GuestViews is now available at Nausicaá, Boulogne-sur-mer – the biggest aquarium in Europe! Its construction dates back to 1991, but a whole new wing was opened in May 2018, featuring a massive 10 000m3 pool. Join us in discovering a tourist attraction that welcomes more than 600 000 visitors each year!
Nausicaá is both an aquarium and a cultural and scientific hub, whose aim it is to teach the visitors about the marine environment so as to raise awareness about it. The exhibition was designed with the goal in mind of showcasing the diversity of the sea and the ocean in its entirety. For instance, you can experience the world of the great sea mammals as if you were there thanks to sound and video installations! The relationship between man and the sea is at the core of the exhibition, which is divided into several major areas. Two exhibitions are to be seen: “A Journey on the High Seas” and “Of Shores and Men”.
The aquarium is too large to give a faithful account of the diversity it contains in a single article. However, there are some exhibits that you just can’t miss. In the “A journey on the high seas” exhibition, you can contemplate extremely diverse species from the tiny plankton to the massive whale in the “Deep Sea Dive” exhibit. In “The Ocean at Night”, discover the poetic world of the bottom of the sea when the light is gone. Populated with phosphorescent jellyfish and angler fish, darkness turns out to be far brighter than expected!
The second exhibition, “Of Shores and Men”, insists on the link between oceanic biomes and men as Nausicaá takes the visitors on a journey all over the world. Don’t miss the “Underwater Forest”, where you can meet rare species like the spectacled caiman or the arawana, a toothless freshwater fish. To prolong the experience, you can stroll towards the touching pond to meet (and touch!) aquatic animals that are particularly sensitive to movement.
Nausicaá is truly a unique place in Europe as well as a world-renowned tourist attraction – and from now on, you will be able to voice your opinion on the dedicated GuestViews app after you complete your journey twenty thousand leagues under the sea!