Catalonia—Spain’s most northeastern region—is much more than the nightlife in Barcelona and the beaches of Costa Brava. With the Pyrenees mountains along the border in the north and Delta de l’Ebre along the Mediterranean, the interior of Catalonia is full of lush green life. Probably why the region is also home to some of the best wines in the world.
With all the nature and outdoor activities in Catalonia, the region is also a great place for stargazing in Spain. During my trip, I visited the Montsec Astronomy Park which is located in a region with a nearly light-free sky at night. No light pollution here!
The Montsec Astronomy Park (Parc Astronómic Montsec & Centre d’Obersvació de l’Univers) has a museum and small outdoor park with two telescopes for stargazing. The museum offers your typical astronomical visit: a permanent exhibit which allows you to “travel” through the history of the universe—from its origin to the creation of our solar system. The museum also highlights the local flora, fauna and geology of the Montsec region which helps to explain why the region is good for stargazing (low humidity and not a lot of clouds).
But the highlight for me at the astronomy museum was their “eye of Montsec”—a multimedia planetarium with a 12-meter diameter dome. When I visited on a cool May night, we were presented with an overhead representation of the nighttime sky. Just as the narrated movie ended, the front wall of the small amphitheater disappeared and the dome above us opened up. Above and in front of us was the very sky we’d just heard so much about. It was quite literally an awesome effect.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to a planetarium before. But to be sitting inside and then suddenly you’re outside looking up at the very thing you were just hearing about… well, it was just awesome. A big “wow” moment!
At night, we were also able to peek through the two outdoor telescopes. The two telescopes in the astronomy park outside offer some spectacular views of the nighttime sky. Because there are so few clouds in the region, we got a glimpse of some of the visible planets and constellations. The @earthXplorer himself even captured an awesome photo of the rings of Saturn with his iPhone through one of the telescopes!
If you ever find yourself in Spain and eager to escape the typical tourist traps, consider a little lesson in astronomy for your trip!
My visit to Catalonia (read more stories here) was in partnership with @TravelDudes and the Catalunya tourism board.
Very cool. I’ve been to Catalonia twice this year, but didn’t hear about the Astronomy Park. Sounds like fun!
If you like astronomy, Laurel, definitely a place worth checking out…
I’d visit for sure. I went to a similar astronomy park in L.A. but didn’t get a chance to go at night and actually peer out the scopes.
Ohh! The LA astronomy park is pretty famous. Isn’t that where parts of Rebel Without a Cause were filmed?
This sounds like so much fun! I love being at such places where we can watch our giant universe. Thanks for sharing the place.
I really love astronomy—makes you realize how small we are in the big scope of things…
So. Now you can connect iPhones to telescopes? I think it’s the beginning of the end :D
iPhones are amazing! End story.
Long time ago before I was a kid. I have been fascinated about stars and astronomy museum or park. Some kids might say that when they grow up they want to be an astronomer and travel around the solar system. haha However, I think with the wider imagination of the people nowadays, we or even the kids don’t need to go outside the galaxy just to stargaze with the stars and astronomical bodies. I’m very much thankful with that.
I am actually on holiday near this place in a couple of weeks. A trip is definitely on the cards, thank you for the recommendation!