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Climate
The climate in
France is temperate on the whole, without
any extremes.
France has a great diversity of climates,
being exposed at the same time to
continental, oceanic and Mediterranean
influences:
In the west the climate is oceanic.
Frequent rain falls all year round but it
is rarely very heavy. Winters are mild and
wet, especially on the coast in Britanny,
Cotentin and the Basque country. Summers
are quite cool. While the sky is often
grey in the area of the North Sea and on
the coast, it is quite sunny around the
Arcachon basin as well as in the zone of
the Loire estuary (Nantes).
Some islands in Britanny, particularly
Brehat off Paimpol, or Belle-Ile to the
south of Quiberon, enjoy a micro-climate
which is relatively milder, dryer and
sunnier than on the continent (palm trees,
fig trees and mimosa grow
unprotected).
The temperature of the Atlantic Ocean is
never very warm : it can go up to
17°C in June and 20° in August.
On the southern coast of Brittany it is
usually 2° lower and on the coast of
the English Channel in Saint Malo the sea
temperature is 15° and 18° in
June and August respectively.
In the central regions, like the Parisian
basin, the Val de Loire, the Nivernais,
Champagne, etc, the seasons are very
varied : the winters are cold and the
summers are hot. There is less rainfall
than on the Atlantic coast. The coldest
winters have however been recorded in the
north-east of France (not counting the
mountain areas). Spring and autumn are
short, and if summers can be hot and
sometimes stormy, the evenings tend to
still be very cool.
The mountains : Winters are cold in the
Alps, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central,
the Vosges and the Jura and the summers
are hot and stormy. There is an enomous
difference in the day and night time
temperatures.
In some departments like the Jura and the
Doubs record low temperatures have been
noted. At an altitude there is more fog in
summer than in winter.
Best
times to visit the country :
The best
period to visit most of France is June,
July and August.
We don't advise visiting between November
and April, unless you are intending to go
on a skiing holiday. In the south the
weather is usually very pleasant from the
end of April to the end of September.
Average
Temperatures (max/min) :
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Jan.
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Feb.
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Mar.
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April
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May
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June
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July
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Aug.
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Sept
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Oct.
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Nov.
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Dec.
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Ajaccio
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13/4
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14/4
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15/5
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17/7
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21/10
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25/14
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27/16
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28/16
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25/14
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22/11
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17/7
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14/5
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Bordeaux
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9/2
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11/3
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14/4
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16/6
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20/9
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23/12
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24/14
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24/14
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23/12
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18/9
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13/5
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10/3
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Brest
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9/4
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9/4
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11/5
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12/6
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15/8
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18/10
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20/12
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20/13
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18/11
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15/9
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11/6
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10/5
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Lille
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5/0
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6/0
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10/2
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13/4
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17/8
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20/10
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22/12
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22/12
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19/10
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15/7
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9/3
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6/1
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Limoges
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7/0
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9/0
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12/2
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15/4
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19/7
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22/10
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24/12
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24/12
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21/9
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17/6
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11/3
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8/1
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Lyon
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6/0
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8/1
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12/3
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15/5
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20/9
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23/13
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26/15
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25/14
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22/12
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16/8
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10/3
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6/1
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Nancy
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4/-2
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6/-1
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10/1
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14/3
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18/7
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22/11
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23/12
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23/12
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20/9
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15/6
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8/2
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5/0
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Nice
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12/5
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13/5
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14/7
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17/9
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20/13
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23/16
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26/19
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26/19
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24/16
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20/13
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16/8
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14/6
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Paris
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6/2
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8/2
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11/4
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15/7
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19/10
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22/13
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24/15
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23/15
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21/12
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16/9
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10/5
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7/3
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Perpignan
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12/4
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13/5
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15/7
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18/9
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22/13
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26/16
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29/19
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28/18
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25/16
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20/12
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15/7
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13/5
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Insects
and animals
Wolves :
in the Gévaudan park, near the
village of Sainte-Lucie in
Lozère
Przewalski horses (originally from
Mongolia): at 1000m altitude on the
Méjean limestone plateau in
Lozère
Vultures : which had disappeared for 50
years, there are now over 200 in the
gorges of the Jonte
European bison : they had disappeared from
France, now there are 40 bisons near the
village Sainte Eulalie in
Lozère.
Wild boar, deer, birds like the crested
grebe and the heron....
There are white horses, black bulls and
pink flamingoes in the Camargues in the
south - and lots of mosquitoes (but no
risk of malaria).
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