Lisbon · July · relief from the heat

Coolest places to go from Lisbon in July

In July, the coolest well-known place within 15 hours of Lisbon is Reykjavik, Iceland, 11.4 °C cooler than Lisbon and 9.5 h sun a day, about 7h 24m each way by air. Without flying, it is Lugo, Spain, 4.1 °C cooler than Lisbon, about 8h 42m each way by train, for about 51× less carbon (14.6 kg CO₂e return against 741 kg).

The 10 coolest places within 15 hours of Lisbon

Ranked on relief from the heat in July 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.

Reykjavik, Iceland11.4 °C cooler · 9.5 h sun a day · 2.9 mm rain a day · sea 11.1 °Cair ≈ 7h 24m · 741 kg CO₂e return
Sligo, Ireland8.7 °C cooler · 7.8 h sun a day · 6.3 mm rain a day · sea 15.5 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 435 kg CO₂e return
Aberdeen, United Kingdom8.6 °C cooler · 10.7 h sun a day · 4.2 mm rain a day · sea 12.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 531 kg CO₂e return
Douglas, Isle of Man8.5 °C cooler · 10.2 h sun a day · 5.2 mm rain a day · sea 14.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 440 kg CO₂e return
Bergen, Norway8.2 °C cooler · 9.2 h sun a day · 7.7 mm rain a day · sea 15.1 °Cair ≈ 7h · 657 kg CO₂e return
Oldham, United Kingdom8.1 °C cooler · 9.4 h sun a day · 5.2 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 48m · 436 kg CO₂e return
Belfast, United Kingdom8.1 °C cooler · 9.5 h sun a day · 4.2 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 54m · 448 kg CO₂e return
Tralee, Ireland8.1 °C cooler · 8.6 h sun a day · 5.6 mm rain a dayair ≈ 5h 30m · 379 kg CO₂e return
Östersund, Sweden8.0 °C cooler · 12.0 h sun a day · 4.4 mm rain a dayair ≈ 7h 42m · 792 kg CO₂e return
Haugesund, Norway7.9 °C cooler · 10.8 h sun a day · 7.0 mm rain a day · sea 15.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 633 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The coolest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Lugo is 4.1 °C cooler for 14.6 kg — about 51× less carbon than flying to Reykjavik.

Lugo, Spain4.1 °C cooler · 12.2 h sun a day · mostly dryrail ≈ 8h 42m · 14.6 kg CO₂e return
Oviedo, Spain3.8 °C cooler · 10.0 h sun a day · 1.9 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 10h 18m · 17.3 kg CO₂e return
Santiago de Compostela, Spain3.0 °C cooler · 12.0 h sun a day · 1.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 8h 18m · 13.7 kg CO₂e return
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain2.8 °C cooler · 11.6 h sun a day · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 18m · 21.0 kg CO₂e return
Porto, Portugal2.7 °C cooler · 13.0 h sun a day · mostly dry · sea 16.6 °Crail ≈ 4h 24m · 8.1 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 Lisbon in July within 15 hours is Reykjavik, 11.4 °C cooler, costing 741 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Figueira da Foz Municipality at 4.7 kg — 158× less carbon, for 8.7 degrees less relief from the heat.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both cooler in July 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 Lisbon. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Quimper can only be reached by air — 279 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 32.7 kg in 17h 36m — 9× less carbon for 12h 36m more travelling.

July from Lisbon — 7 destinations on the frontier, 2 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Figueira da Foz Municipality, Portugal	Rail	4.7 kg	19.6 °C	12.8 h	0.2 mm	3h 48m
Lalin, Spain	Rail	13.2 kg	18.1 °C	12.3 h	0.9 mm	8h
Quimper, France	Air	279 kg	17.0 °C	9.7 h	4.1 mm	5h
Falmouth, United Kingdom	Air	330 kg	16.0 °C	9.7 h	4.1 mm	5h 12m
Cork, Ireland	Air	369 kg	14.8 °C	8.9 h	3.9 mm	5h 30m
Ebbw Vale, United Kingdom	Air	383 kg	13.7 °C	9.4 h	4.4 mm	5h 30m
Reykjavik, Iceland	Air	741 kg	10.9 °C	9.5 h	2.9 mm	7h 24m

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 Lalin (13.2 kg, 4.2 °C cooler) to Quimper (279 kg, 5.3 °C cooler) buys 1.1 °C more relief from the heat for an extra 266 kg — 241 kg of CO₂e per degree. That single step is the most expensive relief from the heat on the whole curve.

The pick of them

Figueira da Foz MunicipalityPortugal4.7 kg CO₂e return19.6 °C · 12.8 h sun · 3h 48m by railwarm, bright and dry

LalinSpain13.2 kg CO₂e return18.1 °C · 12.3 h sun · 8h by railwarm, bright and dry

ReykjavikIceland741 kg CO₂e return10.9 °C · 9.5 h sun · 7h 24m by airmild and bright

The same month, asked differently

July 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 Reykjavik

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

Search places to stay in Reykjavik →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 Lisbon

July from elsewhere

Photo credits

Figueira da Foz Municipality: Threeohsix, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lalin: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reykjavik: Hedwig Storch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sligo: Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Aberdeen: Ragazzi00, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Douglas: Jim Linwood, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bergen: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Oldham: Matt from Oldham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tralee: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Östersund: Lars Falkdalen Lindahl (User:Njaelkies Lea), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Haugesund: Efarestv, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lugo: Fausto Alava-Moreno, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Oviedo: javier.losa, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Santiago de Compostela: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vitoria-Gasteiz: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the coolest place to go from Lisbon in July?

Reykjavik, Iceland, at 11.4 °C cooler. Reaching it emits 741 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 24m each way by air (modelled).

Can I get somewhere cool from Lisbon in July without flying?

Yes. Lalin reaches 4.2 °C cooler and is reachable by rail or ferry in 8h (modelled), emitting 13.2 kg CO₂e return — though Reykjavik is cooler still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Lisbon to Reykjavik produce?

741 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.