October
Wk 40–42
The quietest stretch among this region's best weather weeks: crowd level around 19 out of 100, weather comfort near 72.
- Crowd level
- 18–21
- Comfort
- 66–77
France · Côte d’Azur
The Côte d'Azur: 46 communes between Cassis and Menton
It was named by the poet Stéphen Liégeard in 1887 after its azure-blue water. Red rocks run from the Esterel to where they give way to the Calanques, in the east the Alps drop steeply into the sea at Monaco and Menton, and since 2021 Nice has carried the title of a UNESCO World Heritage town.
Busiest week
AugustCrowd level 100
Wk 32 · 2,596,363 overnight stays
Quietest weeks
JanuaryCrowd level 0
Wk 2–4 · measured against the region's own year, not against other regions
Sweet spot
OctoberCrowd level 18–21
Wk 40–42 · quietest while the weather still holds
Warmest month
26 °CComfort 81
July · around 20 mm of rain in the month
Côte d’Azur in brief
The Côte d'Azur runs, by the French dictionaries' definition, from Cassis to Menton at the border with Italy, and belongs to the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, with coastal shares of three départements and the Principality of Monaco. 46 communes lie directly on the Mediterranean and together count 1,401,342 residents. Characteristic are red rocks in the west between the Esterel and the Calanques, and in the east the Alps dropping steeply into the sea at Monaco and Menton.
When is Côte d’Azur busy, when is it quiet?
Click a week. The panel on the right explains why it is busy or quiet.
Weather profile
Weather comfort is an absolute scale (0 = poor, 100 = ideal) and a second axis next to the season-relative crowd level.
JanuaryØ 1
FebruaryØ 7
MarchØ 9
AprilØ 26
MayØ 34
JuneØ 48
JulyØ 82
AugustØ 95
SeptemberØ 43
OctoberØ 20
NovemberØ 2
DecemberØ 2
Colour = season-relative crowd levelBar = weather comfort (Sun & warmth), absolute 0–100
Why this week?
October · Wk 40
Crowd level21/100 · fairly quiet
quietbusy
Weather comfort40/100 · Sun & warmth
-19 % versus the region's annual average.
- Contributing months
- September (14 %) · October (86 %)
- Overnight stays/week
- 862,210
- School-holiday pressure (source markets)
- 1 % of source markets on school holidays · -3 % crowding from holidays
- Main source markets
- France (76 %) · Germany (5 %) · Netherlands (5 %) · 94% of guests modelled
- Region range
- 396,963–2,596,363 (avg 1,065,907)
- Base years
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (excluding 2020, 2021)
v1: Crowd-Score aus der Eurostat-Basisschicht (Übernachtungen), moduliert vom Schulferien-Druck der Quellmärkte, region-spezifisch gewichtet mit dem Quellland-Mix. Season-relativ zur Region. Event-Schichten folgen.
Plan your trip
Pre-filled with the next date in week 40.
DestinationCôte d’Azur
Travel datesPick a week in the calendar
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StayFind stays (opens in a new tab)
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Photos: Johny Goerend · reisetopia · Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash
The travel year in Côte d’Azur, month by month
The year as a table to read and to cite: crowd level for every month, plus weather comfort and temperature from the climate normals.
| Month | Crowd level0–100, season-relative | Weather comfort0–100, profile “mild” | Avg temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 23 | 5 °C |
| February | 7 | 30 | 7 °C |
| March | 9 | 41 | 9 °C |
| April | 26 | 56 | 13 °C |
| May | 34 | 70 | 17 °C |
| June | 48 | 80 | 23 °C |
| July | 82 | 81 | 26 °C |
| August | 95 | 83 | 26 °C |
| September | 43 | 85 | 20 °C |
| October | 20 | 69 | 15 °C |
| November | 2 | 39 | 9 °C |
| December | 2 | 24 | 5 °C |
The crowd level is season-relative: 100 is the annual peak of Côte d’Azur itself, not the busiest destination in Europe. The figures say when it is quiet here — not where it is quieter than elsewhere.
Weather comfort 0–100 from the climate normals, profile “mild” – the same profile as the recommendation above, not the selection in the calendar. A “–” means the data for that month is missing.
Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026
The windows worth catching
Three windows from the model: first whether the weather suits the region, then how busy it gets.
May
Wk 19–21
A second option, also with usable weather: crowd level around 33, weather comfort near 70.
- Crowd level
- 33
- Comfort
- 67–74
August
Wk 32–34
The region's peak: crowd level around 99 out of 100. Only if the dates are fixed.
- Crowd level
- 98–100
- Comfort
- 81–84
Côte d’Azur compared with Europe
How full the accommodation is here, measured against Europe – on the only measure on which two travel regions can be compared.
- Bed occupancy in Côte d’Azur
- 26.1
- European median
- 23.1
per cent of bed places, annual mean
per cent of bed places, annual mean
Furthest from the median: November, at 0.7× the value. Closest to the median: October, at 0.9× the value.
Mean across 12 months, weighted by their weeks. This occupancy compares travel regions with one another. The crowding in the table above compares Côte d’Azur with itself. The two measures are never combined.
Climate through the year
Average temperature with day/night range and precipitation across the twelve months.
- Avg temperature
- Day/night range
- Precipitation
| Month | Avg temperature (°C) | Day avg (°C) | Night avg (°C) | Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 5 | 1 | 47 |
| Feb | 5 | 7 | 3 | 57 |
| Mar | 7 | 9 | 5 | 85 |
| Apr | 10 | 13 | 8 | 77 |
| May | 14 | 17 | 12 | 97 |
| Jun | 20 | 23 | 17 | 67 |
| Jul | 23 | 26 | 20 | 20 |
| Aug | 23 | 26 | 20 | 32 |
| Sep | 18 | 20 | 16 | 52 |
| Oct | 13 | 15 | 11 | 100 |
| Nov | 7 | 9 | 6 | 101 |
| Dec | 4 | 5 | 2 | 80 |
The band shows mean daytime to nighttime temperature. Precipitation shown as monthly total (mm). Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
How sunny?
How much sun a typical day delivers, month by month, expressed as hours of full midday sun.
Very sunny
≈ 4.4 h of full midday sun per day, annual average
Jul
Sunniest month
| Month | ≈ h of full midday sun per day |
|---|---|
| Jan | 1.9 |
| Feb | 2.8 |
| Mar | 4.2 |
| Apr | 5.5 |
| May | 6.1 |
| Jun | 6.8 |
| Jul | 7.3 |
| Aug | 6.3 |
| Sep | 4.7 |
| Oct | 3.2 |
| Nov | 2.0 |
| Dec | 1.6 |
Basis: mean daily solar irradiance in kWh/m²/day; 1 kWh/m² is roughly one hour of full midday sun (1,000 W/m²). Not the same as measured sunshine duration. Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
Directly reachable from
Destination airports of Côte d’Azur and every European departure airport with a direct connection to them.
Destination airports
Select a destination airport to see the direct departure airports.
“Directly reachable” means a direct connection exists according to our sources. We do not show a live timetable. Availability and flight days can vary by season and airline.
Ski areas in Côte d’Azur
Mapped ski areas in this region with slope kilometres, lifts and elevation, plus the long-term snow average from our climate data.
- Ski areas
- 59
- Slopes in total
- 1,555 km
- Lifts
- 567
- Highest point
- 3,543 m
On a long-term average, January sees the most snow: 12 cm mean snow depth across the region. In 2 months of the year the regional average reaches at least 10 cm of snow depth.
| Ski area | Slopes | Lifts | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espace Lumière | 185.1 km | 39 | 1,495–2,592 m1,097 m vertical drop |
| Serre-Chevalier | 157.41 km | 70 | 1,219–2,765 m1,546 m vertical drop |
| Forêt Blanche : Vars/Risoul | 131.1 km | 38 | 1,632–2,722 m1,090 m vertical drop |
| Val d'Allos - La Foux | 96.1 km | 18 | 1,702–2,592 m890 m vertical drop |
| Pra-Loup 1600 | 89.32 km | 21 | 1,495–2,497 m1,001 m vertical drop |
| Dévoluy | 69.11 km9.92 km cross-country | 23 | 1,458–2,495 m1,037 m vertical drop |
| Montgenèvre | 61.96 km4.84 km cross-country | 25 | 1,795–2,581 m786 m vertical drop |
| Auron | 61.56 km | 20 | 1,597–2,445 m848 m vertical drop |
| Isola 2000 | 54.92 km | 20 | 1,828–2,601 m773 m vertical drop |
| Domaine skiable Valberg | 54.1 km15.11 km cross-country | 25 | 1,414–2,012 m598 m vertical drop |
| Les Orres | 53.64 km | 21 | 1,554–2,700 m1,146 m vertical drop |
| Le Sauze 1400 / Le Super-Sauze 1700 | 53.35 km | 21 | 1,374–2,388 m1,014 m vertical drop |
| Orcières Merlette | 49.46 km | 26 | 1,826–2,731 m905 m vertical drop |
| Puy-Saint-Vincent | 41.77 km | 12 | 1,411–2,664 m1,253 m vertical drop |
| Queyras - Molines/Saint-Véran | 29.74 km | 12 | 1,739–2,805 m1,066 m vertical drop |
| Chabanon | 26.23 km0.83 km cross-country | 12 | 1,534–2,028 m494 m vertical drop |
| Queyras - Haut-Guil (Abriès) | 25.97 km22.24 km cross-country | 8 | 1,549–2,400 m850 m vertical drop |
| Val d'Allos - Le Seignus | 25.94 km | 6 | 1,514–2,415 m901 m vertical drop |
| Montclar | 23.83 km | 8 | 1,334–2,465 m1,131 m vertical drop |
| Gréolières-Les-Neiges | 23.01 km13.46 km cross-country | 9 | 1,399–1,765 m367 m vertical drop |
| Ancelle | 22.87 km13.2 km cross-country | 14 | 1,323–1,798 m475 m vertical drop |
| Crévoux | 20.14 km22.29 km cross-country | 5 | 1,615–2,537 m922 m vertical drop |
| Queyras - Ceillac | 17.87 km38.73 km cross-country | 5 | 1,688–2,449 m761 m vertical drop |
| L'Audibergue | 17.3 km | 7 | 1,277–1,633 m356 m vertical drop |
| Sainte-Anne la Condamine | 16.75 km | 5 | 1,835–2,409 m574 m vertical drop |
and 34 more areas in this region
Slope, lift and elevation figures come from open mapping and are complete to varying degrees. “Not available” means not mapped, not “does not exist”. Opening hours and season are not included. Snow figures are long-term averages for the whole region, not snow depth on the mountain and not a forecast.
Côte d’Azur in detail
Name and extent
The Côte d'Azur takes its name from the poet Stéphen Liégeard, who published a book titled "La Côte d'Azur" in 1887 and named the coast after its azure-blue water. Equivalent names are the French Riviera, Occitan Còsta d'Azur and Italian Costa Azzurra. By the French dictionaries Petit Robert and Petit Larousse, the coast runs from Cassis to Menton at the border with Italy, though some sources name Toulon, Hyères or Saint-Tropez as its western starting point and others limit it to the coast of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The straight-line distance between Cassis and Menton is 175.5 kilometres.
Communes and population
The Côte d'Azur belongs to the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, with coastal shares of the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Alpes-Maritimes as well as the Principality of Monaco. 46 independent communes border directly on the Mediterranean by the dictionaries' count: 27 in the Var département, 16 in Alpes-Maritimes, two in Bouches-du-Rhône, plus Monaco. Together they count 1,401,342 residents; the most populous communes are Nice, Toulon, Antibes and Cannes, the least populous Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, Théoule-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Monaco itself counts 39,050 residents, as of 2022.
Landscape
The hinterland is mountainous, with the Maritime Alps, the Provençal-Niçois foothills and the Massif des Maures. The western Côte d'Azur is marked by red rocks that run from the Esterel massif to where they give way to the Calanques. In the east the Alps drop steeply into the sea at Monaco and Menton, separating the coast from the Italian Riviera in Liguria.
From Cassis to Fréjus
At Cassis lie the Calanques, sea inlets with white limestone cliffs. Toulon combines a Mediterranean harbour with an old town and a waterfront promenade; from nearby Mont Faron the view reaches over the town, the harbour and the coastal landscape. In Cassis the Fête de la Saint-Pierre et de la Mer, the festival of the fishermen and the sea, is held on the last weekend of June. Fréjus combines beaches and a marina with Roman remains such as an amphitheatre and an aqueduct as well as a historic old town with a cathedral, while Saint-Raphaël lies at the Esterel massif with its red rock landscapes.
From Cannes to Menton
Antibes combines a medieval old town with ramparts along the sea, the Picasso Museum in the Château Grimaldi, and the Port Vauban marina, one of the largest yacht harbours in Europe. In Monaco lie the Oceanographic Museum, the Casino de Monte-Carlo and the Prince's Palace. Since July 2021 Nice has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a "Winter Resort Town of the Riviera". The smaller communes in the east around Menton belong to the Communauté d'agglomération de la Riviera Française.
Festivals, sport and cuisine
The Cannes Film Festival has been held every May since 1946. The Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival is held every December under the patronage of the Monegasque princely family, and the Monaco Grand Prix in spring. Tennis has been played at the Côte d'Azur since 1969 at the Monte-Carlo Masters, part of the ATP Masters Series, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, and since 2021 at the Saint-Tropez Open. The lemon festival in Menton has been held every February or March since 1930 and is, after the Nice Carnival, the second-largest festival on the Côte d'Azur. The cuisine includes olives, ratatouille, goat cheese and gnocchi.
Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Côte d’Azur
Short answers on timing, weather and getting there, all from the data on this page.
When is the best time to visit Côte d’Azur?
- The best time to visit Côte d’Azur is October (Wk 40–42): it is the quietest stretch among the region's best weather weeks – crowd level around 19 out of 100, weather comfort about 72 out of 100.
When is Côte d’Azur quietest?
- January (Wk 2–4) is the quietest time in Côte d’Azur. Crowd levels there sit at 0 out of 100, the lowest across the year.
When is Côte d’Azur busiest?
- Côte d’Azur is busiest in August (Wk 32) with around 2,596,363 overnight stays in the peak week.
What is the weather like in Côte d’Azur and when is it warmest?
- It is warmest in Côte d’Azur in July with an average of 26 °C and around 20 mm of rain in the month.
When is there the most snow in Côte d’Azur and when are ski conditions best?
- Côte d’Azur has the most snow in January with an average of around 12 cm. Those are the most reliable weeks for winter sports.
How do you get to Côte d’Azur?
- Côte d’Azur is reachable via 3 destination airports with direct flights, including Cote D'Azur Airport (NCE), Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) and Hyeres Airport (TLN).
Quiet travel windows across Europe, once a month
The Crowd Report names the emptiest weeks of the coming months — for every region, not just this one. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Sources and data vintages
Every provenance note on this page, collected in one place.
- Cover photo
- Photo by Alissa Schilling on Unsplash
- Cover video
- Video by Lazar Krstić on Pexels
- Crowding figures
- Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026. v1 approximation, calculated from Eurostat overnight stays. Day tourism and cruises (Venice, Dubrovnik …) are still missing, so we show these destinations as quieter than they are. The crowd score is a model-based forecast, not a measurement.
- Climate data
- Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2025.
- Reachability
Data sources: direct connections from Wikipedia (“Airlines and destinations”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, aggregated and modified by us), cross-checked with Eurostat, Destatis and the UK Civil Aviation Authority; airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain). The derived connection data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Data as of: September 2026
- Ski areas
Data sources: ski areas from OpenSkiMap, based on OpenStreetMap, licensed under ODbL 1.0; snow depths from ERA5-Land (Copernicus Climate Change Service).
- Region text
- Text by HolidayHub, written from Wikivoyage „Côte d’Azur“ (1802645) · Wikipedia „Côte d’Azur“ (269917309) · Wikidata Q182822. Wikivoyage and Wikipedia are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikidata CC0.
- Data basis
- All figures are approximations derived from open data (crowd level from Eurostat overnight stays, climate from Copernicus/ERA5-Land), not measurements.