July brings 22°C daytime highs, 68mm of precipitation across about 13 wet days and 17.1 hours of daylight — best for hiking, cycling and long light evenings. The strongest run of the year is June to August. December is the quietest month: short days, quiet streets, and still good for aurora & dark skies, cabin weekends and festive season.
Long-run climate normals for Gothenburg. Month ratings compare months within Gothenburg only — they are not a ranking of Gothenburg against other destinations, and they are not a forecast for a specific year.
Last updated: · Live forecast data refreshes hourly.
| Best month | July — Hiking, Cycling, Long light evenings |
| Best 3-month window | June–August |
| Quietest month | December — Short days, quiet streets |
| Driest month | February — 37mm |
| Wettest month | November — 80mm |
| Warmest / coolest | July 22°C / February 3°C |
| Seasonality | Strongly seasonal — the months feel like different places |
| Annual rainfall | 770mm over roughly 140 rain days |
Daytime highs only move 19°C across the whole year (3–22°C), so timing matters far less here than rainfall does.
June gives you 17.7 hours of daylight against just 6.3 in December — a 11-hour difference in how much you can actually fit into a day.
February is the driest month at 37mm across roughly 7 wet days, while November peaks at 80mm.
June is almost as good as July, but usually quieter and cheaper. If your dates are flexible, it is the easier trip.
Gothenburg changes character completely through the year — July and December are effectively two different destinations. Pick the month that matches what you want to do, not the highest-rated one.
Ratings compare months within Gothenburg, not against destinations worldwide: five stars means the best time to be here, not that Gothenburg beats anywhere else. Tags describe what the conditions actually suit.
| Month | Rating | High / Low | Precipitation | Wet days | Sun | Daylight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | ★★☆☆☆ | 3°C / -2°C | 58mm (rain/snow) | 11 | 5h | 6.9h | Aurora & dark skies · Cabin weekends · Quiet and local |
| February | ★★☆☆☆ | 3°C / -2°C | 37mm (rain/snow) | 7 | 5h | 9h | Cabin weekends · Low-angle light · Quiet and local |
| March | ★★★☆☆ | 6°C / 0°C | 46mm (rain/snow) | 9 | 5h | 11.6h | Cabin weekends |
| April | ★★★★☆ | 10°C / 4°C | 40mm | 8 | 6h | 14.1h | Spring greenery |
| May | ★★★★★ | 15°C / 8°C | 48mm | 9 | 6h | 16.4h | Hiking · Cycling · Spring greenery |
| June | ★★★★★ | 19°C / 12°C | 61mm | 12 | 11h | 17.7h | Hiking · Cycling · Long light evenings |
| July | ★★★★★ | 22°C / 14°C | 68mm | 13 | 11h | 17.1h | Hiking · Cycling · Long light evenings |
| August | ★★★★★ | 22°C / 14°C | 73mm | 14 | 11h | 15h | Hiking · Cycling |
| September | ★★★★☆ | 19°C / 12°C | 72mm | 14 | 7h | 12.5h | Hiking · Cycling |
| October | ★★★☆☆ | 15°C / 8°C | 74mm | 14 | 4h | 9.9h | Hiking · Cycling · Autumn colour |
| November | ★★☆☆☆ | 10°C / 4°C | 80mm | 15 | 4h | 7.6h | Aurora & dark skies · Autumn colour · Quiet and local |
| December | ★★☆☆☆ | 6°C / 0°C | 74mm (rain/snow) | 14 | 3h | 6.3h | Aurora & dark skies · Cabin weekends · Festive season |
| You are planning | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sun & beach days | June | 11h daily sunshine, 19°C highs and only 12 rain days. |
| City walking & sightseeing | May | 15°C highs with 16.4h of daylight — long days without heat fatigue. |
| Photography & light | June | 11h of sun and 17.7h daylight give the widest window for golden-hour work. |
| Value & fewer crowds | May | Scores 67/100 — close to peak conditions but outside the busiest window. |
| Cooler-weather travel | May | 15°C highs and 8°C nights suit anyone who dislikes heat. |
Each month in Gothenburg is described from long-run climate normals and then rated relative to the other eleven months in the same city. A five-star January in a cold destination means January is one of the best times to be there — not that it beats a Mediterranean summer.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Described | Average daytime high and overnight low for the month, shown as measured rather than judged. |
| Precipitation | Described | Monthly millimetres and wet-day count, labelled as snow or rain/snow where temperatures make that the likely phase. |
| Sunshine & daylight | Described | Average daily sunshine hours and astronomical daylight length at mid-month, from the city’s latitude. |
| “Best for” tags | Derived | Applied only when the conditions genuinely support the activity — snow depth-friendly cold for skiing, 13–24°C and low rain risk for hiking, dark evenings at high latitude for aurora. A month with few strong use cases gets fewer tags rather than padded ones. |
| Star rating | Relative | Ranks the month against the other eleven months in the same city. Never a comparison between cities. |
Figures are long-run climate averages, not a forecast for a specific year. Where a month lacks sourced rainfall or humidity, the value is modelled from temperature range and rain frequency.
July is the best all-round month in Gothenburg: 22°C highs, 68mm of precipitation and 17.1 hours of daylight, which suits hiking, cycling and long light evenings. The strongest three-month window is June to August.
December — 6°C highs, 74mm of precipitation over roughly 14 days and 6.3 hours of daylight. It is the cheapest and least crowded time to go, and it still works for aurora & dark skies, cabin weekends and festive season.
February is the driest month at 37mm over about 7 rain days, against 80mm in November. Across the year Gothenburg records around 770mm.
Yes, but the months are genuinely different trips. July suits hiking, cycling and long light evenings, while December suits aurora & dark skies, cabin weekends and festive season. Pick the month that matches what you want to do.
Daylight ranges from 6.3 hours in December to 17.7 hours in June, calculated from the city's latitude.