Europe's Coldest Cities in Winter

Western Russian cities lead the list of coldest cities in Europe during winter. The most frigid of these is Ufa, where days average highs of -9 degrees Celsius (17 degrees Fahrenheit) and nights drop to a shivering -18 C (0 °F).

Here you'll find lists of major European cities with the coldest climates during winter, along with the chilliest five cities by region: Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe. The ratings are based on the averages of daily maximum temperatures for December, January and February.

Besides Russia, cities in Belarus, Finland and Lithuania round out the rest of winter's ten coldest European cities. For all ten, the thermometer rarely nudges above freezing from December to February.

These weather rankings are for 68 major European cities which include national capitals plus cities with a metropolitan population of over one million people. You can also see the full list of European cities and their monthly temperatures that these ratings are based on.

Average daily winter temperatures for the ten coldest major European cities.

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
16.8	-8.5	Ufa, Russia	0.1	-17.7
17.9	-7.8	Kazan, Russia	5.7	-14.6
18.7	-7.4	Samara, Russia	7.0	-13.9
20.1	-6.6	Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia	9.3	-12.6
23.6	-4.7	Moscow, Russia	12.8	-10.7
25.1	-3.8	Saint Petersburg, Russia	15.5	-9.2
25.6	-3.6	Volgograd, Russia	15.0	-9.5
27.1	-2.7	Minsk, Belarus	17.1	-8.3
28.5	-1.9	Helsinki, Finland	18.2	-7.7
28.6	-1.9	Vilnius, Lithuania	19.1	-7.2

Winter's Coldest Cities in European Regions

Outside of northern and eastern Europe, even the coldest cities usually enjoy afternoon temperatures during winter that reach well above freezing. Yet at night their thermometers typically drop low enough for ice and snow to accumulate.

Western Europe's chilliest city by day in winter is Luxembourg, where highs average 3.3 °C (38 °F). The nights, however get significantly crisper in Munich, where lows average -3.1 °C (26.5 °F).

Meanwhile, the coldest cities in Southern Europe, such as Pristina and Sarajevo, get only slightly warmer on winter days than cities in Western Europe. But these southern cities often experience nighttime temperatures that are lower than those farther west.

Western Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Western Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
37.9	3.3	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	28.8	-1.8
38.4	3.6	Munich, Germany	26.5	-3.1
38.9	3.8	Berlin, Germany	29.7	-1.3
39.2	4.0	Vienna, Austria	29.8	-1.2
39.5	4.2	Hamburg, Germany	30.4	-0.9

Northern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Northern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
28.5	-1.9	Helsinki, Finland	18.2	-7.7
28.6	-1.9	Vilnius, Lithuania	19.1	-7.2
29.8	-1.2	Riga, Latvia	20.2	-6.5
30.1	-1.1	Oslo, Norway	20.5	-6.4
30.3	-1.0	Tallinn, Estonia	20.8	-6.2

Eastern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Eastern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
16.8	-8.5	Ufa, Russia	0.1	-17.7
17.9	-7.8	Kazan, Russia	5.7	-14.6
18.7	-7.4	Samara, Russia	7.0	-13.9
20.1	-6.6	Nizhny & Novgorod, Russia	9.3	-12.6
23.6	-4.7	Moscow, Russia	12.8	-10.7

Southern Europe

Average daily winter temperatures for Southern Europe's five coldest major cities

High °F	High °C	City	Low °F	Low °C
39.2	4.0	Pristina, Kosovo	25.5	-3.6
39.3	4.0	Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina	26.3	-3.2
39.6	4.2	Ljubljana, Slovenia	28.2	-2.1
41.1	5.0	Zagreb, Croatia	28.1	-2.2
42.4	5.8	Belgrade, Serbia	31.4	-0.3