The viewing evenings
A telescope open to the public on set nights.
Mister No โ CC BY 3.0 ยท Tanya Dedyukhina โ CC BY 3.0 ยท Tanya Dedyukhina โ CC BY 3.0
The largest and oldest public park on the Black Sea, running about eight kilometres along the coast north of the centre and laid out from 1878. It is not only a park but a whole complex: shaded walks under old trees, a naval museum with a submarine, an aquarium, a small zoo, a dolphinarium, this observatory, a summer theatre, monuments, and a path down to the beach. It is free and always open, and it is where the people of Varna spend their evenings โ the best way to see the city as it lives.
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The Nicolaus Copernicus astronomical observatory and planetarium stands in Varna's Sea Garden, opened in **1968** as the first public observatory of its kind in Bulgaria and still the largest. It combines three things in one building: a **planetarium** showing the sky with a projector and programmes on the solar system and the constellations; an **observatory** with a telescope used for public viewing evenings; and an **astronomical clock tower** displaying the movement of the sun and the phases of the moon. The planetarium's programmes are mainly in Bulgarian, **though some are available in English or Russian with advance booking** โ ask, because it changes the visit entirely for a non-Bulgarian speaker. The place is built for teaching rather than tourism, suits **children from about eight** upwards, and works regularly with schools. Its position inside the Sea Garden makes it easy to fold into a walk there. **Charges are low.**
A telescope open to the public on set nights.
Sun and moon phases displayed on the tower.
Sea Garden, Varna