This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

If India’s landing on the moon this August has ignited or renewed your family’s fascination with the stars and space exploration, there are countless ways to indulge this interest while travelling. Museums, reserves, festivals and historical attractions all over the world celebrate the secrets of the universe, while autumn and winter skies also provide the best opportunities for stargazing. Here are eight trip ideas to inspire budding astronauts and astronomers.

1. Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Organised into chronologically grouped attractions and tours based around mission launches from the US Space Program, the NASA-operated Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is a must for aspiring astronauts and space-lovers. Hands-on experiences range from live presentations delivered by astronauts to the new Astronaut Training Experience Center. At the latter, children aged 10 to 17 (with an accompanying adult) can experience the sensation of spacewalking and navigating Martian terrain.

Top tip: The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the closest place from which the public can view rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, for which it provides seating stands and commentary; check the website for scheduled launches to plan your trip around.

2. North York Moors, Yorkshire

One of only 21 International Dark Sky Reserves in the world — designated as such because of their pristine skies — this lovely part of England is host to one of the UK’s family-friendly National Parks Dark Skies festivals. Well timed to coincide with the latter part of autumn half term in England (27 October to 5 November 2023), the North York Moors Dark Skies Fringe Festival includes bat-box making, sessions in night navigation, evenings with winter owls and moonlit coastal walks.

Top tip: If you miss this one, plan ahead for the bigger North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales Dark Skies Festival in February 2024. 

3. Pic du Midi, French Pyrenees

There are few observatories in the world where you can eat a delicious dinner, spend the night stargazing before retiring to a cosy cabin, then get up to watch the sun rise above the clouds. Getting to the Pic du Midi Observatory from Toulouse is also an adventure in its own right, involving a ride on two cable-cars up to 9,440ft. Once there, guided astronomy sessions help kids discover Saturn and its rings, clusters of stars in deep space and solar flares on the Sun’s surface via some of the world’s most powerful telescopes.

Top tip: If you’re flying to France, wait at least a day before travelling up to Pic du Midi, to avoid the possibility of altitude sickness.

4. Mount Teide, Tenerife

The most popular of the Canary Islands, there’s more to Tenerife than beaches and whale-watching. It’s also home to the largest solar observatory in the world, sitting at an altitude of 7,840ft on Spain’s highest mountain, the Teide volcano. Ride the cable-car up for a scientist-led tour, which includes the chance to observe the Sun through portable solar telescopes. The special family visits include a fascinating 90-minute workshop exploring how observatory astrophysicists carry out their research.

Top tip: For a longer immersion, book a 6.5-hour night tour with Volcano Teide Experience — a guided hike up through Teide National Park, spotting bats and volcano cones, stopping for a picnic before a star-gazing session.

5. Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

A key stop on India’s classic ‘Golden Triangle’ itinerary alongside the Taj Mahal, the colourful city of Jaipur is home to UNESCO-listed Jantar Mantar — a unique astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century, featuring about 20 large-scale instruments that look like something straight out of a surrealist painting. Set in the heart of Rajasthan’s state capital, kids can clamber around the sculpture-like installations in an open-air setting; a highlight is the world’s largest sundial.

Top tip: Visit at midday, when the position of the sun vertically ahead makes it easier to interpret the readings of each instrument.

6. Jodrell Bank, Cheshire

One of Cheshire’s biggest attractions is the University of Manchester’s UNESCO-listed, world-leading science research institute, centred around the Grade I-listed Lovell Telescope. There’s lots of interactive fun and learning across several indoor exhibition spaces, including new permanent displays about the history of Jodrell Bank, the Clockwork Orrery working model of the solar system and its hands-on science displays in the Space Pavilion. It also has a programme of family-friendly events, including the annual summer Bluedot festival, which brings together live music and science workshops.

Top tip: Bring a picnic to make the most of 35 acres of grounds including an arboretum, ponds, guided pathways, a playground and outdoor exhibits such as a pair of giant ‘whispering dishes’ for kids to call between. 

 7. Atacama Desert, Chile

Home to one of the most powerful astronomical tools in the world, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescope, this arid northern region of Chile has some of the globe’s clearest skies and best star-gazing potential. Adventurous families can take night tours from San Pedro that use high-end computerised, hand-held telescopes to scan the high-altitude skies, with guides who explain how the ancient people of this region related to the cosmos.

Top tip: Plan your trip to avoid the period around the full moon — there are five nights a month when it’s typically so bright that star-gazing tours can’t run.

8. EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Florida 

One of four Disney theme parks in Orlando, EPCOT — which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow — celebrates technological innovation, futurism and the universe. At the Mission: SPACE pavilion, for example, the main attraction is two rides that simulate what an astronaut might experience aboard a spacecraft on a mission to Mars. Afterwards, families can refuel in the pavilion’s Space 220 restaurant, modelled after a space station, with themed dishes such as starry calamari. In 2022, the park also opened an area called Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind with characters from the film, the park’s first rollercoaster and entertainment bringing space travel to life.

Top tip: At Mission: SPACE, kids looking for a gentler experience should choose the Green Mission simulator; Orange Mission offers a more heart-pumping, intense ride.