Best time to visit Marseille

May is the best month in Marseille, scoring 87 out of 100, with January the weakest at 60. The 27-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. 6 of the twelve months sit within ten points of the best, so there is more than one right answer.

July is the warmest month at 33.2 °C and January the coolest at 11.8 °C — a 21.4 °C spread across the year. Around 76 days a year top 30 °C, concentrated in July and the months either side. 11 nights a year dip below freezing.

There is a real wet season here. April, October and November carry the rain — up to 9 wet days in a month — while July to August drop as low as 3. That 6-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Marseille, and it moves further than the temperature does.

The sea is comfortable for swimming in July to August — 22.3 °C at its warmest against 12.6 °C at its coldest. The water peaks a month or two after the air does, so the best swimming falls later in the year than the best weather. Daylight runs from 9 hours in winter to 15.4 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are May, April, September. The one to think twice about is January. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight, sea temperature and crowd levels.

Marseille month by month