Have some l'fun at l'aquarium! (L'Aquarium Barcelona)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	L'Aquarium Barcelona
Date:	12/03/09 (168 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good selection of marine life, an entertaining few hours

Disadvantages: A bit pricey

My last holiday abroad was to Barcelona, Spain. Whilst I was there I visited L'Aquarium Barcelona.

L'Aquarium is situated in Port Vell which if you know Barcelona is near the end of Las Ramblas. It is next to Port Vell shopping centre, marina and seafront. There are good transport links to and from the aquarium which include buses, coaches and metro. The nearest metro station is Barceloneta.

The building is large and has a colourful mosiac style wall alongside it. It is hard to miss.

The ticket booth is opposite the main building. We paid 34 euros for 2 adults and our little girl was free because she was under 4. Ticket prices are 17 euros for adults, 12 euros for 4-12 year olds, 14 euros for over 60 year olds and free for under 4 year olds. I personally thought that it was particularly expensive and wouldn't expect to pay that amount for an Aquarium back home. Then again aquariums back home aren't half as exotic. On top of that we had to pay 3 euros for a guide. We visited at about midday but it opens daily from 9.30am.

We made our way into the main building and down a ramp. There were a few people waiting in front of us and we weren't sure why. When we moved down abit there was a photographer taking photos of everybody entering the aquarium! They took it inside a huge sharks jaw and you were able to view and purchase it at the end for a further 5 euros. We did as it was quite a nice souvenear and because we didn't manage to take any photos of our own.

It was very crowded when we visited and hard to get close to tanks without having to wait around.

I found all the marine life and tanks to be good, clean and hygienic. The tanks all seemed the adaquit size for the maine life it was home to.

They were 14 tanks of mediterranean fish and marine life (Barcelona is based next to the mediterranean) which included rays, scorpion fish, moray eel, comber, dogfish, sea urchin, mackerel, ocean sunfish, cuttlefish, starfish, lobsters and octupus. There were also 7 tanks of tropical fish and marine life which included blacktip reef shark, whitetip reef shark, clown fish, bannerfish, stonefish and lionfish. There are also mini tanks scattered around which are home to invertebrate such as anemones, sea cucumbers and lobsters.

One of the things we all enjoyed the most was the oceanarium. The oceanarium was a large glass tank which you could pass through on a travelator. The travelator was a great idea because it was quite slow so you could see everything and take everything in but people weren't stopping for ages and clogging up the walkway and views. I have been through a number of walk through tanks in the past but was particularly impressed by the size and species which this one held. It had a diameter of 36 metres and contained a number of large rays, eels and sharks (tiger and sandbar) to name but a few.

At the end of the oceanarium we came to an escalator which took us upstairs where we were greeted by a childrens play area. There were a lot of activities to help and encourage children to learn and get a better understanding of marine life. There was a giant whale which was pitch black inside, we went inside and saw different marine life that lives in darkness (such as jelly fish and cave fish). There was also an open pool of stingrays to get up close and personal with.

The last part of the aquarium and the least expected part of the Aquarium was a tank full of Penguins! It was really nice to see them gliding through the water, my little girl loved it.

Before exiting the aquarium there is a big souvenear shop that you have to pass through. It sold everything from toys and mugs, to ornaments and glossy photos.

Overall a nice few hours out, if not a little pricey. Recommended if you're interesting in marine life, have kids and best suited if you haven't been to many aquariums recently (aquariums generally feel a bit the same if you visit too often).

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