Here are Europe’s sunniest and rainiest cities
This summer, we dive into some figures about Europe's most popular destinations. This week: Where are Europe’s sunniest and rainiest cities?
Published on July 24, 2025
The Roman theatre of Cartagena - © Unsplash
Mauro swapped Sardinia for Eindhoven and has been an IO+ editor for 3 years. As a GREEN+ expert, he covers the energy transition with data-driven stories.
After months of clouds and rain, summer is the time of the year to stock up on vitamin D. And while summer months are the best time to enjoy the sunshine, you might want to catch some sun during the darkest months. We got you covered: here is the list of the cities with the most sun hours across the continent.
Destination: data
Where are Europe's cleanest waters to swim? Where can you enjoy more hours of sunshine? This summer, we dive into some figures about Europe's most popular destinations.
View Destination: dataSpain and Italy are home to the sunniest cities
Holiday rental portal Holidu analyzed data from World Weather Online to compile a ranking of the top 30 sunniest cities in Europe. The analysis considered towns with over 200,000 inhabitants, sampling data from 2009 to 2025. The result? As you might expect, it is not surprising many Spanish cities claim a spot on the list, with Cartagena — located in the region of Murcia — ranking as the sunniest, with an average of 283 hours of sunshine per month. This is much more of the European average of 150 to 170 hours of sunlight per month.
Closeby Alicante, Malaga, Murcia, and Granada follow the leader of this ranking, as the Sicilian city of Catania is the first non-Spanish city to make it into the ranking. Many Italian towns made the list, including some of the South's favorite destinations, such as Naples and Palermo, as well as Turin and Bologna.
Overall, the list featured the main capital cities of Southern Europe. We also ranked the European capitals by the average number of hours of sunshine per year. And you might not have expected this, but several Eastern European capitals also enjoy over 2,000 hours of sun yearly — equivalent to more than 83 full days. On the lower spots of the chart are Reykjavik — the darkest of them all, also given its latitude — Dublin, and Brussels.
Norway and the UK: home to the wettest cities
If knowing where to be (nearly) sure to catch some sun is undoubtedly useful, so is knowing where the weather is often wet. Holidu also compiled a list of Europe’s rainiest cities, taking into consideration the top 300 populated cities. The rainiest of them all is Bergen, Norway, with an average daily rainfall of 8.8 millimeters. For reference, daily rainfall average in European capitals is approximately 2 millimeters. The second-largest town in the country, located on the southwestern coast, is exposed to rain showers, with up to 240 days of rain per year.
The United Kingdom is the most represented country in this top 30, with 12 cities listed in the ranking. Sunderland and Glasgow follow after Bergen. The Transylvanian city of Brasov in Romania, as well as the German city of Augsburg, also make it into the top 5. Milan, which was also featured on the list of sunniest cities in Europe, ranks 6th, with an average of 8 rainy days per month and an average daily rainfall of 5.7 millimeters.
And what about the capitals? We also compiled a list of rainiest European capitals. Podgorica, Ljubljana, and Tirana — also on the sunniest cities list — all have a yearly average rainfall of over 1000 millimeters.
Giving a new spin to weather forecasts with AI
Whether via mobile apps or news bulletins, checking the weather forecast is a daily habit for most of us. And for those that truly depend on every subtle weather change, such as the most passionate surfers, more options exist.
Thanks to the broader availability of meteorological data and computing power, weather prediction models have become significantly more powerful; nowadays, a four-day forecast is as accurate as a one-day forecast 30 years ago. Nevertheless, as the impact of climate change becomes more frequent or exacerbates extreme weather events, being prepared is as crucial as ever. Let alone the growth of renewables, which intrinsically depend on the weather. Given its ability to process extensive amounts of data, AI can play a pivotal role in enhancing forecasting.
An example is Beyond Weather, an Amsterdam-based startup that combines climate expertise with AI to develop reliable climate and impact-based weather forecasting. The company provides industry-specific forecasts, offering insights into energy, commodity, and early warning signs. This way, farmers and businesses can better anticipate the occurrence of an extreme weather event, better controlling risks.
