Biarritz Aquarium, information and advice.

Meet the Aquarium of Biarritz, one of the largest aquariums in the Basque Country.

The Aquarium of Biarritz is part of the endless list of points of interest found in Iparralde(French Basque Country). An attraction, which, located in the elegant city of Biarritz is indispensable in any good trip along the French Basque coast. A few meters from the sea, surrounded by cliffs and the Bay of Biscay, is one of the most striking sites of Biarritz, and is that, the Rock of the Virgin, the port, the beach and the Aquarium, coexist in a small space with lots of charm, a place that we have visited in first person and that we recommend you to eyes closed.

The Biarritz Aquarium opened its doors to the public in 1933, a pioneering project in the area, which saw its facilities renovated in 2011 to meet the new museum needs of the time. Today, the Biarritz Aquarium has more than 7,000 square meters divided into two complexes: the old and the new. The limit of these two spaces is found in the seal pool, a place that hosts one of the highlights of the day and from which you can see beautiful views of the Basque coast.

The Aquarium of Biarritz, guides us through the fauna and flora of our oceans making us participants of the importance of each of the ecosystems that surround us. A journey around the oceans of the planet, which begins by showing us the species that inhabit our coast and ends in warm waters, in the Caribbean, where species such as sharks and turtles attract the attention of young and old.

Although practically the entire tour of the Biarritz Aquarium takes place inside the building, we must highlight the terrace that we find in the upper area. The space that houses the pool of seals, the only open space of the complex, one of the places to highlight in this Basque museum. As a curiosity, we would like to point out that the water needed to fill the ponds of the Aquarium de Biarritz is pumped directly from the sea and then filtered and sterilized, one of the many advantages of having the sea nearby.

Biarritz, one of the most beautiful cities in the French Basque Country, has reserved one of its most charming spaces for the city’s Aquarium. Thanks to its privileged location facing the sea and its wide variety of species, the Biarritz Aquarium has become one of the most attractive aquariums in Europe. Hammerhead sharks, turtles and seals are just a small representation of the variety of species housed in the Biarritz Aquarium. Come and discover the family of all the species in this Basque aquarium!

History: The Marquis Alexandre Guillaume Léopold de Folin generated between 1880 and 1883 the movement that encouraged and convinced the French authorities of the need to carry out maritime studies in the waters of the Bay of Biscay. A movement that gave rise to what we know today as the Biarritz Aquarium. But it was not until after the First World War, in 1923, that the city council planned and confirmed the creation of an oceanographic museum. André Giret, then administrator of the Bayonne Navy Recruiting Office, proposed to install the Aquarium in the municipal warehouses located next to the Rock of the Virgin, on the cliffs of the Alto de la Atalaya. In 1930, the architects Hiriart, Lafaye and Lacoureyre won the competition held by the city council to award the works and on August 10, 1933, the Biarritz Aquarium opened its doors. Curiously, it took 2 years to enjoy the official inauguration. In 2008, the city council of Biarritz approved the extension of the aquarium and the construction of the Cité de l’Océan for its opening in 2011, an initiative that propelled Biarritz on the international scene of oceanographic studies.

Attractions: There are many charms of the Aquarium of Biarritz, but the great diversity of species (more than 5,000), the different ecosystems that reproduce inside (Bay of Biscay, Caribbean Sea and the Indian and Pacific Oceans), the pool of seals, the views from its terrace and have a pond of more than 1.500 cubic meters (the size of a 3-storey building), make this Basque museum one of the most outstanding aquariums in Europe, undoubtedly a fact to take into account during our visit to the French Basque Country.

Cité de l’Océan: There is the possibility of a double visit at a reduced price: Aquarium of Biarritz and the Cité de l’Océan. Now, you may wonder what is the Cité de l’Océan. This museum, complementary to the Aquarium of Biarritz, is the place selected to show the secrets of the ocean. A wonderful opportunity to understand where the water of the oceans comes from, how waves are created and many other curiosities that hide the seabed. Thanks to the 3D animations and the different special effects, the interactive exhibitions of this enclosure will lead us to understand in a fun and entertaining way every corner of our oceans.

Where to park: Due to its location, it is practically impossible to park our vehicle in the vicinity of the Biarritz Aquarium. For this reason, we are forced to look for a parking space in the different parking lots of the city (for a fee of course). Although there are several parking lots throughout the city (Indigo, Grande Plage or Old Harbor), our recommendation is to park in the open-air parking lot located on the beach of Biarritz, on Beau Rivage Avenue.

Once parked our vehicle we just have to go down along the coast, a beautiful road, which allows us to know the city while we head towards our destination. A nice excuse to visit part of the coast of Biarritz and know some of the charms that keeps this charming place of the French Basque Country. It takes less than 5 minutes and is well worth it. The parking is managed by a kind of OTA (Traffic Ordinance), is usually full of surfers and is not cheap, but the site is worth it.

Location: The sea and the mountains make the French Basque Country a perfect enclave for a family or couple getaway, a space of great beauty, in which we find the city of Biarritz, the space that occupies us today. The noble and royal past of this city is well known, but what many ignore is that its streets and beaches still keep alive and intact the glamour of this elegant and stately Basque city. The Aquarium of Biarritz gives us the opportunity to know part of the coast of this city from its terrace, and the cliffs and beaches surrounding the city have a very special charm. Biarritz makes us fall in love at every step!

Tour – Visit: The ticket office and entrance to the Aquarium of Biarritz is located in its lower part, practically at sea level, next to the Rock of the Virgin. Once inside the tour, the first ponds are full of species familiar to all of us, this is the area of the Bay of Biscay. More than 20 aquariums in which we recognize species such as seahorses, conger eels, octopus and many other species until we reach the jellyfish aquarium, a great light show that attracts locals and strangers.

Going up to the second floor, we find the museum area of the Aquarium of Biarritz, where we find the gallery of cetaceans or the fishing room accompanied by one of the temporary collections. In this case we find a large collection of old photographs in which you can perfectly appreciate the way of life of Biarritz.

We go up one more floor to hear the sounds of cetaceans in a room perfectly decorated for the occasion. We are in the anteroom of the aquarium with a panoramic view of the seals, it is time to enjoy their movements before moving on to the turtle grotto, what beautiful creatures!

We went one level further to reach the terrace, time to enjoy the view and the seals before visiting the new area of the Aquarium de Biarritz.

We enter the new zone, the North Atlantic, Caribbean and Indo-Pacific zone. Pay attention to the coral reef, the mangrove swamp and the shark aquarium, not to be missed.

We leave the pond area behind to reach the Biarritz Aquarium store, where the visit ends.

Seals: 10:30 and 17:00, note these times. These are the times when they feed the seals, perhaps one of the most anticipated moments of the day. The pond and the seals’ terrace of the Biarritz Aquarium mark the end of the permanent collection dedicated to the Bay of Biscay, and the beginning of the show, each specimen can swallow more than 4 kilos of fish! While we visualize how they feed this species, the Aquarium workers tell us some of the most striking features of the seals, did you know that they can be more than 20 minutes underwater without coming out to breathe?

Children: Although children enjoy the whole tour, there are 3 places in the Biarritz Aquarium where time stands still for them. The huge shark pool, the seal pool and the pool where we find Nemo. The immensity of the sharks, the movements and the way the seals move, and the popularity of Nemo is a great magnet for the little ones of the house. For all children who have enjoyed the movie “Finding Nemo”, this species is of vital importance. So, sometimes it is a good idea to give the children a challenge, a game, shall we look for Nemo?

Opinion: Like the rest of the aquariums in our territory, the price of Biarritz is somewhat high, but the visit is well worth it, especially as a family plan. And, although adults and children enjoy this type of plan, for the little ones it is always an extra incentive to be less than 1 meter away from species such as turtles, sharks, rays, seals and a long list of species.

This space is comparable in size and museum offer to the Aquarium of San Sebastian, another of the Basque aquariums to highlight, a comparison from which, in our humble opinion, the Aquarium of Biarritz comes out on top. Although it does not have the famous tunnel that we find in the Aquarium of San Sebastian, the pond of the seals, the great tank of the sharks and the great variety of species that we find in this aquarium forces us to indicate that as aquarium it surpasses the one of the capital of Gipuzkoa. However, as far as the museum area is concerned, both aquariums have an elegant collection, practically of equal importance.

The Biarritz Aquarium is a “type” or “standard” aquarium, similar to others we have visited, with the exception of attractions such as the views, the food for the seals or the 15,000 cubic meters pond that we can surround during the tour. Although we love the old part, we must make special emphasis on the new part, much larger than it appears from the outside and great attraction for the little ones of the house. Of course, without knowing what is the minimum space recommended for this species, we must say that the pond dedicated to the seals seemed very small, insufficient for the number of specimens that we found.

We invite you to travel along the coast of the French Basque Country, making an important stop along the way to visit the Aquarium of Biarritz, a space where children and adults will enjoy the different ecosystems of our seabed. Watch out for the seals and sharks!