The Hague Planet Trail
Following the footsteps of early pioneers, The Hague Planet Trail allows you to explore the Solar System to scale. Infused with historical and fun scientific facts, this city walk will highlight The Hague's planetary allure and bring the Solar System into a tangible perspective.
The Hague’s planetary connection
The city has a special connection with the planets and our Solar System. In 1608, shortly after the telescope was invented, the world’s first written account of an astronomical observation using a telescope was published in The Hague. Years later Christiaan Huygens, born in The Hague, made major contributions to astronomy, physics, and mathematics. He improved the design of the telescope and, using one of his own telescopes, made various unique discoveries of planets and moons in the Solar System.
An unique trail between The Hague city centre and Scheveningen.
Continuing Huygens’ legacy of collaboration
Huygens' discoveries were not made in isolation. His ideas travelled through letters, networks, and exchanges with other scientists across Europe. Science grew through cooperation then, just as it does today. Centuries after Huygens studied distant worlds, the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) continues that tradition by giving scientists from over 40 countries a place to meet, share knowledge, and explore new ideas together. From 6 to 11 September 2026, The Hague hosts EPSC at Amare. For one week, scientists from Europe and beyond will gather to discuss planets, moons, space missions, and the origins of life.
Planets to scale
This trail across The Hague makes the incredible size of the Solar System tangible by shrinking it down to a scale where the distance of the Sun to the Earth equals 100 meters. This scales the distance from the Sun in Amare to Pluto on the beach at Scheveningen to about 4 kilometres. With fun facts and links to contemporary Dutch planetary research, you can discover the planets yourself.
Wandel het Haags Planetenpad
