Coolcation destinations for December
A 'coolcation' is travel to escape extreme heat. December's hot cities are roasting (avg high 13°C / 55°F across NYC, Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, Tokyo, LA, Atlanta, Miami) — here are 30 destinations significantly cooler, ranked by data.
December — hot benchmarks
🇺🇸 Miami 26°C🇺🇸 Los Angeles 20°C🇺🇸 Atlanta 13.3°C🇮🇹 Rome 13°C🇯🇵 Tokyo 12°C
Cold — proper jacket weather (4–9°C)
Genuine cold. Wool coat + scarf. Cozy pub weather. Ideal if you're escaping a 35°C heat dome.
🇺🇿
Samarkand
Uzbekistan
8.9°
C avg high
−4.1°C vs hot cities
Low -1.6°C
10 rain days
🇧🇪
Bruges
Belgium
8.3°
C avg high
−4.699999999999999°C vs hot cities
Low 4°C
15 rain days
🇬🇧
Belfast
United Kingdom
8.2°
C avg high
−4.800000000000001°C vs hot cities
Low 4.2°C
15 rain days
🇺🇸
Philadelphia
United States
8.1°
C avg high
−4.9°C vs hot cities
Low 0.4°C
12 rain days
🇬🇧
Manchester
United Kingdom
8.1°
C avg high
−4.9°C vs hot cities
Low 3.3°C
18 rain days
🇺🇸
Cincinnati
United States
8.1°
C avg high
−4.9°C vs hot cities
Low 0.1°C
10 rain days
🇺🇸
St. Louis
United States
8°
C avg high
−5°C vs hot cities
Low -0.7°C
10 rain days
🇹🇷
Cappadocia (Nevşehir)
Turkey
7.7°
C avg high
−5.3°C vs hot cities
Low -1.4°C
11 rain days
🇨🇳
Lhasa (Tibet)
China
7.7°
C avg high
−5.3°C vs hot cities
Low -4.2°C
2 rain days
🇺🇸
Kansas City
United States
7.7°
C avg high
−5.3°C vs hot cities
Low -1°C
6 rain days
🇺🇸
Portland
United States
7.4°
C avg high
−5.6°C vs hot cities
Low 2.1°C
21 rain days
🇺🇿
Tashkent
Uzbekistan
7.3°
C avg high
−5.7°C vs hot cities
Low -2.5°C
11 rain days
🇺🇸
Seattle
United States
7.2°
C avg high
−5.8°C vs hot cities
Low 2.7°C
20 rain days
How we ranked these
We benchmark each month against a basket of heat-prone cities (NYC, Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, Tokyo, LA, Atlanta, Miami) and only include destinations at least 4°C cooler than that average. Then we tier by comfort:
- Pleasant cool (16–23°C) — the sweet spot, no jacket needed daytime
- Cool (10–15°C) — bring layers, fleece + light jacket
- Cold (4–9°C) — proper jacket weather, ideal for escaping a 35°C heat dome
- Mild relief (24–26°C) — still warm but meaningfully less so
Cities in peak hurricane / monsoon season are deprioritized — being cool isn't worth it if you're stuck indoors.
The Smart Trip Finder lets you pick your own temperature window and rain tolerance.