
March–May: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Phinou, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Mild days, blossom in the parks and café terraces reopening, with occasional showers and storms. Expect highs up to 21°C (70°F) and lows around 4°C (39°F), with about 28 rainy days across March–May. April–May are among the best months of the year to visit.
Key facts
- Months
- March–May
- Temperatures
- 4°C (39°F) to 21°C (70°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 28
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in spring
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 14°C (57°F) | 4°C (39°F) | 8 | 11.8 h | 2/5 |
| April | 17°C (63°F) | 7°C (45°F) | 9 | 13.5 h | 3/5 |
| May | 21°C (70°F) | 11°C (52°F) | 11 | 14.9 h | 3/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 17°C (63°F) against a yearly 17°C (63°F), and 28 of the year's roughly 98 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 3/5 and hotel prices 3/5 on average.
What's on in spring
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- March: Quais du Polar — crime-fiction festival (usually late March or early April)
- May: Nuits Sonores — electronic music festival (usually May)
Good choices for spring
Religious site · Vieux Lyon
Saint-Jean Cathedral
Lyon's cathedral, built between the 12th and 15th centuries, mixes Romanesque and Gothic styles and has medieval stained glass.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Market · Part-Dieu
Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse
Go on a Saturday or Sunday late morning for oysters and white wine at the counter, as locals do.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
- Iconic
- Free
Museum · Terreaux
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Set in a former Benedictine abbey on the Place des Terreaux, this is one of France's largest fine-arts museums outside Paris, with Egyptian antiquities, old masters, Impressionists and works by Picasso and Matisse.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- History
Museum · Confluence
Musée des Confluences
Go up to the roof terrace for a view of the river confluence.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Architecture
- Nature
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
Day trips in spring
- Pérouges (About 35 minutes by train, then a 30-minute walk) — A small walled medieval village on a hilltop, with cobbled lanes, half-timbered houses and a central square shaded by a lime tree.
- Vienne (About 20–30 minutes by train) — A Roman town on the Rhône with the Temple of Augustus and Livia, a large Roman theatre on the hillside and a Gothic cathedral.
What to pack
- Light layers for the day and a light jacket for the evening
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is spring a good time to visit Lyon?
Yes: April–May are among the best months. Mild days, blossom in the parks and café terraces reopening, with occasional showers and storms.
+What is the weather like in Lyon in spring?
Highs of up to 21°C (70°F) and lows around 4°C (39°F), with about 28 rainy days over the season.