Sunshine hours in Switzerland by city: ranking and monthly values

How many hours does the sun shine in Zurich, Bern, Lugano or Davos? This page shows the measured sunshine hours of 33 places in Switzerland: per year, in winter, in summer and month by month. It is based on MeteoSwiss measurements, averaged over 2011–2025.

2'299 hMost sunLocarno
1'352 hLeast sunGlarus
1'819 hZurichper year
402 hSunniest winterLocarno (Dec–Feb)

Ranking: sunshine hours per year

Measured sunshine hours, average 2011–2025, ordered by hours per year. Winter is December to February, summer June to August. The "station" is the weather station whose values stand for the place.

#	Place	Station (canton, altitude)	Year	Winter	Summer
1	Locarno	Monti, TI, 367 m	2'299 h	402 h	782 h
2	Lugano	TI, 273 m	2'227 h	382 h	771 h
3	Sion	VS, 482 m	2'203 h	280 h	807 h
4	Crans-Montana	Montana, VS, 1'423 m	2'169 h	375 h	718 h
5	Nyon	Changins, VD, 458 m	2'061 h	252 h	784 h
6	Lausanne	Pully, VD, 456 m	2'027 h	252 h	768 h
7	Geneva	Cointrin, GE, 411 m	1'990 h	221 h	794 h
8	Bern	Zollikofen, BE, 553 m	1'938 h	229 h	743 h
9	Aigle	VD, 381 m	1'932 h	283 h	694 h
10	Neuchâtel	NE, 485 m	1'916 h	199 h	759 h
11	Fribourg	Grangeneuve, FR, 651 m	1'880 h	242 h	730 h
12	La Chaux-de-Fonds	NE, 1'017 m	1'847 h	274 h	657 h
13	Scuol	GR, 1'304 m	1'826 h	287 h	614 h
14	Zurich	Fluntern, ZH, 604 m	1'819 h	203 h	702 h
15	Basel	Binningen, BL, 316 m	1'818 h	210 h	716 h
16	Samedan (Upper Engadine)	Samedan, GR, 1'709 m	1'812 h	340 h	579 h
17	Davos	GR, 1'594 m	1'774 h	319 h	549 h
18	Chur	GR, 556 m	1'772 h	288 h	608 h
19	Bad Ragaz	SG, 497 m	1'761 h	268 h	629 h
20	St. Gallen	SG, 776 m	1'732 h	187 h	679 h
21	Arosa	GR, 1'878 m	1'731 h	304 h	564 h
22	Delémont	JU, 439 m	1'709 h	202 h	683 h
23	Zermatt	VS, 1'638 m	1'688 h	285 h	551 h
24	Interlaken	BE, 578 m	1'680 h	201 h	657 h
25	Lucerne	LU, 454 m	1'668 h	183 h	648 h
26	Aarau	AG, 387 m	1'649 h	153 h	677 h
27	Schaffhausen	SH, 438 m	1'641 h	158 h	665 h
28	Vaduz (FL)	Vaduz, FL, 457 m	1'602 h	218 h	586 h
29	Andermatt	UR, 1'435 m	1'599 h	224 h	585 h
30	Adelboden	BE, 1'321 m	1'594 h	259 h	546 h
31	Engelberg	OW, 1'036 m	1'438 h	173 h	506 h
32	Altdorf	UR, 438 m	1'423 h	173 h	510 h
33	Glarus	GL, 517 m	1'352 h	185 h	521 h

Source: MeteoSwiss, weather stations 2011–2025.

Sunshine hours month by month

Average sunshine hours per month. December and January are the darkest months under the fog of the Swiss Plateau; in Ticino, Valais and at altitude they are much higher.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Locarno	135	143	200	210	216	243	275	264	204	161	124	124
Lugano	130	137	193	202	206	239	271	262	203	152	117	116
Sion	81	133	197	219	228	256	282	269	213	165	95	66
Crans-Montana	121	143	186	197	195	221	250	247	203	170	125	111
Nyon	79	118	182	207	217	246	279	260	206	137	76	56
Lausanne	79	115	174	203	215	245	270	253	197	136	82	58
Geneva	67	106	169	198	218	251	283	260	197	127	67	48
Bern	70	102	169	201	205	241	256	246	193	131	68	57
Aigle	86	115	164	183	183	221	240	233	184	143	98	81
Neuchâtel	62	98	171	203	212	245	265	248	195	122	54	39
Fribourg	76	100	160	183	188	238	255	237	182	124	72	66
La Chaux-de-Fonds	81	108	160	173	172	209	230	218	173	143	96	84
Scuol	92	116	172	184	164	200	211	203	170	139	96	79
Zurich	59	92	163	194	193	227	239	236	181	119	63	52
Basel	57	90	153	183	193	232	252	232	180	116	69	62
Samedan (Upper Engadine)	114	121	160	165	156	192	197	190	161	141	112	104
Davos	101	122	170	169	144	176	184	189	167	144	111	96
Chur	91	110	152	167	164	201	206	202	161	131	102	88
Bad Ragaz	82	104	154	172	165	212	210	207	163	125	87	82
St. Gallen	53	80	152	185	186	226	229	224	170	111	62	54
Arosa	97	114	158	167	142	180	190	194	156	135	105	93
Delémont	58	91	150	169	175	222	242	219	161	110	60	54
Zermatt	92	108	152	157	152	173	191	186	158	138	96	85
Interlaken	63	81	136	174	176	215	229	212	157	107	73	57
Lucerne	53	86	151	180	176	211	218	219	163	109	57	44
Aarau	43	79	152	181	184	220	234	223	164	94	43	32
Schaffhausen	44	80	151	177	180	219	230	216	167	97	45	34
Vaduz (FL)	66	91	141	165	157	196	195	194	151	114	71	61
Andermatt	74	90	135	158	150	192	202	191	152	114	82	60
Adelboden	81	96	138	150	143	176	187	184	147	123	88	82
Engelberg	48	93	140	158	139	173	165	169	135	119	68	33
Altdorf	49	86	135	151	145	171	170	170	139	111	59	38
Glarus	57	71	102	144	142	175	173	173	110	87	62	57

Source: MeteoSwiss, weather stations 2011–2025.

All 93 weather stations

Here are all 93 MeteoSwiss weather stations with their sunshine hours per year, ordered by hours. Stations above 1,500 m are in the high mountains; their values cannot be compared with places where people live.

Show all stations

#	Station	Canton	Altitude	Year	Winter	Summer
1	Locarno / Monti	TI	367 m	2'299 h	402 h	782 h
2	Cimetta	TI	1'661 m	2'254 h	452 h	726 h
3	Lugano	TI	273 m	2'227 h	382 h	771 h
4	Sion	VS	482 m	2'203 h	280 h	807 h
5	Magadino / Cadenazzo	TI	203 m	2'195 h	328 h	795 h
6	Montana	VS	1'423 m	2'169 h	375 h	718 h
7	Stabio	TI	351 m	2'136 h	352 h	769 h
8	Nyon / Changins	VD	458 m	2'061 h	252 h	784 h
9	Piz Corvatsch	GR	3'294 m	2'057 h	401 h	600 h
10	Pully	VD	456 m	2'027 h	252 h	768 h
11	Genève / Cointrin	GE	411 m	1'990 h	221 h	794 h
12	Bantiger	BE	942 m	1'974 h	287 h	746 h
13	Le Moléson	FR	1'974 m	1'967 h	342 h	637 h
14	Payerne	VD	490 m	1'955 h	216 h	765 h
15	Weissfluhjoch	GR	2'691 m	1'947 h	396 h	560 h
16	Bern / Zollikofen	BE	553 m	1'938 h	229 h	743 h
17	Bière	VD	684 m	1'937 h	258 h	718 h
18	Aigle	VD	381 m	1'932 h	283 h	694 h
19	Gütsch, Andermatt	UR	2'286 m	1'923 h	350 h	632 h
20	Neuchâtel	NE	485 m	1'916 h	199 h	759 h
21	Plaffeien	FR	1'042 m	1'909 h	289 h	696 h
22	La Dôle	VD	1'670 m	1'904 h	322 h	645 h
23	Evolène / Villa	VS	1'825 m	1'880 h	320 h	622 h
24	Fribourg / Grangeneuve	FR	651 m	1'880 h	242 h	730 h
25	Château-d'Oex	VD	1'028 m	1'878 h	308 h	659 h
26	St. Chrischona	BS	493 m	1'876 h	231 h	720 h
27	Mathod	VD	435 m	1'864 h	200 h	741 h
28	Crap Masegn	GR	2'468 m	1'850 h	367 h	549 h
29	La Chaux-de-Fonds	NE	1'017 m	1'847 h	274 h	657 h
30	Lägern	ZH	845 m	1'842 h	207 h	724 h
31	Uetliberg	ZH	854 m	1'831 h	244 h	700 h
32	Mühleberg	BE	480 m	1'828 h	201 h	719 h
33	Güttingen	TG	440 m	1'826 h	177 h	740 h
34	Scuol	GR	1'304 m	1'826 h	287 h	614 h
35	Zürich / Fluntern	ZH	604 m	1'819 h	203 h	702 h
36	Basel / Binningen	BL	316 m	1'818 h	210 h	716 h
37	Säntis	AI	2'501 m	1'817 h	353 h	521 h
38	Samedan	GR	1'709 m	1'812 h	340 h	579 h
39	Chaumont	NE	1'136 m	1'810 h	251 h	673 h
40	Fahy	JU	596 m	1'808 h	213 h	700 h
41	Rünenberg	BL	611 m	1'807 h	222 h	704 h
42	Koppigen	BE	485 m	1'806 h	192 h	735 h
43	Hörnli	ZH	1'133 m	1'798 h	242 h	661 h
44	Wädenswil	ZH	485 m	1'795 h	197 h	707 h
45	Jungfraujoch	VS	3'571 m	1'793 h	334 h	536 h
46	Davos	GR	1'594 m	1'774 h	319 h	549 h
47	Chur	GR	556 m	1'772 h	288 h	608 h
48	Chasseral	BE	1'594 m	1'765 h	266 h	618 h
49	Zürich / Affoltern	ZH	444 m	1'762 h	180 h	714 h
50	Bad Ragaz	SG	497 m	1'761 h	268 h	629 h
51	Buffalora	GR	1'971 m	1'761 h	291 h	584 h
52	Zürich / Kloten	ZH	426 m	1'759 h	176 h	716 h
53	Napf	BE	1'404 m	1'755 h	285 h	594 h
54	Grächen	VS	1'605 m	1'747 h	231 h	642 h
55	Bullet / La Frétaz	VD	1'205 m	1'733 h	257 h	632 h
56	St. Gallen	SG	776 m	1'732 h	187 h	679 h
57	Arosa	GR	1'878 m	1'731 h	304 h	564 h
58	Leibstadt	AG	341 m	1'729 h	152 h	727 h
59	Pilatus	OW	2'105 m	1'721 h	333 h	499 h
60	Wynau	BE	422 m	1'721 h	158 h	718 h
61	Ulrichen	VS	1'346 m	1'709 h	224 h	629 h
62	Delémont	JU	439 m	1'709 h	202 h	683 h
63	Würenlingen / PSI	AG	334 m	1'705 h	160 h	718 h
64	Beznau	AG	326 m	1'694 h	143 h	711 h
65	Zermatt	VS	1'638 m	1'688 h	285 h	551 h
66	Interlaken	BE	578 m	1'680 h	201 h	657 h
67	Aadorf / Tänikon	TG	539 m	1'678 h	171 h	679 h
68	Luzern	LU	454 m	1'668 h	183 h	648 h
69	Gösgen	SO	380 m	1'664 h	158 h	689 h
70	Col du Grand St-Bernard	VS	2'472 m	1'656 h	179 h	630 h
71	Buchs / Aarau	AG	387 m	1'649 h	153 h	677 h
72	Bischofszell / Sitterdorf	TG	507 m	1'647 h	165 h	670 h
73	Schaffhausen	SH	438 m	1'641 h	158 h	665 h
74	Disentis	GR	1'197 m	1'641 h	248 h	571 h
75	Vaduz	FL	457 m	1'602 h	218 h	586 h
76	Andermatt	UR	1'435 m	1'599 h	224 h	585 h
77	Adelboden	BE	1'321 m	1'594 h	259 h	546 h
78	Sta. Maria, Val Müstair	GR	1'386 m	1'564 h	162 h	607 h
79	Evionnaz	VS	482 m	1'557 h	218 h	574 h
80	S. Bernardino	GR	1'639 m	1'532 h	289 h	479 h
81	Robièi	TI	1'898 m	1'527 h	266 h	505 h
82	Blatten, Lötschental	VS	1'548 m	1'525 h	163 h	617 h
83	Meiringen	BE	589 m	1'523 h	144 h	585 h
84	Poschiavo / Robbia	GR	1'078 m	1'520 h	277 h	497 h
85	Grimsel Hospiz	BE	1'980 m	1'486 h	215 h	527 h
86	Acquarossa / Comprovasco	TI	575 m	1'479 h	259 h	497 h
87	Andeer	GR	987 m	1'441 h	212 h	522 h
88	Engelberg	OW	1'036 m	1'438 h	173 h	506 h
89	Grono	GR	324 m	1'427 h	184 h	537 h
90	Altdorf	UR	438 m	1'423 h	173 h	510 h
91	Glarus	GL	517 m	1'352 h	185 h	521 h
92	Cevio	TI	417 m	1'290 h	226 h	426 h
93	Elm	GL	958 m	1'215 h	116 h	439 h

Source: MeteoSwiss, weather stations 2011–2025.

The difference is greatest in winter

From December to February, Locarno gets 402 hours of sun and Aarau only 153: 2.6 times as much. In summer the places are much closer together: 807 h in Sion against 506 h in Engelberg. Anyone looking for a house or flat therefore notices the difference above all in the dark months.

How to read these numbers

Sunshine duration is the time during which the instrument registers direct sunlight (by the definition of the World Meteorological Organization, from 120 watts per square metre). The values apply to the open site of the weather station, not to your plot. The period 2011–2025 was on average about 4 % sunnier than 1991–2020 (median of 64 stations, up to 9 % depending on the station); the official climate normals of MeteoSwiss are therefore mostly a little lower.

And at your address?

The place counts for less than the position: a north-facing slope, a neighbouring building or a mountain to the south costs hours of sun, especially in winter, and a plot at the edge of a valley gets less than one on the plain. The suntag.ch report calculates the sun for your address: day by day, with the horizon from the terrain model and the weather of these stations. Our sun exposure guide explains how.

Sun exposure in Switzerland: what sets two plots apart →

Calculate the sun for your own address

The suntag.ch report calculates the sun for any address in Switzerland and Liechtenstein: day by day, with the terrain model from swisstopo, the buildings and trees around it and the weather of the nearest stations. Plus noise, access, antennas, building zone and natural hazards.

Calculate now

Frequently asked questions about sunshine hours

Which Swiss city has the most sunshine hours?

Of the places listed, Locarno has the most on average 2011–2025, with about 2'299 hours per year, followed by Lugano (2'227 h) and Sion (2'203 h). The least sun is in Glarus (1'352 h) and Altdorf (1'423 h).

How many hours of sunshine does Zurich get per year?

Zurich (Fluntern station) gets about 1'819 hours of sunshine per year on average 2011–2025: 203 in winter and 702 in summer. For comparison: Basel 1'818, Bern 1'938, Geneva 1'990, Lugano 2'227.

Why does the sun shine so much longer in winter in Ticino and Valais?

On the Swiss Plateau there is often fog or low cloud for days in winter; Ticino, Valais, Graubünden and places above the fog are mostly spared. So Locarno gets 402 hours of sun from December to February, Lucerne only 183.

Are these the official MeteoSwiss figures?

They are MeteoSwiss measurements (SwissMetNet ground stations, open data), but our own average over 2011–2025, for stations with at least 12 of the 15 years for every month. The official climate normals refer to 1991–2020 and are mostly about 4 % lower.

Does the value apply to my own house or flat?

Only roughly. The station stands on an open site and stands for the area; your plot has its own horizon of mountains, hills and buildings. The value for a specific address, day by day, is calculated by the suntag.ch report.

What is the difference between sunshine hours and sun exposure?

Sunshine hours are a question of weather: how long the sun actually shines at a place without being hidden by cloud or fog. Sun exposure is a question of geometry: whether the sun can reach a place at all when mountains, hills and buildings form the horizon. Together they give the sun you can expect at home.

More guides

Sources and methodology: Measurements: MeteoSwiss, SwissMetNet ground stations (open data, parameter "sunshine duration, monthly sum"), average 2011–2025; stations with at least 12 of the 15 years for every month. Each place stands for one station whose altitude and surroundings may differ from the centre of the place. Comparison with 1991–2020: median of 64 stations.