Where to go in July? Quieter places in Europe and Japan

TL;DR

Of the 35 European countries we cover, July carried the smallest share of the year's 2025 tourist nights in Malta (10.6%), Serbia (11.0%) and Austria (11.6%). It was not the quietest month in any of them. In Japan, it was the quietest in none of 47 prefectures. It was the busiest month in 11 European countries.

How we picked the quieter places

For each country and prefecture, we took its 2025 nights at tourist accommodation and worked out what share fell in July. If a place's visitors were spread evenly, each month would carry 8.3% of its year. A share below that means July was quieter than that place's average month; above it, busier.12

This compares each place with itself, not places with each other: a low share is a quiet month for that place. For how each year looks in full, open the country or prefecture page.

Europe in July: all 35 countries, quietest share first

In 0 of the 35 countries, July carried less than an average month's share (8.3%) of 2025's tourist nights.1

European countries by share of 2025 tourist nights in July
CountryShare of 2025 nights in JulyCompared with an average monthBusiest monthQuietest month
Malta
10.6%
AboveAugustJanuary
Serbia
11.0%
AboveAugustFebruary
Austria
11.6%
AboveAugustNovember
Germany
11.7%
AboveAugustJanuary
Netherlands
11.7%
AboveAugustFebruary
Portugal
11.9%
AboveAugustJanuary
Liechtenstein
12.1%
AboveAugustNovember
Slovakia
12.1%
AboveAugustMarch
Lithuania
12.9%
AboveJulyJanuary
Switzerland
12.9%
AboveJulyNovember
Poland
13.1%
AboveAugustJanuary
Spain
13.1%
AboveAugustJanuary
Czechia
13.3%
AboveAugustJanuary
Ireland
13.3%
AboveAugustJanuary
Hungary
13.5%
AboveAugustJanuary
Belgium
13.6%
AboveJulyJanuary
Estonia
13.9%
AboveJulyJanuary
Finland
14.0%
AboveJulyApril
Türkiye
14.0%
AboveAugustFebruary
Cyprus
14.2%
AboveAugustJanuary
Latvia
14.9%
AboveJulyFebruary
Romania
15.0%
AboveAugustMarch
Luxembourg
15.8%
AboveJulyJanuary
Italy
16.4%
AboveAugustNovember
France
16.6%
AboveAugustNovember
Slovenia
16.7%
AboveAugustNovember
Iceland
17.3%
AboveJulyDecember
Denmark
17.9%
AboveJulyJanuary
Norway
18.2%
AboveJulyJanuary
Albania
19.0%
AboveAugustFebruary
Sweden
19.8%
AboveJulyJanuary
Greece
19.9%
AboveAugustJanuary
Montenegro
20.1%
AboveAugustJanuary
Bulgaria
21.2%
AboveAugustNovember
Croatia
26.3%
AboveAugustJanuary

Where was July the quietest month of the year?

In 2025, July was not the quietest month in any of our 35 European countries or 47 Japanese prefectures.12

Where was July the busiest month?

In 2025, July was the busiest month in 11 European countries, and in none of our 47 prefectures.12

  • Sweden (Europe): 19.8% of the year's nights
  • Iceland (Europe): 17.3% of the year's nights
  • Denmark (Europe): 17.9% of the year's nights
  • Norway (Europe): 18.2% of the year's nights
  • Luxembourg (Europe): 15.8% of the year's nights
  • Latvia (Europe): 14.9% of the year's nights
  • Belgium (Europe): 13.6% of the year's nights
  • Estonia (Europe): 13.9% of the year's nights
  • Switzerland (Europe): 12.9% of the year's nights
  • Lithuania (Europe): 12.9% of the year's nights
  • Finland (Europe): 14.0% of the year's nights

Japan in July: every prefecture

Japan's figures come from a sample survey, and the gaps between prefectures are often smaller than its sampling error, so we list the prefectures alphabetically rather than ranking them.3

Show all 47 prefectures' share of 2025 guest nights in July
Japanese prefectures, share of 2025 guest nights in July
PrefectureShare in JulyBusiest monthQuietest month
Aichi8.3%AugustFebruary
Akita10.0%AugustFebruary
Aomori9.2%AugustJanuary
Chiba8.5%AugustJune
Ehime7.5%AugustJune
Fukui9.0%AugustJanuary
Fukuoka7.9%OctoberJanuary
Fukushima8.5%AugustJanuary
Gifu8.5%AugustJune
Gunma9.4%AugustApril
Hiroshima8.1%AugustJanuary
Hokkaido10.1%AugustApril
Hyogo8.3%AugustFebruary
Ibaraki8.3%AugustJanuary
Ishikawa8.0%NovemberJanuary
Iwate9.1%AugustDecember
Kagawa7.4%AugustFebruary
Kagoshima7.5%NovemberJune
Kanagawa8.8%AugustFebruary
Kochi8.5%AugustJanuary
Kumamoto7.8%OctoberJune
Kyoto7.8%MayFebruary
Mie8.6%AugustFebruary
Miyagi8.4%AugustJanuary
Miyazaki8.5%AugustJune
Nagano9.5%AugustApril
Nagasaki7.8%AugustJanuary
Nara8.1%MayJanuary
Niigata8.7%AugustApril
Oita7.2%MarchJune
Okayama8.4%AugustJanuary
Okinawa9.6%AugustJanuary
Osaka8.2%AugustFebruary
Saga8.2%AugustFebruary
Saitama8.1%AugustFebruary
Shiga8.2%AugustFebruary
Shimane8.9%AugustFebruary
Shizuoka8.7%AugustJune
Tochigi8.6%AugustFebruary
Tokushima8.7%AugustJanuary
Tokyo8.2%DecemberFebruary
Tottori9.3%AugustFebruary
Toyama8.9%AugustJanuary
Wakayama8.7%AugustFebruary
Yamagata8.8%AugustApril
Yamaguchi8.4%AugustJanuary
Yamanashi11.5%AugustFebruary

What is the weather like in July?

Of the 28 European capitals we have weather for, Nicosia has the highest average high in July (37.5 °C) and Reykjavik the lowest (14.9 °C), averaged over 1991–2020.4 We do not yet publish weather for Albania, Greece, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Lithuania and Malta.

Average weather in July at one station per European country, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (country)Average highAverage lowRainRainy days
Nicosia (Cyprus)37.5 °C22.6 °C5 mm1.5 days
Podgorica (Montenegro)33.9 °C21.6 °C36 mm3.8 days
Madrid (Spain)33.3 °C19.5 °C9 mm1.5 days
Rome (Italy)31.0 °C19.3 °C20 mm2.2 days
Ankara (Türkiye)31.0 °C17.2 °C14 mm2.5 days
Bucharest (Romania)30.4 °C15.6 °C69 mm7.1 days
Belgrade (Serbia)29.3 °C18.4 °C67 mm6.6 days
Budapest (Hungary)28.8 °C18.0 °C54 mm6.4 days
Zagreb (Croatia)28.1 °C16.2 °C80 mm8.2 days
Ljubljana (Slovenia)27.9 °C16.0 °C122 mm9.4 days
Sofia (Bulgaria)27.8 °C15.3 °C64 mm7.0 days
Bratislava (Slovakia)27.2 °C16.3 °C71 mm8.9 days
Vienna (Austria)26.4 °C15.9 °C78 mm8.9 days
Paris (France)25.7 °C16.2 °C59 mm7.4 days
Prague (Czechia)25.7 °C14.2 °C75 mm9.5 days
Warsaw (Poland)25.2 °C14.5 °C82 mm9.4 days
Vaduz (Liechtenstein)24.9 °C14.6 °C145 mm13.5 days
Berlin (Germany)24.8 °C14.1 °C77 mm13.6 days
Luxembourg (Luxembourg)23.9 °C13.8 °C72 mm9.9 days
Riga (Latvia)23.8 °C14.9 °C80 mm9.0 days
Stockholm (Sweden)23.6 °C14.8 °C62 mm8.5 days
Brussels (Belgium)23.2 °C14.1 °C77 mm10.4 days
Oslo (Norway)22.7 °C13.4 °C87 mm11.0 days
Amsterdam (Netherlands)22.5 °C13.5 °C82 mm10.9 days
Tallinn (Estonia)22.2 °C13.1 °C82 mm9.1 days
Helsinki (Finland)21.9 °C14.5 °C57 mm7.4 days
Dublin (Ireland)19.5 °C11.3 °C61 mm11.6 days
Reykjavik (Iceland)14.9 °C9.1 °C50 mm10.3 days
Show July weather for all 47 Japanese prefectures
Average weather in July at one station per Japanese prefecture, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Prefecture (station)Average highAverage lowRainRainy days
Kyoto (Kyoto (京都))32.0 °C23.6 °C224 mm11.6 days
Okinawa (Naha (那覇))31.9 °C27.0 °C188 mm9.4 days
Kagoshima (Kagoshima (鹿児島))31.9 °C25.3 °C365 mm11.6 days
Okayama (Okayama (岡山))31.8 °C23.4 °C177 mm9.7 days
Kumamoto (Kumamoto (熊本))31.8 °C24.2 °C387 mm12.3 days
Osaka (Osaka (大阪))31.8 °C24.6 °C174 mm10.0 days
Kagawa (Takamatsu (高松))31.7 °C24.1 °C160 mm9.4 days
Nara (Nara (奈良))31.7 °C23.0 °C174 mm11.2 days
Yamanashi (Kofu (甲府))31.6 °C22.3 °C149 mm10.9 days
Gifu (Gifu (岐阜))31.6 °C23.5 °C271 mm12.7 days
Saga (Saga (佐賀))31.6 °C24.0 °C367 mm12.0 days
Aichi (Nagoya (名古屋))31.4 °C23.5 °C211 mm12.0 days
Miyazaki (Miyazaki (宮崎))31.3 °C24.1 °C339 mm11.7 days
Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi (山口))31.3 °C22.7 °C343 mm11.2 days
Ehime (Matsuyama (松山))31.2 °C23.8 °C224 mm9.5 days
Fukuoka (Fukuoka (福岡))31.2 °C24.6 °C299 mm11.0 days
Wakayama (Wakayama (和歌山))31.1 °C24.3 °C176 mm9.4 days
Tottori (Tottori (鳥取))30.9 °C22.5 °C189 mm11.9 days
Shiga (Otsu (大津))30.9 °C22.6 °C212 mm12.0 days
Hiroshima (Hiroshima (広島))30.9 °C24.1 °C280 mm10.6 days
Oita (Oita (大分))30.9 °C23.5 °C261 mm11.0 days
Kochi (Kochi (高知))30.8 °C23.9 °C357 mm12.7 days
Tokushima (Tokushima (徳島))30.6 °C23.9 °C177 mm9.9 days
Gunma (Maebashi (前橋))30.5 °C22.0 °C202 mm14.7 days
Saitama (Saitama (さいたま))30.5 °C22.2 °C148 mm11.8 days
Fukui (Fukui (福井))30.4 °C22.7 °C240 mm11.9 days
Mie (Tsu (津))30.4 °C24.0 °C174 mm11.1 days
Hyogo (Kobe (神戸))30.4 °C24.7 °C188 mm10.0 days
Nagasaki (Nagasaki (長崎))30.3 °C24.5 °C293 mm10.7 days
Shizuoka (Shizuoka (静岡))29.9 °C23.1 °C297 mm11.6 days
Tokyo (Tokyo (東京))29.9 °C22.4 °C156 mm10.5 days
Toyama (Toyama (富山))29.8 °C22.1 °C246 mm13.9 days
Shimane (Matsue (松江))29.8 °C22.8 °C234 mm11.5 days
Nagano (Nagano (長野))29.7 °C20.5 °C138 mm12.2 days
Tochigi (Utsunomiya (宇都宮))29.5 °C21.4 °C215 mm13.7 days
Ishikawa (Kanazawa (金沢))29.5 °C22.9 °C233 mm12.9 days
Kanagawa (Yokohama (横浜))29.4 °C22.9 °C182 mm10.3 days
Chiba (Chiba (千葉))29.4 °C23.0 °C136 mm9.0 days
Yamagata (Yamagata (山形))29.1 °C20.0 °C187 mm12.7 days
Fukushima (Fukushima (福島))29.1 °C20.8 °C178 mm13.2 days
Niigata (Niigata (新潟))28.7 °C21.8 °C222 mm12.5 days
Ibaraki (Mito (水戸))28.5 °C21.0 °C142 mm11.1 days
Akita (Akita (秋田))27.1 °C20.4 °C197 mm11.6 days
Iwate (Morioka (盛岡))27.1 °C18.8 °C198 mm12.6 days
Miyagi (Sendai (仙台))26.6 °C20.2 °C178 mm13.3 days
Aomori (Aomori (青森))26.0 °C18.6 °C130 mm9.1 days
Hokkaido (Sapporo (札幌))25.4 °C17.9 °C91 mm7.7 days

Thirty-year averages from one weather station per country or prefecture: the same station its page uses. They describe a typical year at that station, not a forecast, and weather varies within every country. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain.

How warm is the sea in July?

Average sea surface temperature in July, 1991–2020, at the open-sea point nearest each weather station, where there is one within 30 km: 8 European capitals and 29 Japanese prefectures. It is open sea, not a beach reading.9 Every month, and how we chose the points.

Average sea surface temperature in July near European capitals, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (country)Sea, July
Nicosia (Cyprus)27.3 °C
Rome (Italy)24.6 °C
Riga (Latvia)17.9 °C
Amsterdam (Netherlands)17.3 °C
Tallinn (Estonia)16.4 °C
Helsinki (Finland)16.1 °C
Dublin (Ireland)14.7 °C
Reykjavik (Iceland)11.2 °C
Show July sea temperatures for 29 Japanese prefectures
Average sea surface temperature in July near Japanese prefecture stations, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (prefecture)Sea, July
Naha (Okinawa)28.7 °C
Kagoshima (Kagoshima)26.5 °C
Miyazaki (Miyazaki)26.3 °C
Kochi (Kochi)26.1 °C
Kumamoto (Kumamoto)25.4 °C
Tsu (Mie)25.4 °C
Nagasaki (Nagasaki)25.4 °C
Saga (Saga)25.4 °C
Wakayama (Wakayama)24.8 °C
Kobe (Hyogo)24.7 °C
Osaka (Osaka)24.7 °C
Tokushima (Tokushima)24.6 °C
Fukuoka (Fukuoka)24.4 °C
Shizuoka (Shizuoka)24.4 °C
Matsuyama (Ehime)24.2 °C
Oita (Oita)24.2 °C
Tottori (Tottori)24.0 °C
Fukui (Fukui)23.9 °C
Matsue (Shimane)23.9 °C
Toyama (Toyama)23.8 °C
Kanazawa (Ishikawa)23.7 °C
Yokohama (Kanagawa)23.5 °C
Chiba (Chiba)23.4 °C
Tokyo (Tokyo)23.4 °C
Niigata (Niigata)23.1 °C
Akita (Akita)22.3 °C
Mito (Ibaraki)21.7 °C
Sendai (Miyagi)21.1 °C
Aomori (Aomori)19.1 °C

Which public holidays fall in July 2026 and 2027?

These are the national holiday lists we publish for 33 European countries and Japan, copied from each country's page. Regional holidays, such as those of Germany's states or Spain's regions, are on the country pages. Spain's 2027 list and some 2027 dates elsewhere are not published yet. What each list covers differs; see the notes for each country.56

July 2026

Public holidays in July 2026
DateHolidayWhere
Sun 5 JulySaints Cyril and Methodius DayCzechia, Slovakia
Mon 6 JulyJan Hus DayCzechia
Mon 6 JulyStatehood Day (Coronation of King Mindaugas) and National Anthem DayLithuania
Mon 13 JulyStatehood DayMontenegro
Tue 14 July14 JulyFrance
Tue 14 JulyStatehood Day (second day)Montenegro
Wed 15 JulyDemocracy and National Unity DayTürkiye
Mon 20 JulyMarine DayJapan
Tue 21 JulyNational DayBelgium

July 2027

Public holidays in July 2027
DateHolidayWhere
Mon 5 JulySaints Cyril and Methodius DayCzechia, Slovakia
Tue 6 JulyJan Hus DayCzechia
Tue 6 JulyStatehood Day (Coronation of King Mindaugas) and National Anthem DayLithuania
Tue 13 JulyStatehood DayMontenegro
Wed 14 July14 JulyFrance
Wed 14 JulyStatehood Day (second day)Montenegro
Thu 15 JulyDemocracy and National Unity DayTürkiye
Mon 19 JulyMarine DayJapan
Wed 21 JulyNational DayBelgium

See every month in the holiday calendar, with school holidays too.

Blossom, autumn leaves and typhoons in Japan in July

Over 1991–2020, an average of 2.1 typhoons came within 300 km of a JMA weather station somewhere in Japan in July.8 Typhoons by region and month.

These are the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 averages at one station per prefecture; each year's dates differ. See cherry blossom dates and autumn leaf dates for every prefecture.

What these figures cannot tell you

  • A share of each place's own year, not a crowd count. A low share means that month was quiet for that place. It does not mean the place had fewer visitors than somewhere else, and a small country's busy month can still be far quieter than a big country's quiet one.
  • Nights, not queues. A national or prefecture total cannot show crowding at one sight, beach or old town. Day trips do not count at all, because nobody stays the night.
  • One year. These are 2025 figures. Another year can differ, for example when Easter moves between March and April.
  • Japan's figures are a sample survey. The gaps between neighbouring prefectures are often smaller than the survey's sampling error, so we do not rank prefectures against each other.
  • No causes. Weather and holidays sit next to the tourism figures here, but the figures do not show that either makes a month busier or quieter, so we do not say they do.
  • We have not been to these places and make no judgement about which is better to visit.

Other months: January · February · March · April · May · June · August · September · October · November · December. Or open July in Explore.

Key takeaways

  • Lowest share of 2025 tourist nights in July, in Europe: Malta (10.6%), Serbia (11.0%) and Austria (11.6%).
  • July was not the quietest month anywhere we cover.
  • July was the busiest month in 11 of them.
  • What we would skip: reading a low share as a promise of empty streets. It says July was quiet for that country or prefecture as a whole, not at any one sight.

Sources

The tourism figures come from Eurostat and the Japan Tourism Agency; the weather from the World Meteorological Organization's normals (via NOAA), MeteoSwiss and the Japan Meteorological Agency; blossom and typhoon averages from the Japan Meteorological Agency; and holidays from each country's law or official list. We copied every figure from the country and prefecture pages linked here. See how we research.

  1. Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
  2. Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」(観光庁) (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), tables 2 and 8 and reference table 1, published 6 July 2026. Survey page · workbook. Accessed 17 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0).
  3. Japan Tourism Agency, survey outline (調査の概要), glossary (用語の解説) and standard error rates (参考1), on coverage, sampling, the definition of a foreign guest and the January 2026 change of method. Read them. Checked 17 September 2026.
  4. Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), the station named for each country in the table (the same station its country page uses), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 22 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0. Weather in Japan: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(過去の気象データ検索). Japan Meteorological Agency, 1991–2020 normals for the station named for each prefecture (the same station its prefecture page uses, where the page links the station's own table): daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and days with at least 1.0 mm of precipitation (降水量の階級日数). Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 気象庁「平年値」を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, selection and rounding). Liechtenstein: Source: MeteoSwiss. Climate normals 1991–2020, station Vaduz: mean maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation total, days with at least 1 mm of precipitation and sunshine duration. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, open data (opendata.swiss: Klimanormwerte). Accessed 23 September 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. MeteoSwiss does not endorse this site or how the data is used here.
  5. Public holidays in Europe: each country's own law or official list, cited in full on its page: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye. We copied the dates from those pages.
  6. Holidays: 出典:「国民の祝日について」(内閣府)(https://www8.cao.go.jp/chosei/shukujitsu/gaiyou.html), with the holiday list 「昭和30年(1955年)から令和9年(2027年)国民の祝日」 (CSV). Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: national holidays and public holidays, 2025–2027. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0). 「国民の祝日について」(内閣府)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, weekdays and selection). Holiday names: 出典:日本法令外国語訳データベースシステム(法務省)(https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4846/tb). Ministry of Justice, Japan, Japanese Law Translation, Act on National Holidays (Act No. 178 of 1948, last version Act No. 57 of 2018), articles 2 and 3, English translation. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. The translation is not an official text; only the Japanese original has legal effect.
  7. Cherry blossom and autumn leaves: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(生物季節観測の情報): さくらの開花日・満開日 and 生物季節観測累年値ファイル (さくらの開花, さくらの満開, かえでの紅葉), 平年値 1991–2020. Japan Meteorological Agency. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 「生物季節観測の情報」(気象庁)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, date format and selection).
  8. Typhoons: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(台風の平年値), with the regions in 「気象庁が天気予報等で用いる予報用語」(地域名). Japan Meteorological Agency, typhoon approach and landfall normals, 1991–2020. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 「台風の平年値」(気象庁)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording and selection).
  9. Sea temperature: NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST) v2.1, 0.25° grid, monthly long-term mean 1991–2020 (file sst.mon.ltm.1991-2020.nc). Data provided by the NOAA/OAR/PSL, Boulder, Colorado, USA, from their Web site at https://psl.noaa.gov/. Huang, B., C. Liu, V. Banzon, E. Freeman, G. Graham, B. Hankins, T. Smith and H.-M. Zhang (2021), Improvements of the Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (DOISST) Version 2.1, Journal of Climate 34, 2923–2939, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0166.1. Dataset page. Accessed 24 September 2026. Public domain (NOAA PSL disclaimer). The choice of grid cell and the rounding are ours; these are not official NOAA figures, and NOAA does not endorse this site.

Modified data. The monthly shares, orderings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts and the Japan Tourism Agency's figures (「宿泊旅行統計調査」(観光庁)を加工して作成). Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Neither body is responsible for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here.