Coldest Cities in Europe

The top ten list of coldest major cities in Europe is a mix of places in Northern and Eastern Europe. The lowest daily maximums belong to Reykjavík, Iceland, which averages just 7 degrees Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout a year. Lying not far from the Arctic Circle, Reykjavík is also the northernmost city in these rankings.

Here you'll find lists of major European cities with the coldest climates, along with the chilliest five cities by region: Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe. The ratings are based on the annual average of daily maximum temperatures.

Cities in western Russia, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg dominate the rest of the coldest ten. In fact Ufa, located near the Ural Mountains, has average lows that are nearly four degrees Celsius (7 °F) lower than Reykjavík's.

These weather rankings are for 68 major European cities which include national capitals plus cities with a metropolitan population of over one million people. You can also see the full list of European cities and their temperatures that these ratings are based on.

Average daily temperatures for the ten coldest major European cities.

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
44.6	7.0	Reykjavík, Iceland	35.4	1.9
46.2	7.9	Kazan, Russia	31.8	-0.1
46.5	8.1	Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia	33.2	0.6
47.0	8.3	Ufa, Russia	28.3	-2.0
47.0	8.3	Saint Petersburg, Russia	35.3	1.8
48.1	8.9	Moscow, Russia	34.2	1.2
48.4	9.1	Helsinki, Finland	34.5	1.4
48.4	9.1	Tallinn, Estonia	35.8	2.1
48.5	9.2	Samara, Russia	33.7	1.0
49.3	9.6	Oslo, Norway	36.3	2.4

Coldest Cities in European Regions

Even the coldest cities in Southern and Western Europe don't get nearly as frigid as those to the north and east.

Southern Europe's coldest major city is Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed closely by Ljubljana, Slovenia. Both places average highs of 15 °C (59 °F) and lows below 5 °C (41 °F).

In Western Europe, two UK cities top the list of those with coldest climates: Leeds and Glasgow. Leeds, which backs onto foothills of the chilly Pennines mountain range, has cooler days and nights than it's more northerly neighbour.

Western Europe

Average daily temperatures for Western Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
53.2	11.8	Leeds, United Kingdom	41.2	5.1
54.0	12.2	Glasgow, United Kingdom	41.9	5.5
54.1	12.3	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	40.5	4.7
54.9	12.7	Hamburg, Germany	41.4	5.2
55.4	13.0	Munich, Germany	39.5	4.2

Northern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Northern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
44.6	7.0	Reykjavík, Iceland	35.4	1.9
48.4	9.1	Helsinki, Finland	34.5	1.4
48.4	9.1	Tallinn, Estonia	35.8	2.1
49.3	9.6	Oslo, Norway	36.3	2.4
49.8	9.9	Riga, Latvia	36.7	2.6

Eastern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Eastern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
46.2	7.9	Kazan, Russia	31.8	-0.1
46.5	8.1	Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia	33.2	0.6
47.0	8.3	Ufa, Russia	28.3	-2.0
47.0	8.3	Saint Petersburg, Russia	35.3	1.8
48.1	8.9	Moscow, Russia	34.2	1.2

Southern Europe

Average daily temperatures for Southern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
59.0	15.0	Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina	40.6	4.8
59.2	15.1	Ljubljana, Slovenia	42.6	5.9
59.9	15.5	Pristina, Kosovo	39.9	4.4
60.4	15.8	Zagreb, Croatia	42.6	5.9
62.8	17.1	Turin, Italy	44.5	7.0