Overview

Built in 1846, the Observatory and its gardens seem to be lost in time; the pathways are barely visible and large trees partially obscure the view from the astronomic telescopes. Since 1973 only non-professionals and schoolchildren use the Observatory. For all stargazers, the Popular Astronomic Society holds evening sessions every Friday. Visit the domes and, weather permitting, pretend you're in a Jules Verne novel and look up at the stars. By day, visit the large park. The entrance, designed by nineteenth-century architect Urbain Vitry, opens onto winding paths with hundred-year-old oak trees and an odd circular pigeon-house.