2026 ranking · sunshine

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

Q: What is the sunniest large city in Normandy?

Caen (Calvados) and Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados) are tied as the sunniest large cities in Normandy, with 1,746 hours of sunshine a year on average.

Caen (Calvados) and Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados) are tied as the sunniest large cities in Normandy, with 1,746 hours of sunshine a year on average.

13 towns ranked out of 2,644

Caen, 1^stThe next 12

The podium

Photos: © Pascal Radigue, CC BY-SA 3.0

This ranking covers 13 of the 2,644 towns in Normandy. 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, 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 Normandy

Rank	Town	Department	Hours of sunshine per year	Population
1 tied	Caen	Calvados (14)	1,746	111,546
1 tied	Hérouville-Saint-Clair	Calvados (14)	1,746	23,672
3	Alençon	Orne (61)	1,727	26,175
4 tied	Évreux	Eure (27)	1,690	50,601
4 tied	Vernon	Eure (27)	1,690	25,873
6 tied	Le Havre	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,651	168,588
6 tied	Lisieux	Calvados (14)	1,651	20,196
8 tied	Rouen	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	119,165
8 tied	Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	29,760
8 tied	Sotteville-lès-Rouen	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	29,464
8 tied	Le Grand-Quevilly	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	25,999
8 tied	Le Petit-Quevilly	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	22,477
8 tied	Mont-Saint-Aignan	Seine-Maritime (76)	1,554	20,598

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 Normandy: FAQ

What is the sunniest large city in Normandy?

Caen (Calvados) and Hérouville-Saint-Clair (Calvados) are tied as the sunniest large cities in Normandy, with 1,746 hours of sunshine a year on average.

What are the 10 sunniest large cities in Normandy?

In order: Caen (1,746 hours a year), Hérouville-Saint-Clair (1,746 hours a year), Alençon (1,727 hours a year), Évreux (1,690 hours a year), Vernon (1,690 hours a year), Le Havre (1,651 hours a year), Lisieux (1,651 hours a year), Rouen (1,554 hours a year), Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray (1,554 hours a year), and Sotteville-lès-Rouen (1,554 hours a year).

How many towns in Normandy are ranked?

13 out of 2,644. 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.