Old Observatory Leiden, South Holland Province, The Netherlands
4.0 (26 reviews) Spent < 1 hour Ranking #28 in Leiden Science Museums • Observatories & Planetariums
Nice tour to the dome
The Old Observatory of Leiden is the oldest surviving university observatory in the world. While students of Leiden University receive lectures in the main part of the building, the visitor center in the basement and the telescopes on the building serve the general public. It is not possible to enter the observatory by yourself, but we have tours Tuesday through Sunday. On this tour you will see some of the oldest and largest telescopes in the country! Check out our website for more information.
Address
Sterrenwachtlaan 11, 2311 GW, Leiden The Netherlands
Mobile
Website
http://www.oudesterrewacht.nl
Current local date and time now
Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 6:59
User Ratings
4.0 based on (26 reviews)
Excellent
42%
Good
38%
Satisfactory
12%
Poor
4%
Terrible
4%
Reviews
-
4Matthew PH 5:00 PM Aug 6, 2018
Very interesting visit
Never had the opportunity to go into a real observatory before and seeing one this old was quite interesting. The tour guide was an astronomy student at the University, so he answered all our questions very easily. Great history. Ticket combines with the Hortus Botanicus, and there are only tours at 11:30am and 3:00pm three days a week. Worth it!
-
3Durbz911 5:00 PM Feb 24, 2019
Great location but expected more!
Situated in a beautiful location with lots of interesting history. Guided tour in English was lead by a Dutch speaking student and was well done. However, it was evident that some of the displays in the museum had not received any attention for some time and in desperate need of some TLC! Also, we only got to see one of the telescopes which was a bit disappointing. On the plus side the restaurant served some excellent soup and bread! All in all, we found the overall experience a tad short and somewhat thin on content. Either way, if astronomy is your thing it's worth stopping by for if you happen to be in the vicinity.
