Figures, stats and analyses

Follow the results of the various services provided by ONLYLYON Tourism and Conventions to promote business and leisure tourism in Lyon metropolitan area, and consult the figures for tourism in Lyon.

Last updated date : 26/05/2025

Key figures for Greater Lyon

  • 3rd metropolis in France
  • 1.4 million inhabitants in the metropolis
  • 58 towns
  • €74.6 million GDP (Metropole in 2018)

The tourism industry in Lyon Metropole

Jobs

  • 42,000 jobs in the tourism industry (2024)

Accommodation

  • Offering: 266 accommodation providers (2024)
  • 45,318 hotel rooms available (2024)
  • Guest numbers: 9,56 millions overnights, including 56% in hotels (2024) 

Customer breakdown

  • Accommodation: 74% French customers and 26% foreign customers (2024)
    Overseas visitors' Top 5 (accommodation)
    1. United Kingdom
    2. United States 
    3. Switzerland
    4. Germany
    5. Belgium
  • ONLYLYON Tourist Office: 43.5% French customers and 56.5% foreign customers (2023)
    Overseas visitors' Top 5
    1. Spain (15 %)
    2. Germany (12%)
    3. United States (11%)
    4. United Kingdom (10%)
    5. Italy (7%)

Culture

Gastronomie 

  • 22 traditional restaurants with the quality label "Bouchons Lyonnais" 
  • 19 Michelin-starred restaurants

Museums  

31 museums in the metropolitan area 

1 968 266 admissions in 2024

Top 5 most visited museums:

  • Musée des Confluences 
  • Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine arts museum)
  • Musée Cinéma & Miniature
  • Lugdunum Musée & Théâtres romains 
  • Musée d'Art Contemporain (museum of contemporary art) 

Discovery and leisure activities 

899 005 admissions in 2024

Top 5 most visited:

  • Aquarium de Lyon 
  • Les Bateaux Lyonnais 
  • Mini World Lyon 
  • Guided tours by ONLYLYON Tourism
  • Planetarium 

Festivals 

  • Festival of Lights - 2 million visitors 
  • Biennale of Contemporary Art – 285,000 festival-goers 
  • Lumière Festival - 180,000 spectators
  • Nuits de Fourvière - 165,000 spectators 
  • Nuits Sonores – 108,000 festival-goers 
  • Lyon Street Food Festival – 52,000 festival-goers 

Transport 

  • Rail: more than 60 million passengers in the 3 stations (2024)
  • Air: 77.9% international traffic at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, with 10,5 million passengers (2023)

Vélo’v 

  • 9,8 million Vélo’v rentals 
  • 429 stations in 22 towns 

Cycle-tourism

1215 km of cycle paths; 2 cycle routes – ViaRhôna and Voie Bleue.

Car and car-sharing

  • 1000 car-sharing vehicles available in the metropolitan area 
  • 3 labelled car-sharing services 
  • 200 Izivia Grand Lyon public charging stations 

Business tourism (in 2023)

  • 2nd city for events
  • 220 events hosted (+4.8% vs previous year), including 34% association congresses, 30.5% trade shows and fairs, and 35.5% meetings and conventions.
  • 28% association congresses in the sectors of healthcare, medicine and life sciences.
  • 41% of meetings and conventions have a national audience.
  • 5 trade shows attracted more than 60% of visitors: SIRHA, Equita, Lyon Fair, Salon du 2 Roues (2 wheel trade fair), Epoqu'Auto (vintage cars and cycles). 

Sources: Database of MKG Hospitality - CCI Lyon
Lyon Airport / ONLYLYON Tourism and Conventions / SNCF
Data collected in 2024.
city-trends.fr/lyon  

Lyon in the rankings

Lyon came among the top few in several international rankings:

  • 2nd French city for congresses in the ICCA 2022 ranking
  • 15th city in the World  in the GDS-Index (Global Destinations Sustainability index)
  • Lyon in the top of “The hottest foodie destinations in Europe right now” 

See more rankings:

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