Barcelona Aquarium Guide

L’Aquàrium de Barcelona is the most important marine leisure and education centre in the world concerning the Mediterranean. A series of 35 tanks, 11,000 animals and 450 different species, an underwater tunnel 80 metres long, six million liters of water and an immense Oceanarium, the only one in Europe, turn this centre into a unique, reference leisure show that has already been visited by more than 14 million people.

Below you will find a breakdown of the five main sections that make up the Aquarium together with details of some of the exhibits in each section. This list is not exhaustive but we hope that this will give you an idea of what to expect and will help you plan your visit!

How To Get There

BUS: 14, 17, 19, 36, 38, 40, 45, 57, 59, 64, 91, 157.BUS TURÍSTIC (TOURIST BUS): Blue South RouteUNDERGROUND: L3 Drassanes, L4 Barceloneta.

The Aquarium

1. MEDITERRANEAN TANKS

L’Aquàrium de Barcelona is the most important aquarium in the world on the subject of the Mediterranean. To be able to see it without getting wet, we propose you dive deeper and deeper through 14 tanks representing the different Mediterranean communities.In each tank you can see the most characteristic species. In the tanks too, you will see two recreations of protected areas of our coastline and a stroll through the methacryllate tunnel of the Oceanarium, where you will feel as if you were swimming among the sharks.

This section is comprised of 20 tanks, each containing a variety of sea life – the following is an example of just one of these:

Shallow sandy coastal community

Sandy areas, apparently desolated, hide a large number of marine species.The sandy coastal communities house a poorer fauna and flora that rocky coasts, or at least which are more difficult to observe: Everything is hidden. Sandy areas are the home to a large number of organisms that have adapted their lives to remaining buried in the sand.

Among the fish, we see that the sandy areas are the kingdom of flat fish, rays and spiders. Fish with a toasted colour and pigmented with small white and dark spots (cryptic colouring) that camouflage so well in the sand that they are very difficult to distinguish. Often the only sign of their presence is a light silhouette in the sand, or two small eyes moving nervously, one on either side. Among the invertebrates are the clams that live more numerously alongside sea snails, cuttlefish, sea stars, sea cucumbers and different crustaceans that hide in the sand.

Furthermore, alongside these the marine fanerogamas are beginning to appear (superior plats) that facilitate the settlement of a whole range of associated fauna, both fish and marine invertebrates, which would find it difficult to live without the ideal hiding place and the resources offered by its existence.

Other marine organisms frequently found in this community:Fauna: Striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus), Cerianthus membranaceus, warty venus (Venus verrucosa), cottonspinner (Holothuria tubulosa), Astropecten spinulosus, Callionymus festivus, turbot (Psetta maxima), wide-eyed flounder (Bothus podas), common sole (Solea vulgaris), pearly razorfish (Xyrichthis novacula), eagle ray (Myliobatis aquila).

2. TROPICAL TANKS

A fascinating world of colours opens up under the sea; the coral reefs, singular architectural creations of spectacular beauty, built by small colonial invertebrates, coral. To be able to travel over the tropical seas without catching a plane, in L’Aquàrium de Barcelona are 7 tanks representing these seas with their most characteristic species.

The following is an example of one of these:

Tropical poisonous and aggressive fishes

Many species of fish have developed mechanisms todefend themselves from predators, such as poisons needles, electrical discharges or aggressive behaviour. Some species warn of their danger with bright colours.

Among the many organisms that live on coral reefs, many have acquired different adaptations for active defence, which often and accidentally may be a danger for humans, even though, in appearance, they are peaceful organisms of singular beauty. Poisonous needles, electrical discharges and even aggressive behaviour are some of the examples of the defensive adaptations used most widely in this medium. Some species warn of their danger with bright colours on their skin, and others can change their colours to pass unnoticed and blend into the medium that surrounds them, and even imitate other fish feared in the ecosystem.

Other marine organisms frequently found in this community:Fauna: Fu Manchu lionfish (Dendrochirus biocellatus), dwarf lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus), yellow Boxfish (Ostracion cubicus), zebra lion fish (Dendrochiruszebra), stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa), lionfish (Pterois volitans), horned cowfish (Lactoria cornuta).

3. PLANETA AQUA

Almost three quarters of our planet is covered with water; however, despite this we know less about the oceans and their inhabitants than we do about the surface of the moon. Planeta Aqua will discover many of the creatures that have adapted to the most diverse conditions of the aquatic environment: the glacial cold, the darkness of the abysses, the warm tropical waters…

The display is intended to show you the importance of water in the development of our planet over more than 3,500 million years.

There are six exhibits that make up this section of the aquarium, including:

Be surprised

Using computer games, explanatory boards, small tanks and interactive elements, you can discover the evolution of different mammals, reptiles and fish that have adapted to the marine surroundings, all in a circular attic where you can see living fossils, phenomena such as camouflage, symbiosis, some secrets of oceanography and environmental aspects, and many other things.

4. THE OCEANARIUM

The spectacular Oceanarium, the only one of its kind in Europe, is the largest tank and the one with the greatest number of species in L’Aquàrium de Barcelona. With a diameter of 36 metres and 5 metres in depth, it contains 4,500 m3 of water. Such diverse species are found as giltheads, morays, ocean sunfish, rays and two kinds of sharks: the sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) and the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), the true stars of L’Aquàrium.

A stroll through the Oceanarium is a spectacular experience. A transparent tunnel over 80 m long crosses under it, which allows visitors to go through it as if they were walking on the sea bed.

5. Explora

Explora is an interactive leisure and educational space. Conceived to present the sea world to children, it has more than 50 interactivities to touch, look at, listen to, investigate and discover nature. In Explora three Mediterranean coastal ambients are presented: the marshes of the Delta del Ebro, an area of the Costa Brava and an underwater cave in the Islas Medas.

The Costa Brava

The Marshes of the Delta del Ebro

These shallow salt water lagoons are an important habitat for many animal species, above all for migratory birds. Explora! invites you to understand the marshes in many ways, with magnifying glasses, analysing traces in the mud…

The sand beaches are isolated points along the Costa Brava, often protected by large cliffs that tumble spectacularly into the sea. Eroded and sculpted by the wind and the waves, the

picturesque Costa Brava houses lagoons made by the tide. The two environments (beaches and lagoons) are found in Explora! and invite visitors to enter this world and begin to explore.

The underwater cave in the Islas Medas

OPENING HOURS

Under the surface of the Mediterranean, the caves and rock protrusions house a reef community with a whole series of organisms that use these places as a refuge. For many visitors, this sea kingdom that is just a few metres from the coast is another world. In Explora visitors may ‘submerge under the water’ and begin to explore the reef and the remains of a shipwreck.

Open all year roundOpen: 9.30h

Closed:Monday through Friday: 21.00h Weekend and public holidays: 21.30h June and September: 21.30hJuly and August: 23.00h

ADMISSION

Adults: 17.75 €Children from 4 to 12: 12.75 €