GUYANA SPACE CENTRE (CSG)

The Guiana Space Center is Europe's spaceport, and the launch pad for the Ariane and Vega rockets... But it's also a great place to visit! Come and explore the facilities or the savannahs, watch a launch or experience the Guyaspace Experience (formerly the Space Museum).

Visit the Guiana Space Center: guided tours of the facilities are free and open all year round, Monday to Saturday. Departures at 8am and 1pm. They take you to the heart of the control centers and launch areas. Tours take place while rockets and satellites are being prepared for their next missions: tours may therefore be modified to ensure visitor safety, and are interrupted the day before, the day of and the day after a launch.

Visit to the heart of the CSG savannahs: the CSG area is also a protected natural zone, a veritable concentrate of Guiana's biodiversity, home to over 700 different species. Tours of the savannahs are organized every month, with an ONF guide to help you discover the richness of this area.

Attend a launch: if your stay coincides with a launch, make sure you don't miss out. Open sites vary according to personal protection constraints, and invitations to attend are free, but limited to the number of places available. Plan ahead and book online: centrespatialguyanais.fr

Alternatively, the Carapa site (12.5 km from the launch zone) is open to the public free of charge, with no reservation and no age restrictions. It is located on the mountain of the same name, just outside Kourou and the CSG. The site opens 2 hours before launch, and can accommodate a maximum of 1,450 people. Bring a pair of binoculars and a camera. Other popular sites in Kourou on launch days are the beach and the summit of Monkey Mountain. In Cayenne, head for Place des Amandiers, where you'll find plenty of entertainment (and sometimes a giant screen)!

Guyaspace Experience: a new, unique and immersive place to discover the history of the CSG and space, the European space adventure, biodiversity and behind-the-scenes of a launch. Visits include planetarium sessions, family workshops, interactive activities, hands-on exhibits, games and more. Open Monday to Saturday and on the^1st Sunday of the month.