Cime de la Bonette, Mountain summit in Alpes-Maritimes, France

Cime de la Bonette is a bare, conical mountain in the Mercantour National Park, on the border of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Its grey-brown slopes are fluted by shallow gullies, with smoother upper flanks and broken rock and scree below. A small dark structure sits on the rounded summit, and a faint line of pale markings crosses the left flank partway up.

The road over the Col de la Bonette was built in the early 1960s to link the Ubaye Valley with the Tinée Valley; the loop encircling the summit climbs to 2,802 m. The Tour de France first used it in 1962, and the road's high point remains the race's highest ever reached. A footpath from the top of the loop leads to the 2,860 m summit.

The name comes from "cime", French for summit, and Bonette, the pass below. At the top, a small footpath from the road loop leads to an orientation table and a panel explaining the local geology. The summit gives a direct view of Monte Viso, the peak that dominates the southern horizon.

Access to the peak is possible both by hiking and cycling, with the route presenting different difficulty levels depending on your starting point. Weather conditions can change rapidly at this elevation, so it is wise to pack appropriate gear and be prepared for sudden shifts.

The road loop encircling the summit tops out at 2,802 metres, making it the second highest paved through route in the Alps, not the highest. From the loop's high point a short footpath climbs the last stretch to the 2,860-metre summit, where an orientation table and a geology panel face Mont Viso.