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Weather Overview for Bordeaux

Bordeaux, within France’s famed Aquitaine wine region, is located on the bend of the Garonne River in the southwest of France. It enjoys a temperate maritime climate with hot summers and cool winters but no real extremes of temperature. This climate has made it perfect for the cultivation of grapes and so the production of exceptional wine.

Summer is the favourite season of tourists but Bordeaux’s warm, sunny weather lasts from May till the beginning of October. Springtime is perhaps the most unfairly neglected as the landscape comes to life in its long sunny days and pleasant heat.

The end of summer and early autumn is when the grape harvest takes place and wineries do not allow visitors at this busy time. This doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do plenty of wine tasting, just not at the site of production. The harvest festival falls near the end of October.

Summer: June – September

Bordeaux’s summers are filled with long days of sunshine and languid heat. Golden evenings are enriched by a glass of the local red wine.

Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Bordeaux is protected from temperature extremes. The average high temperature gets to 24°C in June and up to a peak of 26°C in August before cooling to 23°C in September. The evenings are often cooled by the westerly Atlantic wind which eases the temperature to the mid teens. However, away from the sea the temperature regularly gets into the high 20s and can touch the low 30s in the day. At night it can get very sticky, especially towards the end of the summer.

Rainfall is moderate, increasing at the end of the season. It usually falls in short showers or thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are more common in August and September. Sunshine levels are good for the whole season, peaking in July at nine hours per day.

Autumn: October & November

As the temperatures drop and the sun becomes shier the visitors leave, but the beginning of the season is still pleasant.

It steadily cools throughout the season but at the start of October many days will still be in the 20s and nights will only need a light jacket. November sees temperatures in the low teens in the day and decidedly chilly nights. Both months see quite a bit of rain falling in heavy showers. October is still sunny but November is often overcast.

Winter: December – February

The words ‘cool and wet’ do not normally attract visitors and this is how Bordeaux’s winter can be described. However, conditions are preferable to those in the UK as the most depressing element of a British winter is its low grey sky.

December sees the annual peak in rainfall and while it decreases throughout the season showers are regular and not light. However, the sun still manages to come out for twice as long as in the UK for most of the season.

January is the coldest month with an average high of 9°C and an average low of 2°C. December is very similar but February is a little warmer. It regularly gets down to freezing and frost can threaten the grape vines. Snow falls only very lightly a handful of times in the season and rarely settles for long. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Bordeaux was in February when the mercury plunged to -15 °C.

Spring: March – May

The mild days of early spring quickly become summer-like with heat and sun better than most English summers, though daily weather conditions are susceptible to unpredictable change.

Daytime highs sit in the mid teens at the beginning of the season and by May temperatures in the 20s are common. It is not unusual for weather conditions to revert to winter cold and rain on the odd day, but this happens less and less as summer nears.

Rainfall decreases to its lowest in April which receives 48mm on average, but light showers are common. Sunshine levels are good, reaching seven hours per day in April.