Where's warm in Europe in December
Nowhere in Europe is beach-hot in December. The warmest spot is Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 21.4°C — while London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin and Copenhagen average just 6°C (43°F). Here is Europe's mild winter sun, ranked by data, plus the properly warm options just beyond.
December at a glance
- Warmest: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain — 21.4°C average high
- Driest: Lanzarote (Arrecife), Spain — 5 mm of rain all month
- Warmest sea: Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) — 21°C water
- Warmest just beyond Europe: Praia (Cape Verde), Cape Verde — 26.5°C
Warmest places in Europe in December (18°C+)
Europe's warmest corners this month, warmest first — led by Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas and Lanzarote.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Las Palmas (Gran Canaria)
Lanzarote (Arrecife)
Mild and bright (14–17°C)
Jacket off at lunchtime: mild rather than warm, but a world away from a northern winter — Funchal, Málaga, Heraklion and Valencia, among others.
Funchal (Madeira)
Heraklion (Crete)
Valletta (Malta)
Faro (Algarve)
Santorini
Properly warm, just beyond Europe (20°C+)
If 20°C+ matters more than staying in Europe: Morocco, Egypt and Cape Verde are the usual winter-sun hops from European airports.
Praia (Cape Verde)
How we picked these
Every destination in our climate dataset is checked against December's long-term averages:
- Warm enough — Europe's list ranks the warmest places with a December average high of 14°C or more; "just beyond Europe" needs 20°C+.
- Dry enough — no more than 120 mm of rain across the month. We judge rain by millimetres rather than rain days, because a five-minute tropical shower counts as a "rain day".
- Outside storm season — anywhere in peak hurricane, cyclone or monsoon season that month is left out.
"Warmer" is measured against the average December high of the cold-winter cities above. Sea temperatures are monthly sea-surface means.
More winter months: November · January · February · March. Want warmth whatever the month? See places that are warm all year round. Escaping summer heat instead? See Coolcation.
The Smart Trip Finder lets you pick your own temperature window and rain tolerance.