Aix en Provence the Sunniest Place in France

Thursday 15 November 2007

Aix en Provence was the sunniest place in France last year, whilst Toulon the warmest, and Besancon in the North East had the highest number of rainy days.

These are main findings of a analysis of the weather in the main cities of France last year from Meteo France.

The least sunny place was Brest; Nancy had the lowest average temperature, and three cities tied for being the driest places to live in France – Marseille, Aix en Provence and Perpignan.

Meteo France report that 2006 was the third hottest year on record since 1950, with temperatures 1.1°C above average. The main contributing factor was a particularly mild autumn, despite below average temperatures for the first quarter of the year.

Sunshine days were above normal in the south and west of France, although lower than normal in the Ile de France and Burgundy.

In the following table, sunshine figures are hours in the year; temperatures are average shade over the year; and rainfall figures are days in which at least 1mm fell.

Weather in France 2006

Source: Meteo France