Europe's Hottest Cities in Winter

The Mediterranean coast basks in the warmest winters of Europe where cities from Barcelona to Athens enjoy daily highs averaging 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) or more. Portugal's Atlantic coast is another warm region, where Lisbon averages highs that top 15 °C (59 °F) during winter months.

Here you'll find lists of Europe's major cities with the warmest climates during winter, including rankings for the hottest five cities in Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe. The ratings are based on the averages of daily maximum temperatures for December, January and February.

The hottest major city this time of year is Valletta, Malta. The island's extreme southern location gives it an edge for hot weather during winter. But it's also possible to soak up heat along the south coast of France in cities like Nice and Marseille as well as along Italy's west coast in Rome and Naples.

These weather rankings are for 68 major European cities which include national capitals plus cities with a metropolitan population of over one million people. You can also see the full list of European cities and their monthly temperatures that these ratings are based on.

Average daily winter temperatures for the ten hottest major European cities.

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
60.4	15.8	Valletta, Malta	49.7	9.8
59.4	15.2	Lisbon, Portugal	48.1	8.9
57.7	14.3	Athens, Greece	45.7	7.6
57.4	14.1	Barcelona, Spain	41.2	5.1
56.4	13.5	Naples, Italy	40.7	4.8
56.2	13.4	Monaco, Monaco	42.5	5.8
56.2	13.4	Nice, France	42.5	5.8
55.9	13.3	Rome, Italy	36.7	2.6
55.0	12.8	Tirana, Albania	36.6	2.6
53.5	11.9	Marseille, France	38.3	3.5

Winter's Warmest Cities in European Regions

The warmest cities in Western and Southern Europe have considerably higher temperatures during winter than the mildest cities of Eastern and Northern Europe. Nightly temperature lows in the south and west normally remain well above freezing. That's not the case in the east and north, where even the balmiest cities can count on frosty nights throughout much of winter.

Even so, you don't always need to go south to find relatively warm winter weather. Surprisingly, London gets treated to higher temperatures from December to February than many western European cities on the continent.

Similarly, Europe's northernmost city, Reykjavík, Iceland ranks second for warmth in Northern Europe this time of year. That's despite Reykjavík's otherwise well-deserved reputation as an exceptionally cold place overall.

Western Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Western Europe's five hottest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
56.2	13.4	Nice, France	42.5	5.8
53.5	11.9	Marseille, France	38.3	3.5
47.1	8.4	London, United Kingdom	37.5	3.1
46.8	8.2	Dublin, Ireland	36.5	2.5
45.8	7.7	Paris, France	37.3	3.0

Northern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Northern Europe's five hottest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
37.6	3.1	Copenhagen, Denmark	29.7	-1.3
36.1	2.3	Reykjavík, Iceland	27.3	-2.6
31.9	-0.1	Stockholm, Sweden	23.9	-4.5
30.3	-1.0	Tallinn, Estonia	20.8	-6.2
30.1	-1.1	Oslo, Norway	20.5	-6.4

Eastern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Eastern Europe's five hottest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
38.7	3.7	Sofia, Bulgaria	25.7	-3.5
38.6	3.7	Bratislava, Slovakia	27.7	-2.4
38.5	3.6	Budapest, Hungary	29.8	-1.2
37.6	3.1	Bucharest, Romania	25.2	-3.8
35.0	1.7	Prague, Czech Republic	24.3	-4.3

Southern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Southern Europe's five hottest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
60.4	15.8	Valletta, Malta	49.7	9.8
59.4	15.2	Lisbon, Portugal	48.1	8.9
57.7	14.3	Athens, Greece	45.7	7.6
57.4	14.1	Barcelona, Spain	41.2	5.1
56.4	13.5	Naples, Italy	40.7	4.8