Nausicaá Centre National De La Mer
Nausicaá Centre National De La Mer things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Weekend Check-in at Europe's Largest Aquarium 🐠🌍
FelicityFelicity
180
Well worth the price! I wont lie - at nearly £100 to enter for the family, it certainly makes you think, 'Is it worth it?' but on a rainy and cold June Saturday, it certainly was! We spent a good four hours there and could've spent more but the younger kids in the group were getting a bit over it. Everything is so very well thought out and planned, there is English and French written descriptions of everything with plenty of dual lingual interactive things to do along the way including quizzes etc. If you're from the UK and thinking it's probably just going to be like another Sea Life Centre, it's NOTHING like that. The scale of it is incredible and it's all been done with care and consideration - it's not one of the places where you start to feel sorry for the animal in captivity. There's a huge range of exhibits covering all areas of the ocean including the damage humans are doing - the kids in our group knew all about that from school so were quite into that part. But there's a huge tank you can walk through, sea lions, penguins, sharks, sting rays, tropical fish etc and some really good exhibits on the lesser discovered parts of the oceans and the strange creatures lurking there which captured the kids imaginations because the fish there look like aliens. We bought our tickets online which helped with the entrance queuing, we chose an 1130 slot but rocked up at 1000 and no one said anything, and we didn't get the audio guide as I always think they're a bit restrictive, but you don't really need it anyway if you can read English or French. So it can feel a little pricey when you're buying the tickets but it's totally worth it - we took a packed lunch rather than go to the cafe which was so busy! There's really nothing like it in the UK so definitely add it to your list of things to do in Northern France!
Hannah JTHannah JT
00
Absolutely impressive. Huge aquarium/sea life center. I have visited many sea life centres in the world but this one definitely stands out. It has 3 distinct exhibitions: mankind & shores, journey on the high seas and in the eye of the climate. It’s a real deep dive into the ocean world, the aquaria are all super nice, the information is complete and the tone of the exhibition is informational, encouraging and positive. Instead of feeling depressed about the current state of the planet (which can be the case after visiting earth-related exhibitions) you walk out of this place with an informed, positive and motivated mindset, all thanks to the ‘both sides of the story’ perspective of the exhibition. Due to its recency (it was completed in 2018) it feels very up to date. The giant aquarium is super impressive (holding a 4m span manta ray), it has a great restaurant, and never felt extremely busy although we went on a holiday and there were many people inside. Throughout all 3 exhibitions nice and calm music helps set the tone, it’s very nice. We visited with 2 kids aged 10 and 12, and they absolutely loved it. Walked in at 11am, finished the tours at 4.30pm with a 1 hour lunch break. Very good value for money, highly recommended!!
Ilya ChardomeIlya Chardome
00
My six year old son was looking forward to visiting the aquarium and came away very disappointed. It's extremely expensive, approximately £150 for a family of five. The main aquarium is huge but wasn't that clear or full in terms of fish. The exhibit seemed to consist of lots of different views of the same tank, which was dull. The tropical exhibition was much better, it was brighter and had more interesting fish. The large shark was quite intimidating but it would have been better to know more about it and see it and the giant turtle from underneath. The seals were extremely disappointing, you can only see them from above and see them doing laps of their reasonably small tank. The penguins were even worse, the room was small and extremely smelly. The penguins simply stood there doing very little and only one actually swam while we were there. The food is deserving of special attention, it is extremely expensive. For example £3 for a small white ham sandwich. I chose a big bacon bap which was over £7. It was cooked but when I took a bite the bacon was still raw. When I complained they had to get a manager before they could refund me. Overall this was okay but not worth the kind of money we paid. Not worth a visit.
Alan SamuelsAlan Samuels
00
DON’T BELIEVE ANY OF THE BAD REVIEWS!!!Everyone who gives less than 5 stars has serious problems…;-) Everything and I mean everything from Nausicaá is more than beautiful. The entrance, the routes, the information, the cleanliness, the descriptions, the graphics, the staff, the projections….and of course…most of all all the wonderful aquaria with the most incredible water creatures! The biggest aquarium with the giant rog is breath taking…you can look for hours to the beauty of this animal… The biggest window (with a width from about 20 meters and a height from I think 6) is so incredibly overwhelming….and not only because of the star of Nausicaá but also because of all the other fishes! Although the big aquarium is also the biggest hit, that doesn’t mean that all the other aquaria aren’t worth to look at. Every, every, every aquarium is nice to look at and are also all tidy and neat (I really didn’t spot anything ‘not working’, ‘out-of-order’ or dirty…not the slightest!!!)… But the cleanliness you will find in the total of Nausicaá. So, if you like to have your money well spend…visit Nausicaá!!! With so much beauty is even 30 euro a bargain! The only bad thing is that they kicked us out at closing…;-)))
E-J EE-J E
00
Summary - a pretty damn good aquarium with lots to see and do for kids and adults. It makes The Deep (an aquarium in Hull) seem tiny! We only went here as it was raining but we were certainly glad we did. The first point to note is that the ‘official’ car park has a height restriction so is no good for camper vans. The place itself has two main exhibitions plus a penguin exhibition. The first one has a huge tank with sharks, sting rays and lots of lots of fish. This also has a tunnel through it was is good. There are lots and lots of smaller tanks and exhibits. The second one is based on the coast and, again, has loads of small tanks and exhibitions. However the main attraction are the seals and you can only see these through a wall in their tank. This means that you can see them swim under water. The third area is the penguins and these are in a relatively small area. However we were tired by this point so didn’t stay long. There is the obligatory cafe (warning - expensive) and gift shop (reasonably priced). In all we spent 4 hours there which ain’t bad for the €70 or so it cost. Well worth it.
James CJames C
00
Nearby Attractions Of Nausicaá Centre National De La Mer
Nausicaá - Centre national de la Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer Fish Market
FNAC Boulogne-sur-Mer
Plage de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Cash Maker
Gardens Nausicaá
Port de pêche de Boulogne sur Mer
Phone City
Calvaire des Marins de Boulogne-sur-Mer
House of Beurière

Nausicaá - Centre national de la Mer
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Boulogne-sur-Mer Fish Market
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FNAC Boulogne-sur-Mer
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Plage de Boulogne-sur-Mer
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Nearby Restaurants Of Nausicaá Centre National De La Mer
Le Chatillon
L'escale Boulogne-sur-mer
Les copains
Le Marivaux
La Poissonnerie Gourmande - poissonnerie, traiteur, restaurant
La table du vieux singe
Le Thalassa
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Les copains
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Le Marivaux
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Basic Info
Address
Bd Sainte-Beuve, 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Map
Phone
+33 3 21 30 99 99
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Website
nausicaa.fr
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.4
(15.1K reviews)
Ratings & Description
attractions: Nausicaá - Centre national de la Mer, Boulogne-sur-Mer Fish Market, FNAC Boulogne-sur-Mer, Plage de Boulogne-sur-Mer, Cash Maker, Gardens Nausicaá, Port de pêche de Boulogne sur Mer, Phone City, Calvaire des Marins de Boulogne-sur-Mer, House of Beurière, restaurants: Le Chatillon, L'escale Boulogne-sur-mer, Les copains, Le Marivaux, La Poissonnerie Gourmande - poissonnerie, traiteur, restaurant, La table du vieux singe, Le Thalassa, La Kabane de Plage, La Boucle, Beers'N Paradise

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