Paris · August · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Paris in August

In August, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Paris is Ankara, Turkey, 13.2 h of sun a day and 26.5 °C, about 7h each way by air. Without flying, it is Segovia, Spain, 12.9 h of sun a day, about 11h 48m each way by train, for about 22× less carbon (30.0 kg CO₂e return against 653 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Paris

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 ≈ 7h · 653 kg CO₂e return
Cosenza, Italy13.0 h · 25.4 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 28.3 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 386 kg CO₂e return
Catanzaro, Italy13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 5h 36m · 399 kg CO₂e return
Mytilene, Greece13.0 h · 28.5 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 555 kg CO₂e return
Konya, Turkey13.0 h · 26.7 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 6m · 679 kg CO₂e return
Izmir, Turkey13.0 h · 29.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 36m · 577 kg CO₂e return
Potenza, Italy13.0 h · 23.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 24m · 352 kg CO₂e return
Athens, Greece12.9 h · 28.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 527 kg CO₂e return
Korçë, Albania12.9 h · 22.1 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 431 kg CO₂e return
Pristina, Kosovo12.9 h · 23.4 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 36m · 404 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Segovia is 12.9 h for 30.0 kg — about 22× less carbon than flying to Ankara.

Segovia, Spain12.9 h · 23.5 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 11h 48m · 30.0 kg CO₂e return
Ávila, Spain12.9 h · 23.3 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 12h 36m · 31.5 kg CO₂e return
Lleida, Spain12.8 h · 27.9 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 10h · 24.1 kg CO₂e return
Rome, Italy12.8 h · 27.1 °C · 1.7 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 30m · 32.7 kg CO₂e return
Naples, Italy12.8 h · 26.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.8 °Crail ≈ 13h 48m · 38.1 kg CO₂e return
Anzio, Italy12.8 h · 26.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.2 °Crail ≈ 13h 54m · 33.9 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 Paris in August within 15 hours is Beypazari, 13.3 h, costing 633 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Dieppe at 4.4 kg — 144× less carbon, for 2.4 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 Paris. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, August, departing Paris. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

August from Paris — 5 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Dieppe, France	Rail	4.4 kg	18.5 °C	10.9 h	2.7 mm	3h 42m
Dijon, France	Rail	7.7 kg	20.5 °C	11.6 h	1.3 mm	3h 6m
Saint-Etienne, France	Rail	12.1 kg	21.8 °C	12.2 h	0.8 mm	4h 48m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	18.8 kg	24.5 °C	12.8 h	1.1 mm	5h 36m
Beypazari, Turkey	Air	633 kg	26.7 °C	13.3 h	0.2 mm	6h 54m

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 (18.8 kg, 12.8 h) to Beypazari (633 kg, 13.3 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 614 kg — 1228 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.

The pick of them

DieppeFrance4.4 kg CO₂e return18.5 °C · 10.9 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm overall Aix-en-ProvenceFrance18.8 kg CO₂e return24.5 °C · 12.8 h sun · 5h 36m by railwarm, bright and dry

BeypazariTurkey633 kg CO₂e return26.7 °C · 13.3 h sun · 6h 54m 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 Paris

August from elsewhere

Photo credits

Dieppe: Baidax, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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
Ávila: Anual, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lleida: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rome: Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Beypazari, Turkey, at 13.3 h. Reaching it emits 633 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 54m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 12.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 5h 36m (modelled), emitting 18.8 kg CO₂e return — though Beypazari is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

633 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.