Bordeaux lies in southwestern France on the Garonne River, a little inland from the Atlantic coast in the Aquitaine Basin at approximately 44.84°N, 0.58°W. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) softened by its milder, sunnier southwestern position — warm summers and mild, damp winters — with generous rainfall spread through the year, the very climate that makes the surrounding region one of the world's great wine-growing areas.

Summer, from June to August, is warm and among the sunnier and drier times of year, with July and August the warmest months — average highs around 26–27°C. Its inland position lets it warm more than the immediate coast, and heatwaves have pushed temperatures past 40°C, but Atlantic influence keeps most summers pleasant rather than scorching. Rain, when it comes, often arrives as heavy but short-lived afternoon thunderstorms.

Winter, from December to February, is mild and damp, with January the coldest month — average highs around 10–11°C and lows near 3°C. Frost occurs on clear nights but genuinely cold spells are uncommon, and snow is rare and fleeting. The season is more often characterised by grey skies, Atlantic fronts and fine, persistent rain than by cold.

Bordeaux is quite rainy, receiving around 900–1,000 mm a year — markedly more than Paris or the Mediterranean coast — reflecting its exposure to Atlantic weather systems. Rain falls year-round with a cool-season maximum from autumn into winter, while late spring can bring thundery downpours. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Bordeaux's mild, moist, Atlantic-tempered climate, with its warm summers and long growing season, is precisely what has made its surrounding vineyards world-famous — the weather of any given year is followed closely as it shapes the vintage. Its inland setting gives it slightly warmer summers and cooler winter nights than the coast, and morning fog and mist off the Garonne are a familiar feature of the cooler months.

To follow any single measurement in Bordeaux more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.