Ireland and Spain have emerged as the dominant must-visit destinations on a new league table of the best places for ‘Nocto Tourism’ – the latest travel trend to dominate 2025, where travellers look to explore destinations at night, experiencing activities you can only enjoy when the sun sets: including stargazing, star bathing, nocturnal safaris and bioluminescent bay experiences.
To help tourists find the perfect locations for a Nocto Tourism holiday that focuses on the best stargazing experiences, new data from travel booking site, Omio, has revealed the top locations in Europe that have the clearest night skies.
Assessing a number of factors of 1,400 worldwide locations; including Bortle Scale, light pollution rating and transparency rating, Omio ranked the best spots in Europe for stargazing and found Ireland and Spain to be joint winners, with each country having 9 of its locations featured in the top 25 places in Europe.
The 25 Best Locations for Stargazing Holidays in Europe
| Rank | Location | Country |
| 1 | Ballinskelligs Beach | Ireland |
| 2 | White Cliffs of Ashleam | Ireland |
| 3 | Clare Island – Tormore | Ireland |
| 4 | Glosh Bay Beach | Ireland |
| 5 | Silver Strand | Ireland |
| 6 | Robert Lloyd Praeger Centre | Ireland |
| 7 | St Finian’s Bay | Ireland |
| 8 | Murray’s Monument | Scotland |
| 9 | ICAstronomy | Spain |
| 10 | Ballycroy National Park Visitor Centre | Ireland |
| 11 | Grey Mare’s Tail | United Kingdom |
| 12 | Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail | Ireland |
| 13 | Mynydd Mawr Campsite | United Kingdom |
| 14 | Cime de la Bonette | France |
| 15 | Observatoire du Bonheur | France |
| 16 | Le Poil | France |
| 17 | Tartonne | France |
| 18 | Museo de Interpretación del Gofio | Spain |
| 19 | Mirador de Miraflores | Spain |
| 20 | Monumento al Infinito | Spain |
| 21 | Mirador La Muralla | Spain |
| 22 | Mirador Astronómico del Llano del Jable | Spain |
| 23 | Mirador Llano de Las Ventas | Spain |
| 24 | Mirador Volcán de San Antonio | Spain |
| 25 | Mirador Roque de Los Muchachos | Spain |
The top 5 locations in Ireland featured the best scores across all factors analysed, including a Bortle Scale rating of 1, followed by scores of 1 for transparency and light pollution, as well as being rated ‘good’ for clearance.
The Spanish observatory, the ICAstronomy, made it in the top 10, ranking the 9th best place to visit for stargazing-themed travel itineraries in Europe. It received a Bortle Scale rating of 2, along with a ‘good’ for clearance and top scores for transparency and light pollution.
France came in as the second European country with the most locations making the top 25 list, with 4 of its places ranking, followed by the UK with 2 locations and then Scotland with 1.
