Soaring temperatures mean that some former fail-safe June holiday options are now just too hot to enjoy comfortably. These are the places that are that little bit cooler, complete with brilliant food scenes, adventurous explorations and even some beach trips to take in June that aren’t too hot.
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1. Oslo
Average June temperature: 16°C
Norway’s capital may be full of locals sweltering in wood-fired saunas, but it’s a pretty cool choice in June, with highs of around 20°C and lows closer to 10°C. Most importantly, it’s a brilliant city break, hitting lots of cultural notes. In 2021, the Munch Museum opened – the world’s largest art gallery dedicated to a single artist. There’s also the Deichman library, one room of which will house the Future Library – a forest for which was planted in 2014 and will supply paper for an anthology of books to be printed in 2114 – with books by writers including Margaret Atwood and Elif Shafak. Visitors should also get stuck into the flavours of the wild coastline at the redbrick Mathallen food hall and at three-star Maemmo and Sentralen.
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2. Madeira
Average June temperature: 20°C
This vibrant green island in the Atlantic is part of Portugal with a delightful average temperature that hovers around 20°C almost year round. There are unspoilt wild beaches perfect for windsurfing and kayaking, but also rainforest-covered mountain peaks and wildlife spotting opportunities everywhere including dolphins and whales in the water. The best way to explore the island is to hike the small irrigation channels or levadas. In the higher tropical zones, walkers will be able to spot avocados, mangos, guavas and passion fruit, while amazingly, in the cool valleys, blueberries grow. This is an island that hits many different notes.
