Fewer crowds
November is quietest.
November, at 18% of the busiest month (August). Low season, under 35% of the peak: May and October to November.
A good place. At the right time.
Best time to visitLyon & the French Alps.
Plan your visit
Find your month.
What matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
Start with September.
#1 of 12 · Balanced · 8.2/10
Overnight stays are 35% of the busiest month.
Based on Rhône-Alpes regional averages.
- Afternoon high
- 74°F
- Daylight
- about 13 hours
- Crowds
- Moderate
About 7 rain days in a typical September, with about 13 hours of daylight.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Price context. National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Historical averages, not forecasts or live prices.
A regional guide. Figures cover Rhône-Alpes, including Lyon, Chamonix, Annecy and Courchevel. Conditions vary within the region. Part of The French Alps; see the France guide for the wider area.
The whole calendar
Already have dates?
Explore your month, then weigh up the trade-offs.
September at a glance
Balanced match #1 · 8.2/10
Overnight stays are 35% of the busiest month.
About 7 rain days in a typical September, with about 13 hours of daylight.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Read the September guide- Afternoon high
- 74°F
- Night low
- 53°F
- Sea temperature
- —
- Rain days
- 7
- Daylight
- 12h 37m
- Crowds
- Moderate
All 12 months, on the same measures. Tap a heading to sort or a month to open its guide.Select a month to open its guide. Scroll the table for more detail.
| Rank | Month | Overall | Weather | Crowds | Cost | High | Low | Rain days | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | September | 8.2 | 8.9/10 Very good | Moderate | Pricey | 74°F | 53°F | 7 | 12h 37m |
| #2 | May | 7.9 | 8.0/10 Very good | Low | Moderate | 70°F | 49°F | 10 | 14h 51m |
| #3 | October | 7.9 | 7.8/10 Very good | Low | Pricey | 65°F | 47°F | 8 | 11h 02m |
| #4 | June | 7.6 | 8.4/10 Very good | Moderate | Pricey | 79°F | 57°F | 9 | 15h 39m |
| #5 | April | 7.5 | 7.6/10 Very good | Moderate | Moderate | 64°F | 43°F | 9 | 13h 28m |
| #6 | July | 6.7 | 8.3/10 Very good | Peak | Pricey | 83°F | 60°F | 7 | 15h 22m |
| #7 | August | 6.5 | 8.3/10 Very good | Peak | Pricey | 83°F | 59°F | 6 | 14h 10m |
| #8 | November | 6.5 | 5.5/10 Good | Low | Moderate | 54°F | 39°F | 12 | 9h 34m |
| #9 | March | 6.3 | 6.4/10 Good | Moderate | Pricey | 58°F | 38°F | 9 | 11h 50m |
| #10 | December | 5.7 | 4.7/10 Fair | Moderate | Pricey | 48°F | 34°F | 14 | 8h 45m |
| #11 | February | 5.6 | 5.4/10 Good | Busy | Pricey | 50°F | 33°F | 9 | 10h 22m |
| #12 | January | 5.4 | 4.5/10 Fair | Moderate | Pricey | 46°F | 32°F | 11 | 9h 05m |
Overall follows your priorities. Crowds compare each month with this place's own year. Highs, lows and rain days are historical averages for 2011–2025.
A little perspective
The shape of the year.
Afternoon highNight low
Top balanced match · September
September
- High
- 74°F
- Low
- 53°F
- Rain
- 7 days
- Crowds
- Moderate
Some weather measures are unavailable. Gaps in the chart mean no data.
Off season can mean fewer services. Confirm what is open for your dates.
Rhône-Alpes regional averages · Historical patterns, not a forecast. Gaps mean no data. Crowds compare months within this region.
The busiest month records 5.6 times the overnight stays of the quietest.
Very-good-or-better weather scores: April to October. No month has a poor weather score.
Peak-season months: July to August. Low-season months: May and October to November.
The two busiest months account for 31% of annual overnight stays.
Figures cover the whole Rhône-Alpes region, suburbs included. On the 2024 EU comparison, France's restaurants and hotels are above EU average.
Before you go
Pack a little context.
Good weather
September has the highest weather score.
Very good or better April to October. September has the highest displayed weather score (8.9/10).
Lower prices
January to March.
These are three lower-price months on France's historical 2024–2025 national hotel index. It cannot identify this region's cheapest bookable rooms.
School holidays
School breaks span different visitor seasons.
If your dates follow US school breaks: June falls in moderate season; July and August fall in peak season. Spring break (March–April) falls in moderate season.
Local families travel too: at least 30% of people in France live where schools are out on a typical day February, April, October and December. France's school calendar for May to September isn't fully published yet. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
About these answers
These are historical seasonal patterns. Crowds compare a month with this place's own busiest month; they do not measure queues at individual sights. Weather answers use the displayed weather scores. These seasonal facts stay the same when you change your priorities; your Overall recommendation updates above. Prices retain the scope stated beside them. Full methodology.
Choose your season
The year, season by season.
Winter
Dec–Feb
A quieter start, a busier finish.
December and January fall in moderate season; February falls in busy season.
46–50°FAfternoon highs
Spring
Mar–May
A busier start, a quieter finish.
March and April fall in moderate season; May falls in low season.
58–70°FAfternoon highs
Summer
Jun–Aug
A quieter start, a busier finish.
June falls in moderate season; July and August fall in peak season.
79–83°FAfternoon highs
Autumn
Sep–Nov
A busier start, a quieter finish.
September falls in moderate season; October and November fall in low season.
54–74°FAfternoon highs
Ranges span monthly average afternoon highs, not daily extremes. Conditions and seasonal openings vary within Lyon & the French Alps.
How we know
The default Balanced Overall weighs weather 50%, crowds 30% and cost 20%. Your priority choice updates the Overall, month ranks and recommendation. While your weather weight is at least 40%, Overall cannot exceed weather by more than 1. Close scores can describe different trip experiences. How the scores work.
| Statistical region | FRK2 · Rhône-Alpes |
| Region type | City (Eurostat NUTS3 typologies weighted by population: urban 28%, coastal 0%, mountain 90%; median ground height 594 m; set by editorial override) |
| Population used | 6.9 million (1 January 2025) |
| Crowd reference years | 2024–2025 average |
| How our weather was checked | 316 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.3°C), night lows within 1°F (0.3°C). |
| Climate index | HCI:Urban, observed climatology over 15 years (2011–2025) |
| Hotel occupancy (annual) | 61% |
| Accommodation mix | 39% hotels, 22% camping |
| Country price level (restaurants & hotels, EU27 = 100) | 110 |
| Daylight latitude | 45.44° N |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by month and NUTS 2 region, per 1,000 inhabitants, divided by days in the month. "Season here" is the month's figure as a share of this region's busiest month. "Visitors" ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions that month. Weather: Holiday Climate Index (Scott et al. 2016; Rutty et al. 2020) computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records and population-weighted to the region. Prices are national. Hand-written notes are marked and nothing depends on them. Full method · this region's data.