Average Sunshine a Year in France

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The tables below give yearly averages for the number of sunny days and hours of sunshine at dozens of cities throughout France. The annual totals are averages of weather data collected during 1971 to 2000.

You can jump to a separate table for each corner of the country: Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and Northwest, plus Central France.

Southeastern France

This section of southern France extends from the Mediterranean beaches on the island of Corsica and the French Riviera, or Côte d'Azur, to the peaks of the French Alps. Cities listed here belong to the regions of Corsica, Languedoc - Roussillon, Provence - Alpes - Cote - D'Azur and Rhône - Alpes.

Total annual sunshine
Hours Place Days of
Strong Sun
Days of
Weak Sun
2726 Ajaccio, Corsica 150   64
2533 Bastia, Corsica 115   70
1957 Bourg-Saint-Maurice   31 112
2106 Carcassonne   88 113
2020 Grenoble   84 126
1932 Lyon   75 136
2801 Marseille 161   63
2618 Montpellier 142   77
2668 Nice 142   66
2588 Nîmes 140   80
2392 Perpignan 114   86
2007 Saint-Étienne   83 124
2793 Toulon 160   64

Southwestern France

The weather data below are for cities in the regions of Aquitaine and Midi - Pyrénées. This portion of France ranges from the Atlantic coast to the Pyrenees mountains along France's southern border.

Average amount of sunshine yearly
Hours Place Days of
Strong Sun
Days of
Weak Sun
1877 Biarritz   69 130
1992 Bordeaux   75 115
1852 Pau   72 134
2010 Toulouse   81 121

Central France

This section stretches from Poitou - Charentes bordering the Atlantic Ocean to Paris in the north. It also takes in the regions of Auvergne, Burgundy (Bourgogne), Centre and Limousin.

Annual average sun
Hours Place Days of
Strong Sun
Days of
Weak Sun
1898 Clermont-Ferrand   69 133
1789 Dijon   66 147
2055 La Rochelle   77 116
1860 Limoges   78 146
1710 Orléans   54 151
1630 Paris   47 156
1867 Poitiers   68 135
1799 Tours   62 145

Northeastern France

Weather information in this table is for cities in Alsatian (Alsace), Champagne - Ardenne, Franche-Comté, Lorraine and Nord - Pas-de-Calais, the regions located north and east of Paris.

Number of sunny hours and days a year on average
Hours Place Days of
Strong Sun
Days of
Weak Sun
1797 Besançon   69 152
1721 Colmar   54 153
1617 Lille   42 157
1605 Metz   49 167
1638 Nancy   53 163
1705 Reims   52 152
1633 Strasbourg   53 167
1771 Troyes   61 148

Northwestern France

Cities on the list here are scattered throughout the French regions that border the English Channel and lie northwest of Paris: Brittany (Bretagne), High Normandy (Haute-Normandie) and Low Normandy (Basse-Normandie). Also covered is the Pays de la Loire region, located farther south along the Atlantic Ocean.

Average total sunshine yearly
Hours Place Days of
Strong Sun
Days of
Weak Sun
1690 Angers 52 145
1492 Brest 38 164
1624 Caen 39 151
1728 Le Mans 57 145
1736 Lorient 49 143
1690 Nantes 49 142
1626 Rennes 41 150
1518 Rouen 39 168
1512 Saint-Brieuc 33 157
Reference

Météo France. Climat.

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