At a glance
- Paris, the capital: 119°, east-south-east, 4,496 km from the Kaaba.
- The Qibla turns by 14° across the country, from 111° in Brest to 125° in Strasbourg.
- Closest to Makkah: Nice, 3,887 km. Farthest: Brest, 4,928 km.
- Around Paris, a magnetic compass points about 2° east of true north (World Magnetic Model 2025, for 2026). On a needle compass, the Qibla there is about 117°.
Qibla from every city in France
Cities of 100,000 people or more, largest first.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to the Kaaba (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 119° | east-south-east | 4,496 |
| Marseille | 116° | east-south-east | 4,001 |
| Lyon | 119° | east-south-east | 4,164 |
| Toulouse | 112° | east-south-east | 4,305 |
| Nice | 119° | east-south-east | 3,887 |
| Nantes | 113° | east-south-east | 4,676 |
| Marne La Vallée | 119° | east-south-east | 4,477 |
| Strasbourg | 125° | south-east | 4,145 |
| Bordeaux | 112° | east-south-east | 4,506 |
| Montpellier | 115° | east-south-east | 4,126 |
| Lille | 122° | east-south-east | 4,553 |
| Paris 15 Vaugirard | 119° | east-south-east | 4,499 |
| Rennes | 114° | east-south-east | 4,724 |
| Reims | 122° | east-south-east | 4,414 |
| Le Havre | 117° | east-south-east | 4,673 |
| Paris 20 Ménilmontant | 119° | east-south-east | 4,494 |
| Cergy-Pontoise | 119° | east-south-east | 4,524 |
| Paris 18 Buttes-Montmartre | 119° | east-south-east | 4,499 |
| Paris 13 Gobelins | 119° | east-south-east | 4,495 |
| Paris 19 Buttes-Chaumont | 119° | east-south-east | 4,496 |
| Saint-Etienne | 118° | east-south-east | 4,179 |
| Toulon | 117° | east-south-east | 3,953 |
| Angers | 115° | east-south-east | 4,619 |
| Dijon | 121° | east-south-east | 4,239 |
| Paris 16 Passy | 119° | east-south-east | 4,501 |
| Paris 17 Batignolles-Monceau | 119° | east-south-east | 4,500 |
| Grenoble | 119° | east-south-east | 4,075 |
| Nîmes | 116° | east-south-east | 4,101 |
| Clermont-Ferrand | 117° | east-south-east | 4,287 |
| Aix-en-Provence | 117° | east-south-east | 4,007 |
| Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines | 119° | east-south-east | 4,513 |
| Brest | 111° | east-south-east | 4,928 |
| Le Mans | 116° | east-south-east | 4,593 |
| Amiens | 120° | east-south-east | 4,557 |
| Tours | 116° | east-south-east | 4,530 |
| Limoges | 115° | east-south-east | 4,418 |
| Paris 11 Popincourt | 119° | east-south-east | 4,494 |
| Paris 12 Reuilly | 119° | east-south-east | 4,493 |
| Paris 14 Observatoire | 119° | east-south-east | 4,497 |
| Villeurbanne | 119° | east-south-east | 4,163 |
| Besançon | 122° | east-south-east | 4,171 |
| Metz | 124° | south-east | 4,274 |
| Orléans | 118° | east-south-east | 4,475 |
| Rouen | 118° | east-south-east | 4,607 |
| Mulhouse | 124° | south-east | 4,118 |
| Montreuil | 119° | east-south-east | 4,491 |
| Perpignan | 113° | east-south-east | 4,157 |
| Caen | 117° | east-south-east | 4,688 |
| Boulogne-Billancourt | 119° | east-south-east | 4,502 |
| Nancy | 123° | east-south-east | 4,246 |
| Argenteuil | 119° | east-south-east | 4,508 |
Not on the list? Search any town or use your location on the live compass.
Reading these numbers
Each bearing is measured clockwise from true north along the shortest path over the globe, a great circle, which is how the Qibla is worked out. A flat map can mislead, because the Earth is round.
Phone compasses work best after calibrating with a figure-8, away from metal and magnetic cases. Our guide to finding the Qibla also covers the sun, the local mosque and praying when unsure.
Qibla in other countries
Belgium Czechia Germany Italy Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain Ukraine United Kingdom
City data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Magnetic declination: the World Magnetic Model 2025 (NOAA and the British Geological Survey).