2026 ranking · sunshine

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

Q: What is the sunniest large city in Occitanie?

Montpellier (Hérault), Sète (Hérault), Lunel (Hérault), and Castelnau-le-Lez (Hérault) are tied as the sunniest large cities in Occitanie, with 2,705 hours of sunshine a year on average.

Montpellier (Hérault), Sète (Hérault), Lunel (Hérault), and Castelnau-le-Lez (Hérault) are tied as the sunniest large cities in Occitanie, with 2,705 hours of sunshine a year on average.

21 towns ranked out of 4,446

Montpellier, 1^stThe next 19

The podium

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

This ranking covers 21 of the 4,446 towns in Occitanie. 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, Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) comes last with 1,964 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 Occitanie

Rank	Town	Department	Hours of sunshine per year	Population
1 tied	Montpellier	Hérault (34)	2,705	313,712
1 tied	Sète	Hérault (34)	2,705	45,901
1 tied	Lunel	Hérault (34)	2,705	26,923
1 tied	Castelnau-le-Lez	Hérault (34)	2,705	26,449
1 tied	Frontignan	Hérault (34)	2,705	24,383
6	Nîmes	Gard (30)	2,680	154,017
7	Perpignan	Pyrénées-Orientales (66)	2,489	123,136
8	Rodez	Aveyron (12)	2,193	25,685
9	Carcassonne	Aude (11)	2,170	47,153
10	Cahors	Lot (46)	2,142	20,887
11	Albi	Tarn (81)	2,134	52,783
12	Montauban	Tarn-et-Garonne (82)	2,104	64,523
13 tied	Toulouse	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	519,940
13 tied	Colomiers	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	41,337
13 tied	Tournefeuille	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	30,774
13 tied	Blagnac	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	28,047
13 tied	Muret	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	26,618
13 tied	Plaisance-du-Touch	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	21,443
13 tied	Cugnaux	Haute-Garonne (31)	2,075	20,927
20	Auch	Gers (32)	1,976	23,451
21	Tarbes	Hautes-Pyrénées (65)	1,964	45,361

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 Occitanie: FAQ

What is the sunniest large city in Occitanie?

What are the 10 sunniest large cities in Occitanie?

In order: Montpellier (2,705 hours a year), Sète (2,705 hours a year), Lunel (2,705 hours a year), Castelnau-le-Lez (2,705 hours a year), Frontignan (2,705 hours a year), Nîmes (2,680 hours a year), Perpignan (2,489 hours a year), Rodez (2,193 hours a year), Carcassonne (2,170 hours a year), and Cahors (2,142 hours a year).

How many towns in Occitanie are ranked?

21 out of 4,446. 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.