Edinburgh · December · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Edinburgh in December

In December, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Edinburgh is Rovaniemi, Finland, 14.1 °C cooler than Edinburgh and 0.1 h sun a day, about 6h each way by air. Without flying, it is Siegen, Germany, 3.3 °C cooler than Edinburgh, about 14h 30m each way by train, for about 8× less carbon (59.8 kg CO₂e return against 481 kg).

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Edinburgh

Ranked on relief from the heat in December alone, among well-known places (a Wikivoyage travel guide and at least 40,000 Wikipedia readers a year), one per area and at most three per country. The carbon is shown, not used to choose: the list further down is the other question, how much relief from the heat each extra kilogram buys.

Rovaniemi, Finland14.1 °C cooler · 0.1 h sun a day · 1.2 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h · 481 kg CO₂e return
Tromsø, Norway12.3 °C cooler · 0.0 h sun a day · 3.8 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h · 471 kg CO₂e return
Joensuu, Finland12.2 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 6h 6m · 500 kg CO₂e return
Östersund, Sweden12.1 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 1.8 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 12m · 322 kg CO₂e return
Oulu, Finland12.0 °C cooler · 0.4 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 0.2 °Cair ≈ 6h · 463 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden11.7 °C cooler · 0.3 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a day · sea 0.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 434 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden11.4 °C cooler · 0.9 h sun a day · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 2.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 392 kg CO₂e return
Bodø, Norway10.4 °C cooler · 0.0 h sun a day · 7.8 mm rain a day · sea 6.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 391 kg CO₂e return
Oslo, Norway9.1 °C cooler · 1.8 h sun a day · 1.7 mm rain a dayair ≈ 4h 42m · 234 kg CO₂e return
Erzurum, Turkey9.1 °C cooler · 6.9 h sun a day · mostly dryair ≈ 8h 24m · 925 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The coolest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Siegen is 3.3 °C cooler for 59.8 kg — about 8× less carbon than flying to Rovaniemi.

Siegen, Germany3.3 °C cooler · 1.7 h sun a day · 4.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 30m · 59.8 kg CO₂e return
Geneva, Switzerland3.0 °C cooler · 5.0 h sun a day · 4.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 64.9 kg CO₂e return
Luxembourg, Luxembourg2.6 °C cooler · 1.8 h sun a day · 2.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 42m · 57.4 kg CO₂e return
Basel, Switzerland2.5 °C cooler · 3.7 h sun a day · 3.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 36m · 63.8 kg CO₂e return
Saarbrücken, Germany2.5 °C cooler · 2.1 h sun a day · 2.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 42m · 59.6 kg CO₂e return
Idar-Oberstein, Germany2.5 °C cooler · 1.9 h sun a day · 2.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 30m · 59.5 kg CO₂e return

≈ is the model's estimate (air times include getting to and through the airport); ✓ is a rail journey checked against a real timetable, with the date it was checked. Temperatures are historical daily means for 2023–2024, averaged across day and night, so afternoons run warmer.

The low-carbon trade-off

The coolest place you can reach from Edinburgh in December within 15 hours is Rovaniemi, 14.1 °C cooler, costing 481 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Arlon at 56.7 kg — 8× less carbon, for 11.4 degrees less relief from the heat.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both cooler in December and lower in carbon. Anything a better option beats outright has been left out.

Where they are. Solid lines are rail or ferry, dashed are flights, from Edinburgh. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against relief from the heat, December, departing Edinburgh. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

December from Edinburgh — 8 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Arlon, Belgium	Rail	56.7 kg	3.6 °C	1.8 h	3.0 mm	12h 54m
Schmallenberg, Germany	Rail	60.2 kg	2.8 °C	1.6 h	4.6 mm	14h 48m
Bergen, Norway	Air	176 kg	1.1 °C	1.3 h	10.4 mm	4h 24m
Skien, Norway	Air	212 kg	-1.3 °C	2.1 h	2.8 mm	4h 36m
Drammen, Norway	Air	225 kg	-3.4 °C	2.1 h	2.8 mm	4h 42m
Lillehammer, Norway	Air	246 kg	-6.0 °C	1.9 h	1.9 mm	4h 48m
Tornio, Finland	Air	458 kg	-7.0 °C	0.1 h	1.4 mm	5h 54m
Rovaniemi, Finland	Air	481 kg	-7.8 °C	0.1 h	1.2 mm	6h

Warm is not the same as pleasant, which is why sunshine and rainfall are shown alongside temperature. All three are ERA5 monthly means for 2023–2024.

Where the curve breaks

The frontier is gentle until it isn't. Going from Lillehammer (246 kg, 12.3 °C cooler) to Tornio (458 kg, 13.3 °C cooler) buys 1.0 °C more relief from the heat for an extra 212 kg — 212 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive relief from the heat on the whole curve.

The pick of them

ArlonBelgium56.7 kg CO₂e return3.6 °C · 1.8 h sun · 12h 54m by railgrey and wet SchmallenbergGermany60.2 kg CO₂e return2.8 °C · 1.6 h sun · 14h 48m by railgrey and wet RovaniemiFinland481 kg CO₂e return-7.8 °C · 0.1 h sun · 6h by aircool

The same month, asked differently

December answers differently depending on what you are after, and the lists genuinely diverge: the brightest places are not the hottest, and in summer the useful question stops being where is warm at all.

Where to stay in Rovaniemi

Places to stay in Rovaniemi, Finland, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Rovaniemi →Opens the booking search in a new tab. Same partners as the map below.

Affiliate disclosure. A booking made through this map may earn 0xCarbon a commission, at no extra cost to you. It changes nothing above it: the emissions figures come from UK Government conversion factors and are computed before anyone is paid anything.See the method.

Other months from Edinburgh

December from elsewhere

Photo credits

Arlon: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tromsø: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Östersund: Lars Falkdalen Lindahl (User:Njaelkies Lea), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luleå: Andreas Harnemo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Umeå: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodø: Røed 20:41, 24 July 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Oslo: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luxembourg: Pierre Blaché from Paris, France, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saarbrücken: Dirk Weishaar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the coolest place to go from Edinburgh in December?

Rovaniemi, Finland, at 14.1 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 481 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere cool from Edinburgh in December without flying?

Yes. Schmallenberg reaches 3.5 °C cooler and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 48m (modelled), emitting 60.2 kg CO₂e return — though Rovaniemi is cooler still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Edinburgh to Rovaniemi produce?

481 kg CO₂e for one person, return, by air. That uses the UK Government's 2026 conversion factors, including radiative forcing for flights.

Carbon uses UK Government (DESNZ/DEFRA) 2026 conversion factors applied to great-circle distance, with radiative forcing included for flights. Rail journey times are modelled estimates, not timetabled services. Full method · download the data.