2026 ranking · sunshine

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

Q: What is the sunniest large city in Grand Est?

Colmar (Haut-Rhin) is the sunniest large city in Grand Est, with 1,882 hours of sunshine a year on average.

Colmar (Haut-Rhin) is the sunniest large city in Grand Est, with 1,882 hours of sunshine a year on average. Next come Troyes (Aube, 1,851 hours a year) and Metz (Moselle, 1,833 hours a year).

16 towns ranked out of 5,115

Colmar, 1^stThe next 15

The podium

Photos: © sinava-- from Berlin, CC BY 2.0

This ranking covers 16 of the 5,115 towns in Grand Est. Not ranked: towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants and towns without a Météo-France station within 30 km and 300 m of elevation. At the other end of the ranking, Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) comes last with 1,576 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 Grand Est

Rank	Town	Department	Hours of sunshine per year	Population
1	Colmar	Haut-Rhin (68)	1,882	68,013
2	Troyes	Aube (10)	1,851	63,254
3 tied	Metz	Moselle (57)	1,833	124,396
3 tied	Montigny-lès-Metz	Moselle (57)	1,833	22,065
5 tied	Mulhouse	Haut-Rhin (68)	1,819	106,083
5 tied	Saint-Louis	Haut-Rhin (68)	1,819	23,072
7	Sarreguemines	Moselle (57)	1,778	20,549
8	Saint-Dizier	Haute-Marne (52)	1,776	23,281
9	Épinal	Vosges (88)	1,760	33,395
10 tied	Strasbourg	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,747	296,552
10 tied	Schiltigheim	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,747	34,922
10 tied	Illkirch-Graffenstaden	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,747	28,336
10 tied	Lingolsheim	Bas-Rhin (67)	1,747	20,987
14 tied	Nancy	Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)	1,708	104,988
14 tied	Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy	Meurthe-et-Moselle (54)	1,708	30,204
16	Charleville-Mézières	Ardennes (08)	1,576	46,473

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 Grand Est: FAQ

What is the sunniest large city in Grand Est?

Colmar (Haut-Rhin) is the sunniest large city in Grand Est, with 1,882 hours of sunshine a year on average.

What are the 10 sunniest large cities in Grand Est?

In order: Colmar (1,882 hours a year), Troyes (1,851 hours a year), Metz (1,833 hours a year), Montigny-lès-Metz (1,833 hours a year), Mulhouse (1,819 hours a year), Saint-Louis (1,819 hours a year), Sarreguemines (1,778 hours a year), Saint-Dizier (1,776 hours a year), Épinal (1,760 hours a year), and Strasbourg (1,747 hours a year).

How many towns in Grand Est are ranked?

16 out of 5,115. 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.