Places where the middle of winter is cool, dry walking weather rather than cold or wet. Of 2,596 towns and cities that draw visitors around the world, 486 rate Good or better in January. These 20 are the best of them, spread so that no one corner of the map fills the list.
The shortlist
- 191 · IdealSanta MonicaCalifornia, United States
Midday in January feels like 15°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 91, Ideal, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about ten months, from mid September to early July. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 290 · IdealMarrakechMorocco
Rated 90 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 15°C, with mostly clear skies. Good weather here runs from November to April, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 389 · IdealTempeArizona, United States
Rated 89 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 13°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about four and a half months, from mid November to March. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 487 · IdealAl ‘AqabahJordan
A typical midday in January feels like 15°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 87 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late November to March, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 587 · IdealAlmeríaSpain
A typical midday in January feels like 12°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 87 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about seven and a half months, from late October to May. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 687 · Ideal
Midday in January feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 87, Ideal, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from late October to mid May, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 786 · IdealArequipaPeru
Midday in January feels like 15°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 86, Ideal, for active 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 January.
- 886 · IdealMexicaliMexico
Rated 86 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 16°C, with mostly clear skies. Good weather here runs from mid November to March, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 986 · IdealPokharaNepal
A typical midday in January feels like 16°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 86 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about three and a half months, from late November to early March. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1086 · IdealLahorePakistan
Midday in January feels like 13°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 86, Ideal, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from mid November to early March, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 1186 · IdealAntofagastaChile
Rated 86 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 19°C, with mostly clear skies. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 1285 · IdealCuscoPeru
Midday in January feels like 15°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 85, Ideal, for active outdoors. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1385 · IdealCoquimboChile
A typical midday in January feels like 17°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 85 over the stretch. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 1485 · IdealChefchaoueneMorocco
Rated 85 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 12°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about seven and a half months, from late October to May. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1585 · IdealSousseTunisia
Midday in January feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 85, Ideal, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from November to mid May, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 1684 · IdealAlwarIndia
A typical midday in January feels like 16°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 84 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about two and a half months, from December to mid February. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1783 · IdealIpialesColombia
Rated 83 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 15°C, with often cloudy skies. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. See mid January on the map.
- 1883 · IdealSan Juan del RíoMexico
Midday in January feels like 16°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 83, Ideal, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about eight months, from mid August to early April. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1983 · IdealFaroPortugal
Midday in January feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 83, Ideal, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from mid October to mid June, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 2082 · IdealRudarpurIndia
A typical midday in January feels like 14°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 82 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about three months, from December to February. Open it on the map at mid January.
By region
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 January; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Active outdoors: A mild feels-like gates the score — best 10–20 °C, cool enough for hiking, cycling and running. Dryness matters most, with a penalty for strong wind. 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 the list from being one coastline, entries are at least 300 km apart, no more than five come from any one region of the world, and no more than two from one country unless the list would otherwise run short. A higher-scoring place can be left out for that reason.
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.