Sunniest places to go from Zurich in May
In May, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Sundsvall, Sweden, 15.1 h of sun a day and 11.7 °C, about 5h 48m each way by air. Without flying, it is Świnoujście, Poland, 13.2 h of sun a day, about 13h 24m each way by train, for about 18× less carbon (24.5 kg CO₂e return against 442 kg).
The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Zurich
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 48m · 442 kg CO₂e return
Umeå, Sweden15.0 h · 9.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 3.8 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 494 kg CO₂e return
Luleå, Sweden14.8 h · 7.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 1.5 °Cair ≈ 6h 24m · 548 kg CO₂e return- Vaasa, Finland14.8 h · 9.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 5.2 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 485 kg CO₂e return
Tallinn, Estonia14.7 h · 12.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 48m · 430 kg CO₂e return- Turku, Finland14.4 h · 12.2 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 428 kg CO₂e return
Helsinki, Finland14.4 h · 11.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 6.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 54m · 446 kg CO₂e return
Pärnu, Estonia14.3 h · 13.1 °C · mostly dry · sea 11.8 °Cair ≈ 5h 42m · 407 kg CO₂e return
Riga, Latvia14.2 h · 13.6 °C · 1.2 mm rain a day · sea 10.4 °Cair ≈ 5h 30m · 377 kg CO₂e return- Tartu, Estonia14.1 h · 12.8 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 5h 48m · 432 kg CO₂e return
Without flying
The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Świnoujście is 13.2 h for 24.5 kg — about 18× less carbon than flying to Sundsvall.
Świnoujście, Poland13.2 h · 14.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 24m · 24.5 kg CO₂e return- Greifswald, Germany13.1 h · 13.8 °C · mostly dry · sea 12.9 °Crail ≈ 13h 6m · 24.2 kg CO₂e return
Lleida, Spain13.0 h · 19.1 °C · 1.4 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 14h 54m · 26.4 kg CO₂e return- Huesca, Spain12.9 h · 16.7 °C · mostly dryrail ≈ 14h 30m · 27.0 kg CO₂e return
- Rostock, Germany12.8 h · 13.9 °C · 1.5 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 13h 18m · 23.3 kg CO₂e return
- Barcelona, Spain12.5 h · 17.2 °C · 2.0 mm rain a day · sea 17.8 °Crail ≈ 13h 18m · 24.7 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 Zurich in May within 15 hours is Örnsköldsvik, 15.1 h, costing 473 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 105× less carbon, for 5.6 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.
By rail or ferry By air
What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Visby can only be reached by air — 331 kg CO₂e, in 5h 18m. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 38.8 kg in 20h 24m — 9× less carbon for 15h 6m more travelling.
| Destination | How | CO₂e return | Temp | Sun/day | Rain/day | Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lugano, Switzerland | Rail | 4.5 kg | 16.0 °C | 9.5 h | 10.1 mm | 3h 30m |
| Haguenau, France | Rail | 5.0 kg | 15.2 °C | 10.9 h | 4.3 mm | 4h 24m |
| Geneva, Switzerland | Rail | 6.6 kg | 14.2 °C | 11.1 h | 3.8 mm | 4h 12m |
| Grasse, France | Rail | 12.7 kg | 16.2 °C | 11.7 h | 3.2 mm | 8h 12m |
| Berlin, Germany | Rail | 19.8 kg | 15.4 °C | 12.5 h | 1.8 mm | 10h |
| Eberswalde, Germany | Rail | 21.1 kg | 15.1 °C | 12.8 h | 1.3 mm | 11h 12m |
| Świnoujście, Poland | Rail | 24.5 kg | 14.6 °C | 13.2 h | 0.9 mm | 13h 24m |
| Allerød Municipality, Denmark | Air | 247 kg | 13.3 °C | 13.8 h | 0.7 mm | 4h 48m |
| Visby, Sweden | Air | 331 kg | 12.7 °C | 14.4 h | 0.6 mm | 5h 18m |
| Örnsköldsvik, Sweden | Air | 473 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 Świnoujście (24.5 kg, 13.2 h) to Allerød Municipality (247 kg, 13.8 h) buys 0.6 hours more sunshine for an extra 222 kg — 370 kg of CO₂e per hour. That single step is the most expensive sunshine on the whole curve.
The pick of them
LuganoSwitzerland4.5 kg CO₂e returnwarm but wetŚwinoujściePoland24.5 kg CO₂e returnmild and bright
ÖrnsköldsvikSweden473 kg CO₂e returncold but brightThe 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 Zurich
May from elsewhere
- Amsterdam
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Brussels
- Cardiff
- Copenhagen
- Dublin
- Edinburgh
- Frankfurt
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Liverpool
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Milan
- Munich
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oslo
- Paris
- Prague
- Rome
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stockholm
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Photo credits
- Lugano: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Świnoujście: Andrzej Łuczak, woochuck@onet.eu, CC BY 3.0, 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
- Lleida: Jorge Franganillo from Barcelona, Spain, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Questions
Where is the sunniest place to go from Zurich in May?
Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, at 15.1 h. Reaching it emits 473 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h each way by air (modelled).
Can I get somewhere sunny from Zurich in May without flying?
Yes. Świnoujście reaches 13.2 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 13h 24m (modelled), emitting 24.5 kg CO₂e return — though Örnsköldsvik is sunnier still, if you fly.
How much carbon does a return trip from Zurich to Örnsköldsvik produce?
473 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.