France in January, away from Paris

Pleasant in January

Average high closest to 18–26 °C and fewest rain days (1991–2020 normals).

6h39 Coast · Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Menton The last town on the Riviera before Italy: a Baroque old quarter in ochre and pink, lemon groves, subtropical gardens and Cocteau. High 13 °C · Low 6 °C · 6 rain days 6h18 Coast · Occitanie Collioure A Catalan fishing port where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean, with a sea-washed church tower and the light that gave birth to Fauvism. High 13 °C · Low 4 °C · 5 rain days ✈ / ⛴ Coast · Corsica Bonifacio A Genoese citadel perched on white limestone cliffs at the southern tip of Corsica, staring across the strait at Sardinia. High 13 °C · Low 8 °C · 8 rain days ✈ / ⛴ Mountains · Corsica Corte The mountain capital of Corsica’s short-lived independent republic: an eagle’s-nest citadel, a student town, and wild gorges at its door. High 12 °C · Low 0 °C · 8 rain days 3h36 Town · Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Arles A Roman city on the Rhône where Van Gogh painted his brightest year, with an arena still in use and the Camargue at its gates. High 11 °C · Low 3 °C · 5 rain days 5h15 Mountains · Nouvelle-Aquitaine Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port A walled Basque town of red sandstone on the river Nive, where pilgrims to Santiago set off over the Pyrenees. High 12 °C · Low 3 °C · 14 rain days 5h24 Town · Occitanie Carcassonne A medieval fortress city with two rings of walls and dozens of towers on a hill above the Aude, rescued from demolition in the 1850s. High 10 °C · Low 4 °C · 10 rain days 6h02 City · Occitanie Albi A red-brick episcopal city on the Tarn: a fortress-cathedral painted inside from floor to vault, and the world’s largest Toulouse-Lautrec collection. High 10 °C · Low 2 °C · 11 rain days

Signature festivals

• Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer — Gérardmer, Grand Est. Horror and fantasy cinema in a snowy Vosges lake town, usually in the last week of January. Gérardmer took up the torch in 1994 from the fantasy film festival of Avoriaz; screenings, juries and late-night marathons fill the town’s cinemas and halls.
• La Folle Journée de Nantes — Nantes, Pays de la Loire. Five days of classical music at the end of January, sometimes running into the first days of February: hundreds of short concerts, each about an hour, around one theme or composer. Created in 1995, it was designed to bring newcomers to classical music.

Check dates on the official site.

All forty places in January

Wettest in January: Annecy (163 mm), Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (158 mm), Quimper (144 mm), Conques (103 mm).