20 STARGAZING BREAKS
Planning a holiday? We’ve picked out our top astronomy attractions in the US and Europe
Written by Colin Stuart
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Maybe you’re planning a holiday but don’t realise there’s a jamboree of astronomy activities to experience across the world, from tourist attractions for all the family to adventurous hikes to remote observatories. The two big space agencies, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), have large visitor centres with towering rockets, authentic spacesuits, Moon rocks and vast multimedia displays. NASA has a variety of visitor centres across the US, including the home of spaceflight: Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In Europe there’s the ESA’s Space Expo in the Netherlands and space theme park Cité de l’espace near the city of Toulouse. France also has the impressive Pic du Midi Observatory, perched precariously on a mountain summit and reachable only by cable car.