Comfortable, dry August days in places that do not feel hotter than 26°C. 1,033 towns and cities that draw visitors in Europe were scored in August, and 620 rate Good or better. The 15 below lead, spread across the region.
The shortlist
- 188 · IdealGijónSpain
A typical midday in August feels like 23°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 88 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late May to October, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 284 · IdealPortoPortugal
Rated 84 (Ideal) for easy outdoors in August: midday feels like 22°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about six months, from May to October. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 384 · IdealSantanderSpain
Rated 84 (Ideal) for easy outdoors in August: midday feels like 23°C, with partly cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from late May to October, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 480 · IdealGdańskPoland
Midday in August feels like 20°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 80, Ideal, for easy outdoors. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from June to mid September. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 580 · IdealLisieuxFrance
Midday in August feels like 20°C under usually overcast skies, which rates 80, Ideal, for easy outdoors. Good weather here runs from June to September, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 680 · IdealCromerUnited Kingdom
A typical midday in August feels like 18°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 80 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from mid June to mid September. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 779 · GoodDruskininkaiLithuania
A typical midday in August feels like 21°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 79 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late May to mid September, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 879 · GoodPalangaLithuania
Rated 79 (Good) for easy outdoors in August: midday feels like 20°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from June to mid September. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 977 · GoodAntwerpBelgium
Rated 77 (Good) for easy outdoors in August: midday feels like 21°C, with often cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from late May to September, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 1077 · Good
Los Llanos de Aridane is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. Midday in August feels like 25°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 77, Good, for easy outdoors. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 1172 · GoodAngra do HeroísmoPortugal
Rated 72 (Good) for easy outdoors in August: midday feels like 25°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about seven and a half months, from late April to early December. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 1269 · GoodCorigliano CalabroItaly
A typical midday in August feels like 22°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 69 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from June to mid September, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid August on the map.
- 1368 · GoodFunchalPortugal
Funchal is on Madeira, not on the mainland. A typical midday in August feels like 25°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 68 over the stretch. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid August.
- 1465 · GoodCovasnaRomania
Midday in August feels like 22°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 65, Good, for easy outdoors. Good weather here runs from June to mid September, so there is room either side. See mid August on the map.
- 1564 · GoodChisinauMoldova
A typical midday in August feels like 25°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 64 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about four and a half months, from late May to September. Open it on the map at mid August.
Places with a guide of their own
Ranked the same way, but only among the places that have a guide of their own:
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged in August; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Easy outdoors: A comfortable feels-like gates the score — best 16–26 °C for an easy day out (strolling, sitting out, sightseeing). Dryness matters most; strong wind knocks it back. Sun is a bonus, not required. A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain.
The spread
To keep one warm corner from filling the list, entries are at least 150 km apart, no more than three sit within 1,000 km of each other, and no more than three come from one country unless the list would otherwise run short.
Only places that draw visitors
Towns and cities with plenty of hotels, guest houses and holiday lets nearby for their size, or a great many of them in all, counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset. That keeps out places the weather favours but nobody travels to. Where two places share one resort or city, the one a visitor would name is kept.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.