Погода: Тулуза, декабрь

Andorra's resorts aim to open from the first weekend of December and the forum is honest that what you ski on varies: some Decembers have delivered a metre in resort, others have been entirely machine-made, and it is hard to forecast either way. Snowmaking is treated as a national priority here because winter is the country's income, so runs stay open even in a thin year - but slopes do close when daytime temperatures climb past 10C. The resort with the best snow record of the lot, by the forum's reckoning, is Pal-Arinsal. Andorra la Vella itself sits low in the valley, which is where our record is taken: 9.8C days, -1.6C nights, 36.4cm of snow, 9.4 precipitation days and 6.7 hours of sun.

Forum posters describe November in Toulouse as not very cold, typically 10-15C with real wind, and daytime temperatures often cited around 50-55F even as nights turn properly cold - rain is a genuine part of the picture too. Posters are consistent that conditions stay unpredictable and one poster specifically pushed back on the idea that Toulouse in November feels like grim northern France, describing it as not always gloomy or dull despite the cooler, wetter season. Posters generally recommend the city as a worthwhile November destination for museums and cultural sites, provided visitors come prepared with appropriate layers for the wind and occasional rain. Posters generally rate November as a viable, if unglamorous weather-wise, time to visit Toulouse.

Toulouse takes its weather off the Pyrenees, and the forum's warning is about how fast it turns: locals describe leaving the house wrapped up on an overcast morning and the sun arriving an hour later. May averages near 21°C by day and 12 overnight, with rain on about a dozen days, and a French May at large can swing from 5°C to the mid-20s. Layers, and check the forecast a day or two out rather than packing on the month. If the Pyrenees are the point, regulars call May iffy for high walking — long stretches of path are clear, but sheltered sections can still hold real snow.