175 World cities by latitude: Things line up in surprising ways

While this site mostly deals with the economics of world travel, we’ve also included typical weather and climate information for each destination for each month of the year. Hopefully this is useful to those who are planning a trip so they can compare what to expect weather-wise between each destination with just one click.

So building on the weather part, I always thought it would be interesting to see exactly where all the major tourist destinations of the world line up with regard to latitude (distance from the equator). The data below might contain some surprising facts, as it seems like most of us picture the globe in ways that may not match reality.

Southern Hemisphere cities are in italics alongside the Northern Hemisphere cities

And since it seems more interesting to compare cities by absolute distance from the equator rather than purely from north to south, I’ve added the Southern Hemisphere cities in with their northern counterparts, so, for example, Melbourne, Australia is listed (in italics) with San Francisco, as they are the same distance from the equator.

Most interesting cities at similar latitudes

Venice, Italy and Montreal, Canada – Most people would be surprised to see that Canada’s northernmost major tourist city is on the same latitude line as Italy’s famous lagoon city.

Nice, France and Toronto, Canada – Toronto is farther south than most would assume when they are not looking at a map, and that puts it in line with France’s Côte d’Azur along its southern Mediterranean coast.

Chicago, USA and Barcelona, Spain and Istanbul, Turkey – Since Chicago is famous for being far north in the US, it seems surprising to line up with Barcelona in the far north of Spain, and also Istanbul, which many of us picture almost in the Middle East.

Beijing, China and Ibiza, Spain – I don’t know about you, but even though I’ve been to both, I’d never have guessed that they are on the same latitude based on what they feel like when you are there.

San Francisco, USA and Athens, Greece – Again, San Francisco is known for its year-round mild climate while Athens is known for being in a desert-like part of the Mediterranean.

175 popular destinations by latitude

Southern Hemisphere cities are in on the same list, in italics.

64°

Reykjavik, Iceland

60°

Helsinki, Finland
Bergen, Norway

59°

Oslo, Norway
Stockholm, Sweden
Tallinn, Estonia
St. Petersburg, Russia

57°

Riga, Latvia

55°

Edinburgh, Scotland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Moscow, Russia
Vilnius, Lithuania

53°

Galway, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Hamburg, Germany

52°

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Warsaw, Poland

51°

London, England
Bruges, Belgium

50°

Brussells, Belgium
Prague, Czech Republic
Krakow, Poland

49°

Vancouver, Canada
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

48°

Paris, France
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Salzburg, Austria
Bratislava, Slovakia

47°

Zurich, Switzerland
Budapest, Hungary
Interlaken, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland

46°

Ljubjana, Slovenia

45°

Montreal, Canada
Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy
Belgrade, Serbia
Zagreb, Croatia
Queenstown, New Zealand

44°

Bucharest, Romania
Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina
Monaco, Monaco
Christchurch, New Zealand

43°

Toronto, Canada
Nice, France
Florence, Italy
Split, Croatia

42°

Dubrovnik, Croatia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Boston, USA

41°

Chicago, USA
Barcelona, Spain
Rome, Italy
Istanbul, Turkey
Bariloche, Argentina

40°

New York City, USA
Madrid, Spain
Naples, Italy
Sorrento, Italy

39°

Beijing, China
Ibiza, Spain
Valencia, Spain
Pyongyang, North Korea

38°

Washington DC, USA
Lisbon, Portugal
Mar del Plata, Argentina
Rotorua, New Zealand

37°

San Francisco, USA
Athens, Greece
Seoul, South Korea
Granada, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Seville, Spain
Mykonos, Greece
Faro, Portugal
Antalya, Turkey
Melbourne, Australia

36°

Las Vegas, USA
Rhodes, Greece
Santorini, Greece
Valletta, Malta
Kas, Turkey
Auckland, New Zealand

35°

Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Osaka, Japan

34°

Los Angeles, USA
Fez, Morocco
Xian, China
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Montevideo, Uruguay
Sydney, Australia
Punta del Este, Uruguay

33°

Beirut, Lebanon
Santiago, Chile
Cape Town, South Africa

Mendoza, Argentina
Santiago, Chile

Valparaiso, Chile

32°

Tel Aviv, Israel

31°

Marrakech, Morocco
Amman, Jordan
Shanghai, China
Perth, Australia

30°

Cairo, Egypt

29°

New Orleans, USA

28°

Delhi, India
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
Tenerife, Spain

27°

Kathmandu, Nepal
Brisbane, Australia

25°

Miami, USA
Dubai, UAE
Taipei, Taiwan

24°

Abu Dhabi, UAE

23°

Los Cabos, Mexico
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sao Paulo, Brazil

22°

Macau, Macau
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Sapa, Vietnam
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

21°

Honolulu, USA
Cancun, Mexico
Hanoi, Vietnam
Cozumel, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

19°

Mexico City, Mexico
Luang Prabang, Laos
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

18°

Mumbai, India
Chiang Mai, Thailand
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Montego Bay, Jamaica

17°

Antigua, Guatemala
San Pedro, Belize
Vientiane, Laos
Yangon, Myanmar
Hue, Vietnam

16°

La Paz, Bolivia
Cairns, Australia

15°

Goa, India
Hội An, Vietnam

14°

Dakar, Senegal
Manila, Philippines

13°

Bangkok, Thailand
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Pattaya, Thailand
Nha Trang, Vietnam
Cusco, Peru

12°

Boracay Island, Philippines
Lima, Peru

11°

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

10°

Cartagena, Colombia
Caracas, Venezuela
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

San José, Costa Rica

Panama City, Panama
Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Recife, Brazil

Phuket Town, Thailand

Colombo, Sri Lanka
Zanzibar City, Tanzania
Jakarta, Indonesia

Medellin, Colombia
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Arusha, Tanzania

Singapore, Singapore
Nairobi, Kenya

Quito, Ecuador

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  1. StevieWonderr says:

    What about Seoul in South Korea and Pyongyang in the North? Even if Pyongyang isn’t exactly a popular tourist destination, Seoul is.

    1. Roger Wade says:

      Stevie,

      Actually, Seoul has been on the list since the beginning and it’s at 37 degrees. And Pyongyang is interesting and large enough to add so I’ll add it now. Thanks for the suggestion!. -Roger