Brussels · August · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Brussels in August

In August, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Brussels is Ankara, Turkey, 13.2 h of sun a day and 26.5 °C, about 6h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Segovia, Spain, 12.9 h of sun a day, about 14h 36m each way by train, for about 17× less carbon (37.8 kg CO₂e return against 632 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Brussels

Ranked on sunshine in August 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.

Ankara, Turkey13.2 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 54m · 632 kg CO₂e return
Cosenza, Italy13.0 h · 25.4 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 28.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 399 kg CO₂e return
Catanzaro, Italy13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 42m · 412 kg CO₂e return
Mytilene, Greece13.0 h · 28.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 545 kg CO₂e return
Konya, Turkey13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h · 663 kg CO₂e return
Izmir, Turkey13.0 h · 29.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 30m · 568 kg CO₂e return
Potenza, Italy13.0 h · 23.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 24m · 362 kg CO₂e return
Athens, Greece12.9 h · 28.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 526 kg CO₂e return
Korçë, Albania12.9 h · 22.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 428 kg CO₂e return
Pristina, Kosovo12.9 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 36m · 394 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Segovia is 12.9 h for 37.8 kg — about 17× less carbon than flying to Ankara.

Segovia, Spain12.9 h · 23.5 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 36m · 37.8 kg CO₂e return
Lleida, Spain12.8 h · 27.9 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 48m · 31.4 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France12.7 h · 24.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 22.8 °Crail ≈ 7h 24m · 24.9 kg CO₂e return
Zaragoza, Spain12.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 30m · 32.4 kg CO₂e return
Madrid, Spain12.7 h · 28.2 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 36m · 38.8 kg CO₂e return
Avignon, France12.6 h · 25.6 °C · 1.3 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 7h · 22.7 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 August within 15 hours is Beypazari, 13.3 h, costing 612 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Nijmegen at 4.5 kg — 136× less carbon, for 2.3 hours less sunshine.

Every destination here is on the efficiency frontier: nowhere else this site covers is both sunnier in August 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, August, departing Brussels. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

August from Brussels — 6 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Nijmegen, The Netherlands	Rail	4.5 kg	18.8 °C	11.0 h	3.0 mm	4h 12m
Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Rail	5.1 kg	18.1 °C	11.2 h	2.4 mm	3h 24m
Chalon-sur-Saône, France	Rail	13.4 kg	21.9 °C	11.8 h	1.5 mm	7h 24m
Saint-Etienne, France	Rail	17.8 kg	21.8 °C	12.2 h	0.8 mm	7h 36m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	24.2 kg	24.5 °C	12.8 h	1.1 mm	8h 24m
Beypazari, Turkey	Air	612 kg	26.7 °C	13.3 h	0.2 mm	6h 42m

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 Aix-en-Provence (24.2 kg, 12.8 h) to Beypazari (612 kg, 13.3 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 588 kg — 1176 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 return18.8 °C · 11.0 h sun · 4h 12m by railwarm but wet Aix-en-ProvenceFrance24.2 kg CO₂e return24.5 °C · 12.8 h sun · 8h 24m by railwarm, bright and dry

BeypazariTurkey612 kg CO₂e return26.7 °C · 13.3 h sun · 6h 42m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

August 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 Beypazari

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

Search places to stay in Beypazari →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

August from elsewhere

Photo credits

Beypazari: KayaZaKi, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Ankara: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mytilene: SilentResident (compilation, sources to attribute see above; if any of the sources used in the Montage are removed from , CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Izmir: Rafaela Ely, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athens: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Korçë: Joergsam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pristina: Arben Llapashtica, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Segovia: Marostegui, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lleida: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zaragoza: Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Avignon: Jean-Marc Rosier (de/from http://www.cjrosier.com + http://www.gordes-immobilier.com), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Beypazari, Turkey, at 13.3 h. Reaching it emits 612 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 42m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 12.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 8h 24m (modelled), emitting 24.2 kg CO₂e return — though Beypazari is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Brussels to Beypazari produce?

612 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.