Погода: Монпелье, март

Aix-en-Provence-forum threads on March weather are consistent that it's genuinely unpredictable early in the month but improves fast as spring takes hold - by mid-March, temperatures often settle into a comfortable range with little rain and plenty of cloudless, sunny days on offer. The one wildcard regulars flag regardless of temperature is the Mistral, the strong, cold wind funneling down from the Alps that can make an otherwise sunny day feel genuinely bracing outdoors. The standing advice is pack serious layers rather than a single spring jacket, since a warm, still afternoon can turn sharply colder the moment that wind picks up. Regulars call late March a strong window, warm enough for the outdoor cafes along the Cours Mirabeau without summer's crowds. The record: 15.8C days feeling like 13C, 5.4C nights, 58mm across 6.6 days, 0.5cm of late-season snowfall, a 13.5C sea, 71 percent humidity and 9.7 hours of sun.

Forum posters describe November in Montpellier as coming after the region's wettest months, typically bringing clear blue skies, with sunny mornings reaching 15C or higher by 10am - though posters are direct that year-to-year variation is real, with some Novembers mild enough for pools to stay open and others turning properly cold, with nights occasionally dropping near 0C. Posters generally describe Montpellier's winter as milder than northern Europe but still capable of real rain at this time of year. Posters generally recommend layered clothing to handle the day-to-night temperature swing and the genuine uncertainty about which kind of November shows up. Posters generally rate November as a pleasant, if unpredictable, time to visit Montpellier.

May in the South of France is the forum's sweet spot — warm enough to be outside all day without summer's oppressive heat — and Montpellier runs near 22°C with rain on under six days. The honest part is the sea. Nearby Le Grau-du-Roi averages about 17°C in May, which the forum describes plainly as too cold for some, and the beaches that month are quiet: more walkers and people playing games than swimmers. Bring light layers you can add and shed, because May here is pleasant without being predictable.