Brussels · April · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Brussels in April

In April, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Brussels is Ouarzazate, Morocco, 12.2 h of sun a day and 20.8 °C, about 6h 42m each way by air. Without flying, it is Madrid, Spain, 11.9 h of sun a day, about 14h 36m each way by train, for about 16× less carbon (38.8 kg CO₂e return against 604 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Brussels

Ranked on sunshine in April 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 sunshine each extra kilogram buys.

Ouarzazate, Morocco12.2 h · 20.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 42m · 604 kg CO₂e return
Agadir, Morocco12.1 h · 20.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 18.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 641 kg CO₂e return
Ávila, Spain12.1 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 18m · 335 kg CO₂e return
Granada, Spain12.0 h · 16.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 42m · 414 kg CO₂e return
Cagliari, Italy12.0 h · 15.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 18m · 338 kg CO₂e return
Essaouira, Morocco12.0 h · 18.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 17.3 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 615 kg CO₂e return
Portimão, Portugal11.9 h · 17.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 16.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 461 kg CO₂e return
Madrid, Spain11.9 h · 15.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 36m · 38.8 kg CO₂e return
Olbia, Italy11.9 h · 15.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 15.2 °Cair ≈ 5h 6m · 295 kg CO₂e return
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt11.9 h · 27.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 23.2 °Cair ≈ 8h 18m · 900 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Madrid is 11.9 h for 38.8 kg — about 16× less carbon than flying to Ouarzazate.

Madrid, Spain11.9 h · 15.6 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 36m · 38.8 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France11.7 h · 13.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 14.8 °Crail ≈ 7h 24m · 24.9 kg CO₂e return
Teruel, Spain11.6 h · 12.9 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 30m · 36.6 kg CO₂e return
Segovia, Spain11.6 h · 11.6 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 36m · 37.8 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France11.5 h · 14.5 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 15.1 °Crail ≈ 8h 12m · 25.6 kg CO₂e return
Nice, France11.3 h · 14.4 °C · 1.5 mm rain a day · sea 15.4 °Crail ≈ 10h · 24.3 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 sunniest place you can reach from Brussels in April within 15 hours is Alcalá de Henares, 12.0 h, costing 38.3 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Nijmegen at 4.5 kg — 9× less carbon, for 3.5 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in April 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 Brussels. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, April, departing Brussels. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

April from Brussels — 7 destinations on the frontier, 7 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Nijmegen, The Netherlands	Rail	4.5 kg	9.6 °C	8.5 h	3.1 mm	4h 12m
Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Rail	5.1 kg	9.2 °C	9.1 h	3.4 mm	3h 24m
Geneva, Switzerland	Rail	15.7 kg	9.5 °C	9.6 h	3.3 mm	7h 24m
Milan, Italy	Rail	20.6 kg	13.1 °C	10.3 h	2.9 mm	11h 18m
Orange, France	Rail	22.0 kg	13.4 °C	11.0 h	1.3 mm	7h 54m
Marseille, France	Rail	24.9 kg	13.7 °C	11.7 h	0.8 mm	7h 24m
Alcalá de Henares, Spain	Rail	38.3 kg	15.1 °C	12.0 h	0.4 mm	14h 48m

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 Marseille (24.9 kg, 11.7 h) to Alcalá de Henares (38.3 kg, 12.0 h) buys 0.3 hours more sunshine for an extra 13.4 kg — 45 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

NijmegenThe Netherlands4.5 kg CO₂e return9.6 °C · 8.5 h sun · 4h 12m by railcold but bright Alcalá de HenaresSpain38.3 kg CO₂e return15.1 °C · 12.0 h sun · 14h 48m by railwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

April 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 Alcalá de Henares

Places to stay in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, on a live map. Prices and availability come from Stay22 and its booking partners.

Search places to stay in Alcalá de Henares →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 Brussels

April from elsewhere

Photo credits

Ouarzazate: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Agadir: Marco Riss, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ávila: Anual, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Essaouira: Kayaky, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Portimão: Jose A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Olbia: Gianni Careddu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sharm el-Sheikh: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Segovia: Marostegui, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nice: Moody Dreiza (Moody751 at English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Brussels in April?

Alcalá de Henares, Spain, at 12.0 h. Reaching it emits 38.3 kg CO₂e return, travelling 14h 48m each way by rail (modelled).

Can I get somewhere sunny from Brussels in April without flying?

Yes. Alcalá de Henares reaches 12.0 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 48m (modelled), emitting 38.3 kg CO₂e return — which is also the best on this frontier.

How much carbon does a return trip from Brussels to Alcalá de Henares produce?

38.3 kg CO₂e for one person, return, by rail. 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.