Lyon Hotel Capacity: Leading French Cities Compared

Lyon maintains its position as France’s leading city for hotel capacity outside of Paris, according to a report released Tuesday by OnlyLyon Tourisme et Congrès, the Lyon metropolitan area’s tourism and convention bureau.

The assessment of 2025 tourism figures revealed Lyon boasts 212 hotels comprising a total of 2,194 rooms, surpassing Nice, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Marseille in terms of hotel infrastructure. Robert Ravat, president of OnlyLyon Tourisme et Congrès, highlighted the disparity in hotel capacity between Paris and the rest of the country, stating, “There is Paris and then there are the others.”

The report indicated that over 60 percent of overnight stays in the Lyon metropolitan area are attributable to business tourism. Visitors to Lyon typically spend an average of three nights in the city, according to the bureau.

The findings come after a busy period for the city, which recently hosted events including a visit from Taylor Swift fans and a gathering of 25,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses. These events underscore Lyon’s ability to accommodate large-scale events alongside its core business travel sector.