General Information

• Open daily
• From April to June, and September: from 9:30AM to 7:00PM
• July and August: from 9:30AM to 7:30PM
• From October to March: from 10:00AM to 6:00PM
• Rate (per person): 12.50€
• Children from 6 to 18 years old and students: 6€
• Duration of visit: 2 to 3 hours
• Partial disables access

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Oceanographic Museum & Aquarium
 

Avenue Saint-Martin

MC 98000, Monaco

Tel.: (+377) 93 15 36 00

Fax: (+377) 93 50 52 97

Web site: www.oceano.mc

E-mail: musee@oceano.mc

Description

Inaugurated in 1910 by its founder, Prince Albert I, this exceptional museum of marine sciences is a monumental architectural masterpiece with a grandiose façade rising majestically above the sea to a height of 279 feet. It took 11 years to build, using 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie.

The impressive rooms of the Museum, open to the public on two floors, contain remarkable collections of marine fauna gathered by Prince Albert, numerous specimens of sea creatures (stuffed or in skeleton form, including the skeleton of a 66 foot whale), models of Prince Albert’s laboratory ships, and craftware made from the sea’s natural products. Part of the first floor is dedicated to the oceanographic works of Prince Albert 1,“Career of a Navigator”.

In the basement, the visitor can enjoy the spectacular delights of the world-famous aquarium with its extraordinary show of marine flora and fauna. With 4,000 species of fish and over 200 families of invertebrates, the aquarium is now an authority on the presentation of the Mediterranean and tropical marine ecosystem. Its latest creation, the “Shark Lagoon”, unveils in a giant tank the diversity and extraordinary colors of the coral reef and its inhabitants.

On the ground floor, exhibitions and varied film projections are regularly presented in the sumptuous décor of the “Conférence room”.

Finally on the top floor, it is possible to have lunch in the restaurant "La Terrasse" admiring a magnificent panorama of the Principality of Monaco and the Italian Riviera.  A museum shop is also available.