Can you visit Cote d'Azur Observatory? Yes
Guided visits of Nice site Wed 2 pm and Sat 10 am and 2 pm; from EUR 12; book online.
A public night at an observatory usually starts at dusk with a short talk, then a line at the eyepiece of the main telescope for the Moon, a planet or a bright cluster, with volunteers' smaller telescopes set up outside. Dress for the night air even in summer: domes are not heated, so the telescope stays at outside temperature. Many nights sell out or cancel for clouds, so check the observatory's site on the day.
What Cote d'Azur Observatory observes
The list does not describe the instruments at Cote d'Azur Observatory yet; the official site has them.
How dark the sky is at Cote d'Azur Observatory
Cote d'Azur Observatory has no Bortle rating in the list yet. The scale below shows what each class looks like.
Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added, at the coordinates below. Research telescopes are often sited on mountains above the haze, so the real sky can be darker than the map suggests.
Cote d'Azur Observatory among the observatories of France
Green dots are observatories open to the public, blue dots research or private sites, squares dark sky places; select one for its page. See Observatories in France for the full list.
The coordinates on this page point to Nice Observatory, Mont-Gros (OCA headquarters): 43.721°N, 7.304°E.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Mountain observatory roads are often gated after dark; go only on a scheduled public night.
Dark sky places, observatories and clubs near Cote d'Azur Observatory
Nearest dark sky places
| Place | Where | Bortle | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpes Azur Mercantour International Dark Sky Reserve | Saint-Etienne-de-Tinee, France | 3 | 78 km (49 mi) |
| Vercors Regional Natural Park | Vassieux-en-Vercors, France | 4 | 202 km (125 mi) |
| Saint-Barthelemy Valley | Nus, Italy | 4 | 230 km (143 mi) |
| Resort Tenuta delle Ripalte | Capoliveri, Italy | 4 | 274 km (170 mi) |
| Rhone Valley | St-Luc, Switzerland | 4 | 280 km (174 mi) |
| Cevennes National Park | L'Esperou, France | 3 | 301 km (187 mi) |
Other observatories open to the public within 150 km
- Nice ObservatoryNice, France, 0 km (0 mi). Guided visits Wed 2 pm, Sat 10 am and 2 pm (more in school holidays); from EUR 12; book at oca.eu/visites
- Saint-Veran Observatory (Paul Felenbok Observatory)Saint-Veran, France, 113 km (70 mi). Overnight observing stays for groups of 4-9 (EUR 120 adult); 4-6 hour hike or ski ascent; book months ahead
Astronomy clubs within 150 km
- Observatoire d'Astrophysique du Club AntaresLa Seyne-sur-Mer, France, 134 km (83 mi). Meets Observatoire Antares, 193 chemin des Eaux
Cote d'Azur Observatory record
Every value in the observatories dataset for Cote d'Azur Observatory
| ID | 182 |
|---|---|
| Name | Cote d'Azur Observatory |
| City | Nice |
| Country | France |
| Continent | Europe |
| Web | https://www.oca.eu/ |
| Public | y |
| Lat | 43.72077 |
| Lon | 7.30401 |
| LatLonSpot | Nice Observatory, Mont-Gros (OCA headquarters) |
| Status | Active |
| StatusNote | Umbrella observatory with sites at Nice Mont-Gros, Calern plateau and Sophia Antipolis |
| PublicNote | Guided visits of Nice site Wed 2 pm and Sat 10 am and 2 pm; from EUR 12; book online |
| Sources | https://www.explorenicecotedazur.com/en/info/observatoire-de-la-cote-d-azur-site-du-plateau-de-calern-en |
From the site's observatories dataset (observatoriesglobal_q426). Distances are computed from the coordinates.