Largest City in France

2026 ranking · sunshine

The sunniest large cities in France (20,000+ inhabitants)

Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône), Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône), and Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) are tied as the sunniest large cities in France, with 2,898 hours of sunshine a year on average.

405 towns ranked out of 34,875

Marseille, 1stThe next 19

The podium

  1. View of Marseille 1stMarseille 2,898hrs/yr Bouches-du-Rhône
  2. View of Martigues 2ndMartigues 2,898hrs/yr Bouches-du-Rhône
  3. View of Istres 3rdIstres 2,898hrs/yr Bouches-du-Rhône

Photos: © Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Luk, CC BY-SA 3.0

This ranking covers 405 of the 34,875 towns in France. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and towns without a Météo-France station within 30 km and 300 m of elevation. The table is split into pages of 100 towns. At the other end of the ranking, Mont-Saint-Aignan (Seine-Maritime) comes last with 1,554 hours a year.

In France, a commune is the smallest unit of local government, from large cities to tiny villages. Paris, Lyon and Marseille are ranked as whole communes: their arrondissements (districts) have no rank of their own.

The ranking: sunniest large cities in France

Rank Town Department Hours of sunshine per year Proportional bar Population
1 tied Marseille Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 892,391
1 tied Martigues Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 48,807
1 tied Istres Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 44,953
1 tied Salon-de-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 44,736
1 tied Vitrolles Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 37,134
1 tied Marignane Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 33,957
1 tied Miramas Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 26,576
1 tied Les Pennes-Mirabeau Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,898 22,791
9 tied Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,873 152,854
9 tied Aubagne Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,873 47,920
9 tied Gardanne Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,873 21,934
9 tied Allauch Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,873 21,657
13 tied Avignon Vaucluse (84) 2,835 93,567
13 tied Carpentras Vaucluse (84) 2,835 32,388
13 tied Orange Vaucluse (84) 2,835 30,314
13 tied Cavaillon Vaucluse (84) 2,835 25,991
13 tied L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Vaucluse (84) 2,835 20,755
18 Ajaccio Corse-du-Sud (2A) 2,802 77,132
19 tied Mamoudzou Mayotte (976) 2,787 94,603
19 tied Koungou Mayotte (976) 2,787 36,971
19 tied Dembeni Mayotte (976) 2,787 20,387
19 tied Dzaoudzi Mayotte (976) 2,787 20,336
23 tied Nice Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,761 360,710
23 tied Antibes Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,761 78,612
23 tied Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,761 53,819
23 tied Saint-Laurent-du-Var Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,761 32,366
23 tied Menton Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,761 31,012
28 Draguignan Var (83) 2,752 41,617
29 tied Cannes Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,743 75,105
29 tied Fréjus Var (83) 2,743 60,503
29 tied Le Cannet Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,743 42,297
29 tied Saint-Raphaël Var (83) 2,743 37,704
29 tied Vallauris Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,743 29,509
29 tied Mandelieu-la-Napoule Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,743 21,845
29 tied Mougins Alpes-Maritimes (06) 2,743 20,142
36 tied Montpellier Hérault (34) 2,705 313,712
36 tied Sète Hérault (34) 2,705 45,901
36 tied Lunel Hérault (34) 2,705 26,923
36 tied Castelnau-le-Lez Hérault (34) 2,705 26,449
36 tied Frontignan Hérault (34) 2,705 24,383
41 tied Nîmes Gard (30) 2,680 154,017
41 tied Arles Bouches-du-Rhône (13) 2,680 52,515
43 Bastia Haute-Corse (2B) 2,645 47,374
44 tied Saint-Denis Réunion (974) 2,567 157,142
44 tied Saint-Paul Réunion (974) 2,567 109,405
44 tied Saint-André Réunion (974) 2,567 59,351
44 tied Saint-Benoît Réunion (974) 2,567 38,967
44 tied Sainte-Marie Réunion (974) 2,567 37,527
44 tied La Possession Réunion (974) 2,567 37,005
44 tied Le Port Réunion (974) 2,567 34,212
44 tied Sainte-Suzanne Réunion (974) 2,567 25,809
52 tied Fort-de-France Martinique (972) 2,489 76,120
52 tied Le Lamentin Martinique (972) 2,489 39,780
52 tied Le Robert Martinique (972) 2,489 21,651
55 Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales (66) 2,489 123,136
56 tied Les Abymes Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 51,441
56 tied Baie-Mahault Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 31,335
56 tied Le Gosier Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 27,983
56 tied Petit-Bourg Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 24,919
56 tied Sainte-Anne Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 24,204
56 tied Le Moule Guadeloupe (971) 2,448 23,249
62 Montélimar Drôme (26) 2,441 41,752
63 Les Sables-d'Olonne Vendée (85) 2,324 50,924
64 La Rochelle Charente-Maritime (17) 2,303 81,843
65 Rodez Aveyron (12) 2,193 25,685
66 Carcassonne Aude (11) 2,170 47,153
67 Aurillac Cantal (15) 2,146 27,578
68 Libourne Gironde (33) 2,142 25,591
69 Cahors Lot (46) 2,142 20,887
70 Albi Tarn (81) 2,134 52,783
71 tied La Teste-de-Buch Gironde (33) 2,121 27,909
71 tied Gujan-Mestras Gironde (33) 2,121 22,615
73 Voiron Isère (38) 2,108 22,415
74 Montauban Tarn-et-Garonne (82) 2,104 64,523
75 tied Toulouse Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 519,940
75 tied Colomiers Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 41,337
75 tied Tournefeuille Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 30,774
75 tied Blagnac Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 28,047
75 tied Muret Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 26,618
75 tied Plaisance-du-Touch Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 21,443
75 tied Cugnaux Haute-Garonne (31) 2,075 20,927
82 tied Bordeaux Gironde (33) 2,070 271,552
82 tied Mérignac Gironde (33) 2,070 78,946
82 tied Pessac Gironde (33) 2,070 68,102
82 tied Talence Gironde (33) 2,070 47,340
82 tied Villenave-d'Ornon Gironde (33) 2,070 42,858
82 tied Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Gironde (33) 2,070 33,398
82 tied Bègles Gironde (33) 2,070 32,221
82 tied Gradignan Gironde (33) 2,070 27,379
82 tied Cenon Gironde (33) 2,070 27,065
82 tied Lormont Gironde (33) 2,070 26,158
82 tied Le Bouscat Gironde (33) 2,070 25,441
82 tied Eysines Gironde (33) 2,070 25,154
82 tied Bruges Gironde (33) 2,070 20,233
95 Annecy Haute-Savoie (74) 2,069 134,985
96 tied Lyon Rhône (69) 2,050 525,314
96 tied Villeurbanne Rhône (69) 2,050 164,747
96 tied Vénissieux Rhône (69) 2,050 65,689
96 tied Vaulx-en-Velin Rhône (69) 2,050 53,281
96 tied Saint-Priest Rhône (69) 2,050 49,498

Source: Météo-France, climate data sheets (30-year normals); average annual hours of sunshine at the reference station, cities with 20,000 or more inhabitants. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and towns without a Météo-France station within 30 km and 300 m of elevation. Tied values share the same rank. Data sources.

FAQ

Sunniest large cities in France: FAQ

What is the sunniest large city in France?

Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône), Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône), and Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) are tied as the sunniest large cities in France, with 2,898 hours of sunshine a year on average.

What are the 10 sunniest large cities in France?

In order: Marseille (2,898 hours a year), Martigues (2,898 hours a year), Istres (2,898 hours a year), Salon-de-Provence (2,898 hours a year), Vitrolles (2,898 hours a year), Marignane (2,898 hours a year), Miramas (2,898 hours a year), Les Pennes-Mirabeau (2,898 hours a year), Aix-en-Provence (2,873 hours a year), and Aubagne (2,873 hours a year).

How many towns in France are ranked?

405 out of 34,875. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and towns without a Météo-France station within 30 km and 300 m of elevation.

Where do these figures come from?

They are Météo-France climate normals (30-year averages), recorded at the weather station closest to the town hall, no more than 30 km away and within 300 m of elevation: towns linked to the same station share the same value and are tied. Towns without a station close enough are not ranked. Only cities with 20,000 or more inhabitants are ranked here; towns with 2,000 or more inhabitants appear in the sunniest cities ranking.

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