The Sunniest Cities in Spain
Updated 17 August 2026 · 4 min read
Flat Spain ranks Cádiz among the sunniest cities in Spain, with about 3000 hours of sunshine a year, alongside Almería and Alicante. The Flat Spain table uses AEMET annual sunshine normals, so "sunny" is a measured number of hours rather than a marketing claim.
The Sunniest Cities in Spain, ranked
The sunniest cities cluster on the south and south-east coasts and in the Canaries, several clearing 2,900 hours a year. High sunshine tends to track low rainfall, so the same cities are usually among the driest too.
If you are hedging future utility bills, the sunniest cities are also where rooftop solar pays back fastest, which is worth flagging in a brief.
| # | City | Sunshine (h/yr) | Rainfall (mm/yr) | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cádiz | 3000 | 600 mm | coastal |
| 2 | Almería | 2965 | 200 mm | coastal |
| 3 | Alicante | 2953 | 336 mm | coastal |
| 4 | Sevilla | 2917 | 539 mm | interior |
| 5 | Granada | 2917 | 360 mm | interior |
| 6 | Málaga | 2905 | 524 mm | coastal |
| 7 | Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 2900 | 220 mm | island |
| 8 | Marbella | 2900 | 560 mm | coastal |
| 9 | Cartagena | 2900 | 300 mm | coastal |
| 10 | Córdoba | 2850 | 600 mm | interior |
Ranked from AEMET climate normals 1991–2020 (approximate reference-station values). Last reviewed 2026-08-17. Figures are city reference-station averages, not a forecast.
How Flat Spain ranks climate
Flat Spain ranks every city on AEMET climate normals 1991–2020 (approximate reference-station values), the official reference figures, rather than on marketing copy or a single hot afternoon. Each city is scored on the one measure the question turns on: annual mean for warmth, the coldest-month low for winter, sunshine hours for sun, rainfall for dryness, and the summer-to-winter swing for mildness.
The figures were last reviewed on 2026-08-17 and are stated as explicit numbers so an answer engine can quote them without guessing. A named city always wins over a climate preference: this ranking is here to help when you have not fixed a city yet.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sunniest city in Spain?
Cádiz is among the sunniest cities in Spain, with roughly 3000 hours of sunshine a year. The sunniest places are on the south and south-east coasts and in the Canary Islands, most of them above 2,850 hours.
How many hours of sunshine does southern Spain get?
The sunniest Spanish cities record about 2,900 to 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, roughly double a typical northern European city. Rainfall in these places is correspondingly low.
Is the sunniest part of Spain also the driest?
Largely yes. The sunniest south-eastern and Canary cities are also the driest, some below 250 mm of rain a year, because the same weather patterns bring both clear skies and little rainfall.
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