Not beach weather — nowhere in Europe has that in winter — but mild, dry days for a coffee in the square. 1,033 towns and cities that draw visitors in Europe were scored from December to February, and 31 rate Fair or better. The eleven below lead, spread across the region.
The shortlist
- 179 · GoodArrecifeSpain
Arrecife is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. Midday from December to February feels like 18°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 79, Good, for easy outdoors. Good weather here runs from September to mid August, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 275 · Good
Los Llanos de Aridane is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. A typical midday from December to February feels like 18°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 75 over the stretch. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 375 · GoodLas PalmasSpain
Las Palmas is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. A typical midday from December to February feels like 17°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 75 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.
- 451 · FairLarnacaCyprus
Rated 51 (Fair) for easy outdoors from December to February: midday feels like 14°C, with partly cloudy skies. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 548 · FairPonta DelgadaPortugal
Rated 48 (Fair) for easy outdoors from December to February: midday feels like 14°C, with partly cloudy skies. Wet spells are common at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 645 · FairAlicanteSpain
Midday from December to February feels like 13°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 45, Fair, for easy outdoors. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 745 · FairAlmeríaSpain
Midday from December to February feels like 13°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 45, Fair, for easy outdoors. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 842 · Fair
A typical midday from December to February feels like 13°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 42 over the stretch. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 941 · FairRódosGreece
A typical midday from December to February feels like 13°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 41 over the stretch. See mid January on the map.
- 1040 · FairAngra do HeroísmoPortugal
Rated 40 (Fair) for easy outdoors from December to February: midday feels like 13°C, with often cloudy skies. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1137 · FairKalamátaGreece
Midday from December to February feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 37, Fair, for easy outdoors. Open it on the map at mid January.
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 from December to February; 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.