How to Check if a Terrace Has Sun Right Now

Why checking for sun before you go matters

There are few things more disappointing than walking to your favorite café, sitting down on the terrace, and realizing you are completely in the shade. The drink is the same, the chair is the same, but the experience is entirely different. Sun on a terrace transforms a quick coffee into a moment of genuine relaxation. Shade turns it into a shivering rush to finish and leave.

The tricky part is that building shadows change constantly throughout the day. A terrace bathed in sunshine at noon can be completely in the shade by 2 PM as the sun moves westward and neighboring buildings block the light. Seasons make it even more unpredictable: your favorite summer spot might not see a single ray of sun between November and February. Checking before you go saves you from wasted trips and cold disappointments.

This is especially true in cities with tall buildings and narrow streets. In these urban environments, the difference between a sunny terrace and a shaded one can be just 50 meters — on the same street. Knowing where the sun is right now, before you leave home or the office, makes all the difference.

The old way: walking around hoping for sun

For decades, finding a sunny terrace meant one thing: walking and looking. You would go to a neighborhood you liked, wander from street to street, and peer at terraces until you found one that happened to be in the sun. Sometimes you got lucky. Often you did not.

This approach has obvious problems. First, it takes time. If you only have an hour for lunch, spending 20 minutes searching for sun is not a good use of your break. Second, by the time you find a sunny spot, sit down, and order, the sun may have already moved. That terrace you chose precisely because it was sunny might be in shade before your coffee arrives.

You could also try guessing based on the direction a terrace faces, but that requires mental math about compass directions, building heights, and time of day. Most people give up and hope for the best. There has to be a better way — and now there is.

The modern way: real-time shadow maps

Coffee in the Sun solves this problem with real-time shadow mapping. The app calculates where every building shadow falls right now, using real building data and precise astronomical calculations for the sun position. The result is a live map that shows you exactly which terraces are in the sun and which are in shade — without leaving your chair.

The technology behind it is straightforward: for every building on the map, the app knows its height and footprint. It then calculates the current angle and direction of the sun, projects the shadow each building would cast, and draws it on the map. Sunny areas stay bright. Shaded areas are darkened. You can see the situation at a glance.

This works in cities and towns across the globe, including most of Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond. Whether you are checking terraces in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, or Paris, the shadow map gives you accurate real-time information.

Step by step: check any terrace in 30 seconds

Using Coffee in the Sun to check a terrace takes less than a minute. Here is exactly how to do it:

First, open Coffee in the Sun on your phone. The map will load centered on your current location if you allow location access, or you can navigate manually to any city. You will immediately see building shadows overlaid on the map, showing the current sun and shade situation.

Next, find the terrace you want to check. You can zoom into any street and look at the specific spot. If the terrace area is bright on the map, it is currently in the sun. If it is covered by a shadow layer, it is in shade right now. It really is that simple.

But here is where it gets even more useful. Use the Time Travel feature to scrub forward in time. Maybe the terrace is in shade now but will be sunny in 30 minutes. Or maybe it is sunny now but will lose the sun in an hour. The time slider lets you check the shadow situation for any hour of the day, so you can plan the perfect window for your visit.

You can also check future days. Planning a weekend brunch on Saturday at 11 AM? Set the date and time, and see exactly what the shadow situation will be. Because the shadows are calculated using astronomical formulas and real building geometry, the predictions are accurate for any date.

Pro tips for finding the sunniest terraces

Once you start using shadow maps, you will quickly develop an eye for the best spots. Here are some tips from experienced sun seekers:

Look for south-facing terraces. In the Northern Hemisphere, terraces facing south get the most sun throughout the day. The sun travels from east to south to west, so a south-facing terrace catches light from late morning through the afternoon. If a terrace faces north, it will almost never get direct sun in winter and only briefly in summer.

Wide streets and open squares are your best friends. Narrow streets between tall buildings create what urban planners call urban canyons — corridors where sunlight reaches the ground only briefly when the sun is directly overhead. Wide streets, open squares, waterfront locations, and terraces near parks allow far more sunlight throughout the day.

Check multiple times. Do not just look at the current moment. Use Time Travel to check a terrace across several hours. The best terraces are those that stay sunny for long stretches, not just those that happen to have sun at the moment you check. A terrace with 4 hours of continuous sun is better than one that gets 30 minutes of sun between shadow periods.

Understand seasonal differences. A terrace that works beautifully in June can be useless in December. The sun angle drops dramatically in winter, making building shadows far longer. In a city like Amsterdam, a building that casts a 10-meter shadow in summer casts a 75-meter shadow in winter. Check your favorite spots in different months to understand their seasonal patterns.

Consider the time you usually visit. If you always have lunch at 12:30, check terraces at that exact time. If you prefer after-work drinks at 5 PM, that is the time to check. The perfect terrace for lunch is often a different terrace than the perfect one for evening drinks, because the sun has moved to an entirely different position.

Never sit in the shade again

Finding a sunny terrace used to be a matter of luck. You walked around, hoped for the best, and accepted what you found. Those days are over. With real-time shadow maps, you can check any terrace in any city in seconds and know exactly whether it is in the sun — right now, in an hour, or next Saturday.

Coffee in the Sun puts this information at your fingertips. No more wasted walks, no more shivering in unexpected shade, no more guessing. Just open the map, check the shadows, and head straight to the sunniest terrace in your neighborhood. Your coffee tastes better in the sun — now you can make sure it always does.