Orleans City Map Poster

About Orleans

The city is a major rail and road hub situated on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The river here flows in an east-west direction. The commune has two large forts: Fort Ste-Jean (on the bank of the river) and Fort Saint-Père (on an island in midstream). Orléans has a humid continental climate ("Dfa") with cold winters due to its inland location, although summers are also cool but not as cold as further north because of its southern position near Massif Central which protects it from northern winds coming off Atlantic Ocean. Precipitation is moderate around Orléans with rainfall being fairly evenly distributed throughout each month; summer months tend to be slightly wetter than winter ones however, particularly July where average monthly precipitation reaches . Thunderstorms can occasionally occur during summer months but rarely do they occur more than once per week or last longer than three days; most rainfall occurs during spring and autumn – October being wettest at while February tends to be driest at . Sunshine hours range between 1600–1800 annually.