Aix en Provence the Sunniest Place in France

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.

Table: Weather in France 2006

City	Sunshine	Temperature	Rainfall
Amiens	1624	10.1	126
Aix en Provence	2801	15.1	56
Angers	1944	11.9	111
Bescancon	1797	10.6	140
Bordeaux	1992	13.3	128
Boulogne-Billancourt	1630	12.1	111
Brest	1492	11.3	156
Clermont-Ferrand	1898	11.2	90
Caen	1624	10.9	124
Dijon	1789	10.8	115
Grenoble	2020	10.8	110
Le Havre	1518	10.1	132
Le Mans	1728	11.6	114
Lille	1617	10.4	126
Limoges	1870	11.1	136
Lyon	1932	11.9	107
Marseille	2801	15.1	56
Mulhouse	1724	10.4	120
Metz	1604	10.3	123
Montpelier	2618	14.7	60
Nancy	1638	10	123
Nimes	2588	14.8	68
Nice	2693	15.6	63
Nantes	1690	12.2	120
Orléans	1711	11	113
Paris	1630	12.1	111
Perpignan	2392	15.4	56
Poitiers	1867	11.5	112
Rennes	1626	11.8	116
Rouen	1518	10.1	132
Reims	1722	10.3	113
Saint-Etienne	2007	10.9	98
Strasbourg	1633	10.5	112
Toulon	2786	16.2	61
Toulouse	2010	13.3	99
Tours	1802	11.4	113

Source: Meteo France