It all depends on what you measure. By amount of water, the rainiest city in our survey is Biarritz (1474 mm, or 58 in, a year); by number of rain days, it is Brest (160 days of at least 1 mm a year). The two rankings do not look alike: Nice receives 791 mm (31.1 in), more than Paris (634 mm, 25.0 in), but in only 62 days against 109.
We read the 1991-2020 normals of 59 Météo-France stations and calculated a third indicator, the average intensity (millimeters per rain day), which explains this paradox. The tables are sortable.
Key points
- Largest total: Biarritz 1474 mm (58.0 in), Brest 1230 mm (48.4 in), Annecy (Meythet) 1211 mm (47.7 in).
- Most rain days: Brest 160 d, Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) 143 d, Biarritz 141 d.
- Least rain: Marseille-Marignane (532 mm, 20.9 in); fewest rain days: Marseille-Marignane (54 d).
- Paradox: it rains 12.7 mm (0.5 in) per rain day in Nice against 7.7 mm (0.3 in) in Brest (Destination de Voyage calculation).
- All values: official Météo-France 1991-2020 normals.
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Ranking of the rainiest cities in France
| City (station) | Region | Annual total | Rain days ≥ 1 mm (0.04 in) | mm per rain day | Wettest month | Sunshine / year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biarritz | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 1474 mm (58.0 in) | 141 | 10.4 | November (207 mm / 8.1 in) | 1921 h |
| Brest | Brittany | 1230 mm (48.4 in) | 160 | 7.7 | December (155 mm / 6.1 in) | 1555 h |
| Annecy (Meythet) | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 1211 mm (47.7 in) | 122 | 9.9 | December (112 mm / 4.4 in) | 2069 h |
| Chambéry | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 1204 mm (47.4 in) | 115 | 10.5 | December (124 mm / 4.9 in) | 1895 h |
| Besançon | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | 1157 mm (45.6 in) | 136 | 8.5 | October (112 mm / 4.4 in) | 1872 h |
| Pau | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 1094 mm (43.1 in) | 127 | 8.6 | November (132 mm / 5.2 in) | 1910 h |
| Tarbes-Lourdes | Occitanie | 1081 mm (42.6 in) | 122 | 8.9 | November (121 mm / 4.8 in) | 1964 h |
| Limoges | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 1018 mm (40.1 in) | 134 | 7.6 | November (106 mm / 4.2 in) | 1922 h |
| Bourg-Saint-Maurice | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 976 mm (38.4 in) | 110 | 8.9 | December (114 mm / 4.5 in) | 2009 h |
| Lorient | Brittany | 943 mm (37.1 in) | 130 | 7.2 | December (114 mm / 4.5 in) | 1865 h |
| Bordeaux | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 925 mm (36.4 in) | 122 | 7.6 | November (114 mm / 4.5 in) | 2070 h |
| Montélimar | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 920 mm (36.2 in) | 78 | 11.9 | October (133 mm / 5.2 in) | 2441 h |
| Mont-de-Marsan | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 918 mm (36.1 in) | 119 | 7.7 | November (105 mm / 4.1 in) | 1942 h |
| Grenoble (Saint-Geoirs) | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 915 mm (36.0 in) | 104 | 8.8 | October (107 mm / 4.2 in) | 2108 h |
| Cannes | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 881 mm (34.7 in) | 64 | 13.8 | November (145 mm / 5.7 in) | 2743 h |
| Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) | Brittany | 855 mm (33.7 in) | 143 | 6.0 | December (110 mm / 4.3 in) | – |
| Rouen | Normandy | 848 mm (33.4 in) | 134 | 6.3 | December (102 mm / 4.0 in) | 1554 h |
| Le Luc (Var) | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 832 mm (32.8 in) | 65 | 12.8 | November (141 mm / 5.6 in) | 2752 h |
| Boulogne-sur-Mer | Hauts-de-France | 824 mm (32.4 in) | 127 | 6.5 | November (107 mm / 4.2 in) | – |
| Lyon | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 821 mm (32.3 in) | 103 | 8.0 | October (100 mm / 3.9 in) | 2050 h |
| Nantes | Pays de la Loire | 820 mm (32.3 in) | 120 | 6.8 | December (101 mm / 4.0 in) | 1873 h |
| Bastia | Corsica | 817 mm (32.2 in) | 67 | 12.1 | November (134 mm / 5.3 in) | 2645 h |
| Abbeville | Hauts-de-France | 806 mm (31.7 in) | 129 | 6.2 | December (92 mm / 3.6 in) | – |
| Nice | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 791 mm (31.1 in) | 62 | 12.7 | November (138 mm / 5.4 in) | 2760 h |
| La Rochelle (île de Ré) | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 754 mm (29.7 in) | 114 | 6.6 | November (95 mm / 3.7 in) | 2303 h |
| Dinard | Brittany | 752 mm (29.6 in) | 128 | 5.9 | November (89 mm / 3.5 in) | 1733 h |
| Nancy | Grand Est | 746 mm (29.4 in) | 120 | 6.2 | December (78 mm / 3.1 in) | 1708 h |
| Dijon | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | 743 mm (29.3 in) | 112 | 6.6 | November (78 mm / 3.1 in) | 1890 h |
| Bourges | Centre-Val de Loire | 743 mm (29.3 in) | 117 | 6.3 | May (76 mm / 3.0 in) | 1889 h |
| Caen | Normandy | 740 mm (29.1 in) | 126 | 5.9 | December (81 mm / 3.2 in) | 1746 h |
| Lille | Hauts-de-France | 740 mm (29.1 in) | 126 | 5.9 | November (75 mm / 3.0 in) | 1627 h |
| Nîmes | Occitanie | 734 mm (28.9 in) | 65 | 11.3 | September (100 mm / 3.9 in) | 2680 h |
| Embrun | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 733 mm (28.9 in) | 84 | 8.7 | November (85 mm / 3.3 in) | 2530 h |
| Saint-Étienne | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 728 mm (28.7 in) | 98 | 7.4 | May (82 mm / 3.2 in) | 2018 h |
| Metz | Grand Est | 714 mm (28.1 in) | 118 | 6.0 | December (76 mm / 3.0 in) | – |
| Millau | Occitanie | 713 mm (28.1 in) | 93 | 7.6 | May (75 mm / 3.0 in) | 2197 h |
| Agen | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 708 mm (27.9 in) | 107 | 6.6 | May (73 mm / 2.9 in) | 2020 h |
| Poitiers | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | 695 mm (27.4 in) | 109 | 6.4 | November (75 mm / 3.0 in) | 1941 h |
| Le Mans | Pays de la Loire | 693 mm (27.3 in) | 112 | 6.2 | December (75 mm / 3.0 in) | 1808 h |
| Rennes | Brittany | 691 mm (27.2 in) | 115 | 6.0 | December (73 mm / 2.9 in) | 1762 h |
| Tours | Centre-Val de Loire | 678 mm (26.7 in) | 109 | 6.2 | December (72 mm / 2.8 in) | 1885 h |
| Carpentras | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 666 mm (26.2 in) | 66 | 10.1 | September (99 mm / 3.9 in) | 2835 h |
| Carcassonne | Occitanie | 665 mm (26.2 in) | 88 | 7.6 | April (71 mm / 2.8 in) | 2170 h |
| Calvi | Corsica | 653 mm (25.7 in) | 65 | 10.0 | November (115 mm / 4.5 in) | 2746 h |
| Troyes | Grand Est | 645 mm (25.4 in) | 113 | 5.7 | May (65 mm / 2.6 in) | 1851 h |
| Figari | Corsica | 644 mm (25.4 in) | 73 | 8.9 | November (100 mm / 3.9 in) | 2752 h |
| Montpellier | Occitanie | 639 mm (25.2 in) | 58 | 11.1 | October (95 mm / 3.7 in) | 2705 h |
| Strasbourg | Grand Est | 636 mm (25.0 in) | 112 | 5.7 | May (77 mm / 3.0 in) | 1747 h |
| Orléans | Centre-Val de Loire | 636 mm (25.0 in) | 109 | 5.8 | May (63 mm / 2.5 in) | 1823 h |
| Ajaccio | Corsica | 635 mm (25.0 in) | 68 | 9.3 | November (112 mm / 4.4 in) | 2802 h |
| Paris | Île-de-France | 634 mm (25.0 in) | 109 | 5.8 | May (69 mm / 2.7 in) | 1717 h |
| Toulon | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 633 mm (24.9 in) | 58 | 11.0 | October (106 mm / 4.2 in) | – |
| Toulouse | Occitanie | 627 mm (24.7 in) | 96 | 6.5 | May (74 mm / 2.9 in) | 2075 h |
| Aix-en-Provence | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 609 mm (24.0 in) | 59 | 10.3 | September (88 mm / 3.5 in) | 2873 h |
| Chartres | Centre-Val de Loire | 606 mm (23.9 in) | 109 | 5.6 | December (61 mm / 2.4 in) | 1787 h |
| Perpignan | Occitanie | 578 mm (22.8 in) | 54 | 10.7 | October (82 mm / 3.2 in) | 2489 h |
| Clermont-Ferrand | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | 563 mm (22.2 in) | 87 | 6.5 | June (68 mm / 2.7 in) | 1958 h |
| Sète | Occitanie | 543 mm (21.4 in) | 54 | 10.1 | October (85 mm / 3.3 in) | – |
| Marseille-Marignane | Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur | 532 mm (20.9 in) | 54 | 9.9 | September (82 mm / 3.2 in) | 2898 h |
The Brest-Nice paradox: amount or frequency?
In Brest, it rains often but not much at a time: 160 rain days for 1230 mm (48.4 in), or 7.7 mm (0.3 in) per rainy day. In Nice, rain is rare but heavy when it falls: 62 days for 791 mm (31.1 in), or 12.7 mm (0.5 in) per day. On the Mediterranean, a good part of the annual total arrives in a few autumn episodes, hence high totals despite often clear skies. For a traveler, it is the number of rain days that counts: it says how many days risk being spoiled.
| Indicator | Brest | Nice | Paris |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual total | 1230 mm (48.4 in) | 791 mm (31.1 in) | 634 mm (25.0 in) |
| Rain days ≥ 1 mm (0.04 in) | 160 | 62 | 109 |
| mm per rain day | 7.7 | 12.7 | 5.8 |
| Month with the most rain days | January (18.0 d) | November (8.5 d) | December (11.4 d) |
Top 10 by number of rain days
- Brest: 160 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 1230 mm (48.4 in) in total.
- Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec): 143 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 855 mm (33.7 in) in total.
- Biarritz: 141 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 1474 mm (58.0 in) in total.
- Besançon: 136 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 1157 mm (45.6 in) in total.
- Rouen: 134 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 848 mm (33.4 in) in total.
- Limoges: 134 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 1018 mm (40.1 in) in total.
- Lorient: 130 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 943 mm (37.1 in) in total.
- Abbeville: 129 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 806 mm (31.7 in) in total.
- Dinard: 128 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 752 mm (29.6 in) in total.
- Boulogne-sur-Mer: 127 days a year with at least 1 mm (0.04 in), for 824 mm (32.4 in) in total.
The ranking is dominated by the Atlantic coast and the English Channel (Brittany, the Basque Country, Normandy, Hauts-de-France), exposed to weather systems coming from the ocean, with two inland stations: Besançon and Limoges.
Top 10 by amount of rain
- Biarritz: 1474 mm (58.0 in) a year, in 141 rain days.
- Brest: 1230 mm (48.4 in) a year, in 160 rain days.
- Annecy (Meythet): 1211 mm (47.7 in) a year, in 122 rain days.
- Chambéry: 1204 mm (47.4 in) a year, in 115 rain days.
- Besançon: 1157 mm (45.6 in) a year, in 136 rain days.
- Pau: 1094 mm (43.1 in) a year, in 127 rain days.
- Tarbes-Lourdes: 1081 mm (42.6 in) a year, in 122 rain days.
- Limoges: 1018 mm (40.1 in) a year, in 134 rain days.
- Bourg-Saint-Maurice: 976 mm (38.4 in) a year, in 110 rain days.
- Lorient: 943 mm (37.1 in) a year, in 130 rain days.
Here, relief takes over: the Basque Country and the Pyrenean foothills, Savoie, the Jura and the Massif Central receive rain boosted by the effect of the mountains.
The city where it rains least in France
By amount, the driest station in our survey is Marseille-Marignane (532 mm, 20.9 in), followed by Sète (543 mm, 21.4 in). By number of rain days, they are Marseille-Marignane (54 d), Sète (54 d) and Perpignan (54 d). Stations on the Mediterranean coast and in Corsica count between 53 and 73 rain days a year, half as many as the tip of Brittany. See also our ranking of the sunniest cities.
Month by month: where does it rain least during your vacation?
This table gives, for each month, the three stations in our survey with the fewest rain days, and Paris’s value for comparison.
| Month | Fewest rain days | Paris | Most rain days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Perpignan (5.0 d), Marseille-Marignane (5.1 d), Sète (5.3 d) | 9.9 d | Brest (18.0 d), Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) (15.2 d) |
| February | Perpignan (3.8 d), Sète (4.0 d), Montpellier (4.1 d) | 9.1 d | Brest (14.9 d), Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) (13.2 d) |
| March | Marseille-Marignane (4.2 d), Sète (4.5 d), Montpellier (4.6 d) | 9.5 d | Brest (13.2 d), Biarritz (11.9 d) |
| April | Marseille-Marignane (5.8 d), Montpellier (5.8 d), Sète (5.8 d) | 8.6 d | Biarritz (13.3 d), Pau (12.7 d) |
| May | Toulon (4.3 d), Marseille-Marignane (4.4 d), Ajaccio (5.0 d) | 9.2 d | Besançon (12.6 d), Biarritz (12.5 d) |
| June | Toulon (2.7 d), Marseille-Marignane (2.8 d), Ajaccio (2.8 d) | 8.3 d | Bourg-Saint-Maurice (10.8 d), Strasbourg (10.2 d) |
| July | Toulon (0.9 d), Calvi (1.0 d), Ajaccio (1.2 d) | 7.4 d | Brest (10.6 d), Besançon (10.4 d) |
| August | Ajaccio (1.4 d), Toulon (1.6 d), Calvi (1.7 d) | 8.1 d | Abbeville (10.3 d), Lille (9.9 d) |
| September | Sète (4.2 d), Perpignan (4.4 d), Montpellier (4.5 d) | 7.5 d | Biarritz (10.2 d), Brest (10.1 d) |
| October | Perpignan (5.0 d), Sète (5.6 d), Marseille-Marignane (5.9 d) | 9.5 d | Brest (15.4 d), Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) (13.9 d) |
| November | Perpignan (4.9 d), Sète (5.8 d), Montpellier (6.7 d) | 10.4 d | Brest (17.9 d), Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) (15.9 d) |
| December | Sète (4.6 d), Marseille-Marignane (4.7 d), Perpignan (4.7 d) | 11.4 d | Brest (17.8 d), Ploumanac’h (Perros-Guirec) (16.5 d) |
Methodology
- Source: Météo-France climate sheets « Statistiques 1991-2020 et records » (files downloaded on 14 October 2026). Fields: precipitation (average in mm), average number of days with precipitation ≥ 1 mm (0.04 in).
- Sample: 59 stations in major cities and tourist sites with both values over 1991-2020 (Reims, published over 1981-2010, is excluded).
- Check: sum of the twelve months compared with the published annual total (tolerance: 2%).
- Destination de Voyage calculation: ranks, average intensity (annual total ÷ rain days), monthly rankings. These calculations are not official statistics.
- A station measures one point: rain can vary sharply within a few kilometers, especially in the mountains. See our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rainiest city in France?
By total, Biarritz (1474 mm, 58 in, a year) in our Météo-France 1991-2020 survey; by number of rain days, Brest (160 days).
Does it rain more in Nice than in Paris?
In amount, yes (791 mm against 634 mm, or 31.1 in against 25.0 in), but in far fewer days (62 against 109). Mediterranean rain is more intense.
Is Brest the city where it rains most?
Yes in number of days: 160 rain days a year, the maximum of our survey. In amount, Brest (1230 mm, 48.4 in) is beaten only by Biarritz in our survey.
Which city has the least rain?
Marseille-Marignane for the total (532 mm, 20.9 in) and Marseille-Marignane for the number of days (54).
What is the rainiest month in France?
It depends on the region. In our survey, the wettest month is September to November on the Mediterranean, November or December on the Atlantic and the Channel, and May for several inland stations (Paris, Orléans, Bourges, Toulouse, Strasbourg).
Further reading
To travel despite the rain, our guides to Brittany and the Basque Country give the best periods; to escape the clouds, see when to go to Corsica or our selection of sunny destinations month by month. All our regions: France travel.
Our sources
- Météo-France, climate sheets « Statistiques 1991-2020 et records » for 59 stations (donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr), consulted on 14 October 2026.
- Our methodology
Updated November 2026.
