Bortle 3· Rural skyCertified reserveMountain

Pic du Midi

France · 42.94°, 0.14°

Sleep at 2,877 m, at the top of a cable car.

4.6(442)

Best night in range

Jun 18, 2026

8% cloud · 6% moon

89Sky score

SQM reading: 21.40mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit: 7.2mag
Clear nights: 208per year
Elevation: 2,877 m

The site

A working observatory since 1878, now with a small hotel on the summit terrace. The 3,300 km² reserve around it is the largest in Europe. You ride the last cable car up at sunset and the mountain belongs to about thirty people until morning.

Overnight rooms on the observatory terrace
Largest protected reserve in Europe
Planetary imaging heritage going back 150 years

Ten-night forecast

Updated 6h ago

Sky Score combines cloud cover, transparency, seeing, humidity and lunar illumination against this site's Bortle class. Higher is better; anything above 82 is worth rearranging a calendar for.

Night	Moon	Cloud	Transparency	Seeing	Humidity	Sky score
SunJun 14	3%	52%	58%	74%	50%	64
MonJun 15	0%	10%	94%	64%	17%	84
TueJun 16	0%	30%	74%	81%	35%	76
WedJun 17	2%	49%	61%	85%	42%	67
ThuJun 18Best	6%	8%	95%	87%	27%	89
FriJun 19	12%	23%	75%	68%	27%	76
SatJun 20	20%	21%	87%	58%	26%	76
SunJun 21	29%	36%	76%	49%	44%	67
MonJun 22	39%	56%	51%	51%	46%	54
TueJun 23	50%	16%	82%	80%	31%	78

When to come

Share of nights that stay usable, month by month. The recommended window is June, July, August, September and October.

44%

46%

50%

52%

56%

66%

74%

75%

70%

60%

48%

43%

JFMAMJJASOND

Recommended windowShare of clear nights