Climate in France

The climate in France varies with the region. There are five reasonably distinct climate areas.

1. Northern coastal regions have a temperate climate with mild minters and warm but not very hot summers, much like England. Rain is reasonably frequent all year around, and the weather can be very unpredictable.

2. South-west France - Aquitaine and Poitou-Charente - have generally mild winters and warm-hot summers, with substantially less rainfall than the northern part of the country. Thunderstorms are common in the summer.

3. Central / inland France has a more continental climate, with harsher winters and hotter summers, and less rain than the coastal regions. The southern part of the country is again significantly drier and warmer than the northern part.

4. Mediterranean coast - Provence, Languedoc Roussillon - and inland for about 30 km, and Corsica, have a typical Mediterranean climate - hot days in the summer, and winters are generally mild and short. This is the region of France with the most days of sunshine each year. A strong northerly wind, the Mistral, blows through this area, and can cause periods of cold windy weather even in late spring. Thunderstorms are very common in the summer.

5. Mountains - especially in the Alps, but also the Massif central and the Pyrenees, at high altitudes, winters are long and cold with substantial snowfall, that often will not clear from the high roads until very late spring.