Paris · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Paris in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Paris is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 7h 30m each way by air. Without flying, it is Anzio, Italy, 10.9 h of sun a day, about 13h 54m each way by train, for about 22× less carbon (33.9 kg CO₂e return against 762 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Paris

Ranked on sunshine in September 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.

Alexandria, Egypt11.9 h · 27.4 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.7 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 762 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 48m · 624 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 54m · 642 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 606 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 631 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 7h 42m · 788 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 48m · 817 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 7h 30m · 745 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 8h · 847 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 42m · 602 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Anzio is 10.9 h for 33.9 kg — about 22× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Anzio, Italy10.9 h · 22.7 °C · 2.4 mm rain a day · sea 25.0 °Crail ≈ 13h 54m · 33.9 kg CO₂e return
Benidorm, Spain10.8 h · 23.1 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 26.0 °Crail ≈ 14h 6m · 34.4 kg CO₂e return
Albacete, Spain10.8 h · 20.4 °C · 1.8 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 48m · 33.8 kg CO₂e return
Segovia, Spain10.8 h · 16.9 °C · 1.2 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 11h 48m · 30.0 kg CO₂e return
Ávila, Spain10.8 h · 15.8 °C · 2.0 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 36m · 31.5 kg CO₂e return
Rome, Italy10.8 h · 22.3 °C · 2.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 12h 30m · 32.7 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 Paris in September within 15 hours is Alexandria, 11.9 h, costing 762 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Dieppe at 4.4 kg — 173× less carbon, for 3.0 hours less sunshine.

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

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Granada can only be reached by air — 348 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 40.8 kg in 16h 6m — 9× less carbon for 10h 48m more travelling.

September from Paris — 7 destinations on the frontier, 5 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Dieppe, France	Rail	4.4 kg	17.4 °C	8.9 h	3.2 mm	3h 42m
Saint-Dizier, France	Rail	5.7 kg	17.5 °C	9.4 h	3.1 mm	4h 18m
Chalon-sur-Saône, France	Rail	8.8 kg	18.0 °C	9.9 h	2.9 mm	4h 36m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	18.8 kg	19.3 °C	10.8 h	2.1 mm	5h 36m
Aprilia, Italy	Rail	33.6 kg	22.5 °C	10.9 h	2.5 mm	13h 36m
Granada, Spain	Air	348 kg	21.6 °C	11.5 h	0.9 mm	5h 18m
Alexandria, Egypt	Air	762 kg	27.4 °C	11.9 h	0.0 mm	7h 30m

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 Granada (348 kg, 11.5 h) to Alexandria (762 kg, 11.9 h) buys 0.4 hours more sunshine for an extra 414 kg — 1035 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 return17.4 °C · 8.9 h sun · 3h 42m by railwarm but wet ApriliaItaly33.6 kg CO₂e return22.5 °C · 10.9 h sun · 13h 36m by railwarm overall

AlexandriaEgypt762 kg CO₂e return27.4 °C · 11.9 h sun · 7h 30m by airwarm, bright and dry

The same month, asked differently

September 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 Alexandria

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

Search places to stay in Alexandria →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Dieppe: Baidax, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alexandria: ASaber91, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marmaris: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bodrum: The 3B's, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhodes: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Damietta: Mohamed Eissa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Al Fayyum: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Limassol: Xaris333, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amman: David Bjorgen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Heraklion: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Benidorm: Simon Cobb, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Segovia: Marostegui, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ávila: Anual, CC BY 3.0, 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 September?

Alexandria, Egypt, at 11.9 h. Reaching it emits 762 kg CO₂e return, travelling 7h 30m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aprilia reaches 10.9 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 36m (modelled), emitting 33.6 kg CO₂e return — though Alexandria is sunnier still, if you fly.

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

762 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.