# A Saturday at Galáctica from Valencia: lunch at the spa, the Sun in the afternoon and stars through a telescope

Lunch at the Balneario de Manzanera, the afternoon at Galáctica with the museum and the Sun through a telescope, and at 20:00 an hour and a half of guided stargazing.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/javalambre-mountains/itineraries/domes-and-telescopes-saturday · Revisado: 2026-11-13

## El día
- 11:30 · Salida: 1 h 45 by car (From Valencia via the A-23; fill the tank before the sierra)
- 13:30 · El Paraíso restaurant, at the Balneario de Manzanera (€25 menu · no published hours: phone and book) · El Paraíso restaurant, at the Balneario de Manzanera, €€
  - 30 min by car, 22 km
- 16:00 · Observing the Sun with a professional telescope at Galáctica (Galáctica · €28 with the museum · choose the time when booking) · Galáctica, From €28 per adult (€23 children up to age 10; free under 4)
  - Carry on on foot
- 19:50 · Night observation with telescopes at Galáctica (€25, €12 up to age 10 · starts at 20:00) · Galáctica, From €25 per adult (€12 children up to age 10; free under 4)
- 21:30 · Vuelta (In Valencia around 23:10)

Galáctica is an hour and forty minutes from Valencia, and the night observation lasts an hour and a half: making the journey just for the night falls short. This plan fills the Saturday around it. You have an unhurried lunch at the Manzanera spa, spend the afternoon at Galáctica looking at the Sun through a professional telescope and going round the museum, and when it gets dark you stay outside, in the amphitheatre, with the guides. From Teruel, the departure is half an hour later.

## From midday to night

11:30 · Set off. From Valencia on the A-23 and through the sierra. Galáctica reminds you that there are few petrol stations in the area: leave with a full tank.

13:30 · Lunch at El Paraíso. The Balneario de Manzanera dining room accepts outside customers, with a home-cooked €25 menu and a €14 children's menu, with truffle and Teruel ham. It does not publish hours: call 978 78 18 18 and book.

16:00 · The Sun and the museum. 28 minutes away, in Arcos de las Salinas. The ticket with solar observation, €28, includes a short talk on the Sun, the outdoor observation with a chromosphere-filter telescope and the museum at your own pace. In winter Galáctica opens in the afternoon from 15:30.

19:50 · Stars with a telescope. The Saturday observation begins at 20:00 and lasts an hour and a half, with a theme each night: Saturn and its moons, the Moon, Orion, the Geminids. €25 per adult and €12 up to age 10. Galáctica has no cafeteria: bring something for dinner for the time between the museum and the night.

21:30 · Head home. In Valencia around ten past eleven.

## Cómo llegar

### By car
From Valencia, about 105 km to Galáctica; from Teruel, about 76 km. There is no public transport back at night: if you do not want to drive, Galáctica recommends taxis from Sarrión, Rubielos de Mora and La Puebla de Valverde.

## Consejos

### Book both activities at once
The solar and the night sessions are bought separately on the Galáctica website, each with its own date and time.

### Winter clothes in the boot
For the night, a coat, hat and closed shoes in any month. In the middle of the afternoon in the sun you will be too warm; at nine, you will not.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### What happens if it clouds over?
Galáctica warns you 48 hours ahead if the forecast is poor and cancels with 24: you choose a 12-month voucher or an indoor plan with a sky simulator.

### Can you do it with small children?
Yes: both observations are for all ages and under-4s do not pay.

### What if I want to sleep there?
Swap the drive back for a night at Aras Rural, 21 minutes away, or at the Balneario de Manzanera itself, with the Starlight Hotel badge.

### Is there solar observation if I go on a Friday?
No: it is only on Saturdays and Sundays.