Places where the middle of winter is cool, dry walking weather rather than cold or wet. 1,033 towns and cities that draw visitors in Europe were scored in January, and 149 rate Good or better. The 14 below lead, spread across the region.
Where to go
- 187 · IdealAlmeríaSpain
A typical midday in January feels like 12°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 87 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late October to May, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 287 · Ideal
Rated 87 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 12°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about seven months, from late October to mid May. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 386 · IdealAlicanteSpain
Midday in January feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 86, Ideal, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from late October to mid May, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 483 · IdealLas PalmasSpain
Las Palmas is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. A typical midday in January feels like 16°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 83 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about eight and a half months, from November to early July. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 583 · IdealArrecifeSpain
Arrecife is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. Rated 83 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 17°C, with partly cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from mid November to May, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 682 · IdealLarnacaCyprus
Midday in January feels like 13°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 82, Ideal, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about five and a half months, from mid November to April. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 781 · IdealVallettaMalta
A typical midday in January feels like 11°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 81 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late October to May, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 880 · IdealCataniaItaly
Rated 80 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 11°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about seven months, from November to May. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 979 · GoodAngra do HeroísmoPortugal
Rated 79 (Good) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 13°C, with often cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from mid October to early July, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 1078 · GoodPonta DelgadaPortugal
Midday in January feels like 14°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 78, Good, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about eight and a half months, from late October to June. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1176 · Good
Los Llanos de Aridane is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. A typical midday in January feels like 17°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 76 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about seven and a half months, from late November to early July. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1275 · GoodTrapaniItaly
Midday in January feels like 10°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 75, Good, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from late October to May, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 1372 · GoodRódosGreece
Rated 72 (Good) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 11°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about six and a half months, from November to early May. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1466 · GoodSiteíaGreece
A typical midday in January feels like 9°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 66 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from mid October to May, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
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 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 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.