Weather in France
Expats living in France will find climate patterns highly variable depending on location, but more generally speaking, foreigners can look forward to a climate that is both temperate and agreeable.
The weather in France can range from warm summers in the Southern coast to wet, snowy winters in the Alpine area, and expats should more closely investigate the particularities of their region before drawing conclusions.
- North and northwestern France, the areas closest to the UK, experience weather patterns very similar to their nearby British neighbour. Rains occur throughout the year, winters are moderate, and summers warmer, but not excessively hot.
- Southwestern and Mediterranean France, by far, have the most attractive weather patterns of the lot. Sunshine is plentiful, summers are hot and winters are mild. Rainfall is predominately associated with summer thunderstorms, and otherwise, expats need only prepare themselves for the occasional cold wind (mistral) that blows through for short time periods in spring.
- Central and eastern France claim a continental climate characterised by cold, even harsh, winters (even more so than the North) and warm summers (not as warm as in the South). Snow is more likely to fall here than in all other regions of France except the Alpine region.
- The mountainous regions of France march to the beat of their own weather drum - but expats can count on these areas being the wettest and coldest of all (snow falls between three and six months of the year).
As a whole, rainfall is moderate in France and occurs year round, though there's nowhere near as many grey days as in Belgium. May and June tend to be the wettest months.
Transitions between seasons in France are distinct; expats can look forward to unique weather in spring, summer, winter and fall.
