Zurich · September · sunshine

Sunniest places to go from Zurich in September

In September, the sunniest well-known place within 15 hours of Zurich is Alexandria, Egypt, 11.9 h of sun a day and 27.4 °C, about 6h 54m each way by air. Without flying, it is Taranto, Italy, 11.0 h of sun a day, about 14h 24m each way by train, for about 21× less carbon (30.5 kg CO₂e return against 643 kg).

The 10 sunniest places within 15 hours of Zurich

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 ≈ 6h 54m · 643 kg CO₂e return
Marmaris, Turkey11.8 h · 26.5 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 6h 12m · 502 kg CO₂e return
Fethiye, Turkey11.8 h · 26.0 °C · 1.6 mm rain a day · sea 27.7 °Cair ≈ 6h 18m · 520 kg CO₂e return
Bodrum, Turkey11.8 h · 26.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.0 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 484 kg CO₂e return
Rhodes, Greece11.8 h · 27.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 12m · 509 kg CO₂e return
Damietta, Egypt11.7 h · 27.2 °C · mostly dry · sea 28.8 °Cair ≈ 7h · 667 kg CO₂e return
Al Fayyum, Egypt11.7 h · 30.3 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 12m · 698 kg CO₂e return
Limassol, Cyprus11.6 h · 26.6 °C · mostly dry · sea 27.4 °Cair ≈ 6h 48m · 622 kg CO₂e return
Amman, Jordan11.6 h · 24.9 °C · mostly dryair ≈ 7h 18m · 724 kg CO₂e return
Heraklion, Greece11.6 h · 24.0 °C · mostly dry · sea 25.9 °Cair ≈ 6h 6m · 483 kg CO₂e return

Without flying

The sunniest places the train reaches within 15 hours. Taranto is 11.0 h for 30.5 kg — about 21× less carbon than flying to Alexandria.

Taranto, Italy11.0 h · 24.3 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.1 °Crail ≈ 14h 24m · 30.5 kg CO₂e return
Anzio, Italy10.9 h · 22.7 °C · 2.4 mm rain a day · sea 25.0 °Crail ≈ 10h 6m · 21.6 kg CO₂e return
Catanzaro, Italy10.8 h · 22.9 °C · mostly dry · sea 26.3 °Crail ≈ 15h · 33.8 kg CO₂e return
Rome, Italy10.8 h · 22.3 °C · 2.6 mm rain a dayrail ≈ 8h 48m · 20.2 kg CO₂e return
Marseille, France10.7 h · 20.6 °C · 2.2 mm rain a day · sea 22.9 °Crail ≈ 9h 30m · 15.2 kg CO₂e return
Toulon, France10.6 h · 21.3 °C · 2.1 mm rain a day · sea 23.3 °Crail ≈ 9h 24m · 15.2 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 September within 15 hours is Fethiye, 11.8 h, costing 520 kg CO₂e return. The lowest-carbon option is Lugano at 4.5 kg — 116× less carbon, for 2.9 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 Zurich. Pick one to compare.

By rail or ferry By air

Carbon against sunshine, September, departing Zurich. Journeys of up to 15 hours each way.

What the 15-hour limit costs: at this budget Trapani can only be reached by air — 274 kg CO₂e, in 5h. Allow up to 24 hours and the train does the same journey for 32.1 kg in 15h 36m — 9× less carbon for 10h 36m more travelling.

September from Zurich — 6 destinations on the frontier, 4 without flying.
Destination	How	CO₂e return	Temp	Sun/day	Rain/day	Journey
Lugano, Switzerland	Rail	4.5 kg	18.9 °C	8.9 h	9.4 mm	3h 30m
Sion, Switzerland	Rail	4.6 kg	17.8 °C	9.6 h	3.7 mm	3h 48m
Mantua, Italy	Rail	8.9 kg	20.8 °C	10.2 h	3.2 mm	6h 24m
Aix-en-Provence, France	Rail	14.5 kg	19.3 °C	10.8 h	2.1 mm	9h 6m
Trapani, Italy	Air	274 kg	24.2 °C	11.3 h	1.2 mm	5h
Fethiye, Turkey	Air	520 kg	26.0 °C	11.8 h	1.6 mm	6h 18m

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 (14.5 kg, 10.8 h) to Trapani (274 kg, 11.3 h) buys 0.5 hours more sunshine for an extra 259 kg — 519 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 return18.9 °C · 8.9 h sun · 3h 30m by railwarm but wet Aix-en-ProvenceFrance14.5 kg CO₂e return19.3 °C · 10.8 h sun · 9h 6m by railwarm overall

FethiyeTurkey520 kg CO₂e return26.0 °C · 11.8 h sun · 6h 18m by airwarm overall

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 Fethiye

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

Search places to stay in Fethiye →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

September from elsewhere

Photo credits

Lugano: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fethiye: https://www.flickr.com/photos/astolath/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Alexandria: ASaber91, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marmaris: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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
Rome: Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marseille: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toulon: Rafi88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions

Where is the sunniest place to go from Zurich in September?

Fethiye, Turkey, at 11.8 h. Reaching it emits 520 kg CO₂e return, travelling 6h 18m each way by air (modelled).

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

Yes. Aix-en-Provence reaches 10.8 h and is reachable by rail or ferry in 9h 6m (modelled), emitting 14.5 kg CO₂e return — though Fethiye is sunnier still, if you fly.

How much carbon does a return trip from Zurich to Fethiye produce?

520 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.