Paris · May · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Paris in May

In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Paris is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Copenhagen, Denmark, 13.4 h of sun a day, about 14h 54m each way by train, for about 15× less carbon (30.3 kg CO₂e return against 444 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Paris

Ranked on sunshine in May 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.

Sundsvall, Sweden15.1 h · 11.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.0 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 444 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 499 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 550 kg CO₂e return
Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 495 kg CO₂e return
Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 6h · 468 kg CO₂e return
Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 54m · 454 kg CO₂e return
Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 6h · 480 kg CO₂e return
Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 451 kg CO₂e return
Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 428 kg CO₂e return
Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h · 480 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Copenhagen is 13.4 h for 30.3 kg — about 15× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.

Copenhagen, Denmark13.4 h · 12.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 10.7 °Crail ≈ 14h 54m · 30.3 kg CO₂e return
Świnoujście, Poland13.2 h · 14.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 42m · 29.4 kg CO₂e return
Aalborg, Denmark13.1 h · 13.3 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 48m · 30.7 kg CO₂e return
Greifswald, Germany13.1 h · 13.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 28.3 kg CO₂e return
Zaragoza, Spain13.1 h · 18.8 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 9h 36m · 24.8 kg CO₂e return
Aarhus, Denmark13.0 h · 12.7 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Crail ≈ 13h 48m · 28.6 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 May within 15 hours is Örnsköldsvik, 15.1 h, costing 475 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Dieppe at 4.4 kg — 108× less carbon, for 4.2 hours less sunshine.

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Visby can only be reached by air — 361 kg CO₂e, in 5h 24m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 42.4 kg in 20h 42m — 9× less carbon for 15h 18m more travelling.

May from Paris — 8 destinations on the frontier, 6 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Dieppe, France	Rail	4.4 kg	13.3 °C	10.9 h	2.3 mm	3h 42m
Le Havre, France	Rail	5.2 kg	13.4 °C	11.5 h	2.4 mm	4h 6m
Hoorn, The Netherlands	Rail	13.6 kg	13.7 °C	12.0 h	3.3 mm	5h 54m
Zaragoza, Spain	Rail	24.8 kg	18.8 °C	13.1 h	0.8 mm	9h 36m
Copenhagen, Denmark	Rail	30.3 kg	12.7 °C	13.4 h	0.6 mm	14h 54m
Allerød Municipality, Denmark	Rail	30.5 kg	13.3 °C	13.8 h	0.7 mm	14h 54m
Visby, Sweden	Air	361 kg	12.7 °C	14.4 h	0.6 mm	5h 24m
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden	Air	475 kg	9.0 °C	15.1 h	0.5 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 Allerød Municipality (30.5 kg, 13.8 h) to Visby (361 kg, 14.4 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 331 kg — 551 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 return13.3 °C · 10.9 h sun · 3h 42m by railmild and bright Allerød MunicipalityDenmark30.5 kg CO₂e return13.3 °C · 13.8 h sun · 14h 54m by railmild and bright

ÖrnsköldsvikSweden475 kg CO₂e return9.0 °C · 15.1 h sun · 6h by aircold but bright

The same month, asked differently

May 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 Örnsköldsvik

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

Search places to stay in Örnsköldsvik →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

May from elsewhere

Photo credits

Dieppe: Baidax, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Örnsköldsvik: Montage by Moralist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sundsvall: User:Ö1thpe0807 (image 1), User:I99limpan (image2), User:Larskallin (image3), Hans Lindqvist (image 4-5), Calle Eklund (, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Umeå: Jonipoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Luleå: Andreas Harnemo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tallinn: Hiiumaamudeliklubi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Helsinki: Old Pionear, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pärnu: Kristian Pikner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Riga: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Copenhagen: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Świnoujście: Andrzej Łuczak, woochuck@onet.eu, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zaragoza: Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

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

Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, at 15.1 h. Reaching it emits 475 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Allerød Municipality reaches 13.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 14h 54m (modelled), emitting 30.5 kg CO₂e return — though Örnsköldsvik is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

475 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.