Updated for September 2026
The Best Aquariums in metropolitan France
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every aquarium in metropolitan France that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Aquarium de Paris
Aquarium in Paris
Built in 1878, it is the world's earliest aquarium; it shut in 1985 and reopened in 2006. The visitor route covers 3,500 m2 underground, holding around 500 species of fish and invertebrates, some 10,000 specimens in all. The Polynesian tank contains 750 corals.
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Keeper talk or showTouch pool
Aquarium du Périgord noir
Aquarium in Le Bugue
The aquarium is in the Dordogne department, immediately beside the parc du Bournat.
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Grand Aquarium de Touraine
Aquarium in Lussault-sur-Loire
Billed as Europe's largest freshwater aquarium, the 5,000 m2 site has 70 tanks, among them a 30-metre freshwater tunnel. Species of the Loire are shown alongside others from oceans worldwide, with 12,000 fish held in two million litres of water.
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Touch poolBehind-the-scenes tourParking
Great Aquarium Saint-Malo
Aquarium in Saint-Malo
Great Aquarium Saint-Malo, opened in 1996, is an aquarium in Saint-Malo, France.
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Nausicaà Centre National de la Mer
Aquarium in Boulogne-sur-Mer
It holds the largest tank in Europe, ranked fifth on a world scale, and is also the largest coral-rearing centre on the continent. The layout runs to three main routes: the older exhibition on shores and the people who live by them, and an open-sea route opened in May 2018 around a 10,000 m3 basin recreating the ecosystem of Malpelo island. Attendance averages over 800,000 a year, making it the second busiest tourist site north of Paris after Parc Astérix.
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Keeper talk or showChild friendly
Oniria
Aquarium in Canet-en-Roussillon
Oniria is an aquarium in Canet-en-Roussillon, France. Its exhibits include Montagne, Au fil de l’eau, Plage, Descente dans les grands fonds and La Jungle.
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On-site diningDisability admission concessionImmersive media attraction
Planet Ocean Montpellier
Aquarium in Montpellier
A combined aquarium and planetarium, formed in April 2018 from two sites that had until then been run separately, the Mare Nostrum tanks and the Galilée planetarium. The aquarium section has been open since 15 December 2007. It drew 305,000 visitors in 2010, placing it among the busiest sites in the Hérault, behind Europark at Vias with 537,000.
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Child friendly
Aquarium du Limousin
Aquarium in Limoges
The 600 m2 site opened in 1993 with forty tanks, three hundred species and about 2,500 animals, ranging from catfish and piranha to sturgeon and horseshoe crab. It took 41,000 visitors in 2007, making it the fifth most visited attraction in Haute-Vienne, and it holds the national Qualité Tourisme mark.
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Aquarium of Trégastel
Aquarium in Trégastel
The first hall is roofed by a single block of pink granite spanning 22 by 15 metres and weighing close to 5,500 tonnes. The aquarium was fully refurbished in 2006, when a lobster mascot called Loutig was adopted.
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Child friendlyParkingSensory and cognitive support
Oceanopolis
Aquarium in Brest
It is a public facility owned by the metropolitan authority and run by the mixed-economy company Brest'aim, which took that name on 1 January 2025. It belongs to AMCSTI, the national scientific-culture network.
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Keeper talk or showIndoor spacesParking
Océarium Le Croisic
Aquarium in Le Croisic
It covers 1,700 m2, with more than 4,000 animals spread over 56 tanks. Attendance of over 250,000 a year makes it eleventh among French aquariums and the third most visited attraction in its department.
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Behind-the-scenes tourParking
Aquarium de La Rochelle
Aquarium in La Rochelle
Facing the old harbour in Charente-Maritime, it displays 12,000 marine animals of 600 species in 82 tanks. It describes itself as a centre for the study and preservation of marine species.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 12 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.