The Sierra Nevada in southern Spain, near Granada, hosts a major professional observatory at 2,800m and offers some of mainland Europe's darkest, clearest skies. The high-altitude, dry Andalusian climate delivers Bortle 2 conditions with excellent transparency and over 300 clear nights a year. At 37.1°N — the lowest latitude of any European hub city here — the southern sky is exceptionally well presented, with the summer Milky Way core standing high and southern objects visible that are difficult from northern Europe. The Sierra Nevada Observatory and nearby Calar Alto reflect the region's importance to European astronomy.