Nice weather in May

In May, Nice sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 64 mm of rain across 10.5 wet days and about 14.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 20°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Nice's 12th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nice's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 64 mm; 10.5 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 30 min; 5:12 AM – 7:43 PM
Cloud cover: 57%; 12th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 6.07 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.0; out of 10

Nice is city and commune in Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

Air quality: Moderate; PM2.5 12.1 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 4,765/km²; people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Nice year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 20°C by the end.

A typical May day in Nice reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21
Avg low (°C)	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	11
4	17	11
5	17	11
6	18	11
7	18	11
8	18	11
9	18	11
10	18	11
11	18	12
12	18	12
13	19	12
14	19	12
15	19	12
16	19	12
17	19	12
18	19	12
19	19	12
20	19	13
21	19	13
22	20	13
23	20	13
24	20	13
25	20	13
26	20	13
27	20	14
28	20	14
29	20	14
30	21	14
31	21	14

Nice weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	10° / 4°	67	7.2	2.3	9.1	2.5
Feb	11° / 4°	59	7.4	2.3	10.2	2.7
Mar	13° / 6°	63	7.8	1.5	11.6	3.9
Apr	15° / 8°	81	10.4	0.5	13.2	4.7
May	19° / 12°	64	10.5	0	14.5	6.0
Jun	23° / 16°	50	9	0	15.2	7.1
Jul	25° / 18°	28	6.9	0	14.9	7.7
Aug	25° / 19°	31	6.9	0	13.8	7.7
Sep	22° / 16°	76	8.5	0	12.3	7.1
Oct	18° / 12°	113	9	0.1	10.8	6.0
Nov	14° / 8°	133	10.3	0.7	9.5	4.0
Dec	11° / 5°	82	8.4	1.9	8.8	2.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 50%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	47	48	47	46	46	46	46	47	48	48	48	49	48	50	50	50	51	52	53	53	54	54	55	54	54	53	53	53	52	53	53
Cloudier (%)	53	52	53	54	54	54	54	53	52	52	52	51	52	50	50	50	49	48	47	47	46	46	45	46	46	47	47	47	48	47	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	48	52
3	47	53
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	48	52
10	48	52
11	48	52
12	49	51
13	48	52
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	53	47
31	53	47

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Nice gets around 64 mm of rain over 10.5 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 34% and peaks near 38% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	38	37	37	37	37	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	34	34	34	33	33	33	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	32	32	32

	Rain chance (%)
1	38
2	37
3	37
4	37
5	37
6	36
7	36
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	31
26	31
27	31
28	31
29	32
30	32
31	32

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 67% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	93	92	91	89	88	85	84	82	81	79	78	76	75	74	72	70	68	66	64	62	59	57	54	51	49	46	43	40	37	35	33
Comfortable (%)	7	8	9	11	12	14	15	17	18	20	21	23	24	25	27	28	30	32	33	35	37	38	40	42	43	45	46	47	48	48	48
Humid (%)	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	5	6	7	8	10	11	13	15	17	19

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	93	7	0
2	92	8	0
3	91	9	0
4	89	11	0
5	88	12	0
6	85	14	1
7	84	15	1
8	82	17	1
9	81	18	1
10	79	20	1
11	78	21	1
12	76	23	1
13	75	24	1
14	74	25	1
15	72	27	1
16	70	28	2
17	68	30	2
18	66	32	2
19	64	33	3
20	62	35	3
21	59	37	4
22	57	38	5
23	54	40	6
24	51	42	7
25	49	43	8
26	46	45	10
27	43	46	11
28	40	47	13
29	37	48	15
30	35	48	17
31	33	48	19

Wind in May

Winds average 7 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:31 AM to 4:59 AM, and sunset from 7:25 PM to 7:58 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0
Sunrise (AM)	5:31	5:29	5:28	5:27	5:25	5:24	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:17	5:16	5:15	5:14	5:13	5:12	5:11	5:09	5:08	5:07	5:07	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:02	5:02	5:01	5:00	5:00	4:59
Sunset (PM)	7:25	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:58

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.9	5:31	7:25
2	14.0	5:29	7:27
3	14.0	5:28	7:28
4	14.0	5:27	7:29
5	14.1	5:25	7:30
6	14.1	5:24	7:31
7	14.2	5:22	7:33
8	14.2	5:21	7:34
9	14.2	5:20	7:35
10	14.3	5:19	7:36
11	14.3	5:17	7:37
12	14.4	5:16	7:38
13	14.4	5:15	7:39
14	14.4	5:14	7:41
15	14.5	5:13	7:42
16	14.5	5:12	7:43
17	14.6	5:11	7:44
18	14.6	5:09	7:45
19	14.6	5:08	7:46
20	14.7	5:07	7:47
21	14.7	5:07	7:48
22	14.7	5:06	7:49
23	14.8	5:05	7:50
24	14.8	5:04	7:51
25	14.8	5:03	7:52
26	14.8	5:02	7:53
27	14.9	5:02	7:54
28	14.9	5:01	7:55
29	14.9	5:00	7:56
30	15.0	5:00	7:57
31	15.0	4:59	7:58

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.07 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.55 kWh/m² to a high of 6.69 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.07 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.6	Bright
2	5.7	Bright
3	5.7	Bright
4	5.7	Bright
5	5.7	Bright
6	5.8	Bright
7	5.8	Bright
8	5.8	Bright
9	5.9	Bright
10	5.9	Bright
11	5.9	Bright
12	6.0	Bright
13	6.0	Bright
14	6.0	Intense
15	6.0	Intense
16	6.1	Intense
17	6.1	Intense
18	6.1	Intense
19	6.2	Intense
20	6.2	Intense
21	6.2	Intense
22	6.2	Intense
23	6.2	Intense
24	6.3	Intense
25	6.3	Intense
26	6.3	Intense
27	6.3	Intense
28	6.3	Intense
29	6.3	Intense
30	6.3	Intense
31	6.3	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Nice?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

6.0

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

2.5

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Nice for sightseeing.

What to pack for Nice in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Nice sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 12°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

Sea temperature near Nice in May

The nearest coast averages about 18°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 25°C and coldest in February near 13°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 7 to Oct 13 — about 4.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	14	13	14	15	18	21	24	25	22	20	17	15
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Refreshing	Refreshing	Warm	Refreshing	Cool	Cool	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	14	Bracing
Feb	13	Bracing
Mar	14	Bracing
Apr	15	Bracing
May	18	Cool
Jun	21	Refreshing
Jul	24	Refreshing
Aug	25	Warm
Sep	22	Refreshing
Oct	20	Cool
Nov	17	Cool
Dec	15	Cool

UV index in Nice in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nice peaks around July 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	3	4	7	6	8	9	7	5	3	2	1
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Very high	High	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	7	Very high
May	6	High
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	7	High
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Nice?

Nice sits at 43.7°N, 7.3°E, 25 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Saint-Roch, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Nice

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Nice.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nice has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 322 m around an average of 58 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,141 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,195 m.

The land around Nice is covered by artificial surfaces (49%), water (25%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, water (42%) and trees (38%) within 16 km, and trees (50%) and water (30%) within 80 km.

3 km

322 m

artificial surfaces 49%

16 km

1,141 m

water 42%

80 km

3,195 m

trees 50%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← April Nice year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Saint-Roch 2.0 km · Plaine du Var 6.0 km · Les Moulins 6.0 km · Saint-Laurent-du-Var 7.0 km · Cagnes-sur-Mer 10 km · Vence 13 km · Monaco 13 km · Monte Carlo 14 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / E; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 77% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $48,986; 2025
Happiness: 6.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 5.1; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 539
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Nice (43.7031°, 7.2661°, elevation 25 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	11
4	17	11
5	17	11
6	18	11
7	18	11
8	18	11
9	18	11
10	18	11
11	18	12
12	18	12
13	19	12
14	19	12
15	19	12
16	19	12
17	19	12
18	19	12
19	19	12
20	19	13
21	19	13
22	20	13
23	20	13
24	20	13
25	20	13
26	20	13
27	20	14
28	20	14
29	20	14
30	21	14
31	21	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	48	52
3	47	53
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	48	52
10	48	52
11	48	52
12	49	51
13	48	52
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	38
2	37
3	37
4	37
5	37
6	36
7	36
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	31
26	31
27	31
28	31
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	93	7	0
2	92	8	0
3	91	9	0
4	89	11	0
5	88	12	0
6	85	14	1
7	84	15	1
8	82	17	1
9	81	18	1
10	79	20	1
11	78	21	1
12	76	23	1
13	75	24	1
14	74	25	1
15	72	27	1
16	70	28	2
17	68	30	2
18	66	32	2
19	64	33	3
20	62	35	3
21	59	37	4
22	57	38	5
23	54	40	6
24	51	42	7
25	49	43	8
26	46	45	10
27	43	46	11
28	40	47	13
29	37	48	15
30	35	48	17
31	33	48	19

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	11
4	17	11
5	17	11
6	18	11
7	18	11
8	18	11
9	18	11
10	18	11
11	18	12
12	18	12
13	19	12
14	19	12
15	19	12
16	19	12
17	19	12
18	19	12
19	19	12
20	19	13
21	19	13
22	20	13
23	20	13
24	20	13
25	20	13
26	20	13
27	20	14
28	20	14
29	20	14
30	21	14
31	21	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	48	52
3	47	53
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	48	52
10	48	52
11	48	52
12	49	51
13	48	52
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	38
2	37
3	37
4	37
5	37
6	36
7	36
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	31
26	31
27	31
28	31
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	93	7	0
2	92	8	0
3	91	9	0
4	89	11	0
5	88	12	0
6	85	14	1
7	84	15	1
8	82	17	1
9	81	18	1
10	79	20	1
11	78	21	1
12	76	23	1
13	75	24	1
14	74	25	1
15	72	27	1
16	70	28	2
17	68	30	2
18	66	32	2
19	64	33	3
20	62	35	3
21	59	37	4
22	57	38	5
23	54	40	6
24	51	42	7
25	49	43	8
26	46	45	10
27	43	46	11
28	40	47	13
29	37	48	15
30	35	48	17
31	33	48	19

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	11
4	17	11
5	17	11
6	18	11
7	18	11
8	18	11
9	18	11
10	18	11
11	18	12
12	18	12
13	19	12
14	19	12
15	19	12
16	19	12
17	19	12
18	19	12
19	19	12
20	19	13
21	19	13
22	20	13
23	20	13
24	20	13
25	20	13
26	20	13
27	20	14
28	20	14
29	20	14
30	21	14
31	21	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	48	52
3	47	53
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	46	54
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	48	52
10	48	52
11	48	52
12	49	51
13	48	52
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	38
2	37
3	37
4	37
5	37
6	36
7	36
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	31
26	31
27	31
28	31
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	93	7	0
2	92	8	0
3	91	9	0
4	89	11	0
5	88	12	0
6	85	14	1
7	84	15	1
8	82	17	1
9	81	18	1
10	79	20	1
11	78	21	1
12	76	23	1
13	75	24	1
14	74	25	1
15	72	27	1
16	70	28	2
17	68	30	2
18	66	32	2
19	64	33	3
20	62	35	3
21	59	37	4
22	57	38	5
23	54	40	6
24	51	42	7
25	49	43	8
26	46	45	10
27	43	46	11
28	40	47	13
29	37	48	15
30	35	48	17
31	33	48	19