Naval BarometerThis is a guide to the year-round climate in Toulon. Scroll down the page to view the current five-day weather forecast for this naval city. logoClick here to book a hotel in Toulon

Toulon enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate and is one of the sunniest cities - if not the sunniest - in France. And the weather is noticeably more temperate than in much of Southern Provence.

In the middle of summer it's slightly cooler and less swelteringly humid here than in coastal areas to the west of Provence, with pleasant temperatures averaging around 24 degrees Celsius or 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

And the winters tend to be mild in Toulon: they are significantly warmer than, say, either Marseille or Avignon, with temperatures rising sometimes as high as 13 degrees Celsius or 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and very rarely falling below freezing. It seldom snows.

The reason for the relatively clement weather: the Mistral wind is not as fierce in Toulon as elsewhere further west in Provence. This cold, dry wind from the north or north-west roars down the Rhône Valley towards the coast.

It can blow up at any time of year and can reach speeds of over 90 km / 56 miles an hour. Locals like to tell you that the Mistral always blows for multiples of three days: three, six, nine or more.

In practice we’ve rarely found this to be the case. But it can last for anything from a single day to a week or even longer.

It is usually, though not always, accompanied by bright blue skies and glorious sunshine. And it is guaranteed to make temperatures plummet - and the wind chill factor makes it feel even colder.

However, as you move east, away from the Rhône and towards the Côte d'Azur, the Mistral becomes less and less powerful.

Toulon is by no means wind-free and, as everywhere else in Provence, it remains a major topic of conversation there with locals!

Toulon annual temperature chartBut the city is on the edge of the "wind tunnel" and Mont Faron to the north of Toulon offers extra protection. During a really fierce Mistral, cruise ships bound for Marseille are sometimes diverted to Toulon for this very reason.

(By the way, the Mistral is nothing to do with the poet Frédéric Mistral: the name means "masterly" in the provençal language.)

Come to Toulon in the spring for milder weather than you'll find in Northern Europe, while in the autumn / fall there can be marvellous Indian summers and warm days well into November.

Toulon annual rainfall chartBear in mind that, while rainfall is low in July and August, thunderstorms and heavy, sometimes monsoon-like rain can sweep the area in the shoulder season, particularly the autumn. The highest rainfall is in December, January and February, while the driest month by far is July.

The chart indicates the days when it rains, not the centimetres of rainfall, because, rather than drizzling over a period of days or weeks, much of the month's rain can sometimes pour down in one or two hours.


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