Acquario Civico e Stazione Idrobiologica di Milano — Attraction in Milan

🐠🪸🪼 A cute little aquarium! Good for all ages, including families with small children. The prawn tank, tropical fish area and tiny jellyfish were my favourites. The toads were also fun to see. The Spirografo (Mediterranean Fanworm) and anemones were really interesting to see up close. I think the shrimp tank also had a small hermit crab inside. Some more species I saw: trout, ray, eels, starfish, minnows, octopus, red scorpionfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish, sponges, coral. And plenty more! (I think seahorses and terrapins/turtles would be a great addition too.) There are koi/carp in the hippo fountain outside. There are antique-style displays of shells which are nice to learn the names of. Assuming you turn left when you first enter, there is an underwater tunnel area at the end of your visit, where it's nice to watch the fish swimming overhead. There is also a vibrant photo exhibition near the entrance. It's about the world of fishing in places including Sicily, Ghana, and Tunisia. There's a video about it too. I'd recommend allowing 60-90 minutes for your visit. It's free to visit on the first Sunday of every month. The outside is really beautiful even if a little worn from age. The garden area has a pretty variety of wildflowers growing happily there. There are toilets available. Constructive criticism: Overall the aquarium needs a little upkeep as some areas are a bit shabby from age and use, but it is still a very nice spot to visit if you like aquatic life. A small shop area (with e.g. postcards, keyrings, magnets, stickers, books, natural jewellery, etc) would be a nice addition. Other aquariums I've visited have had such shop areas and they're fun. A small cafe could also work well, to sit in and be refreshed after your visit. Maybe downstairs and/or outside? Some tanks seem to me like they might be a little small or sparse for their inhabitants, such as the turbot - it would probably be nicer to have more swimming space available. I would give closer to five stars for my own experience but I think four stars is the fairest score overall. The staff members were friendly and helpful. Worth a...

I din't even know were to start list defects of this place.

Lady who was selling tickets was rude and appears like it was my fault she had to sit there and work.

Before my visit in this aquarium I thought that every object like that in main cities has to be member of any organization checking animal welfare p.e EAZA. I was so wrong. The fish in here are just sick and there is no information around their tank if they are under treatment. Many of animals has eye diseases. Also many od them seems to live in far too small tanks. That caused their back problems and deformation of their bodies. It was horrifying. Don't show to your kids that it's just normal. IT'S NOT.

Let's move on to the cleanliness of the place. Just look at the photos. This is how lady's restroom looked like. Luckily I had disinfection gel. The lock on the door does not work as you can see in the video.

Extremely unpleasant experience. I wish this place to be closed and the animals transferred to better living conditions place.

PS The security guy was really nice and...

Infuriating! My two children and I walked to the aquarium with an elderly aunt and arrived at 4:32 pm. There was no one in the lobby waiting for tickets. Both rude and insipid employees looked at us expressionless and told us they were closed. We looked in disbelief and said the website told us the ticket booth closed at 4:30. I held up all our iPhones and by now it was 4:33. I said it’s 4:33. They shrugged and I looked on in disbelief. I told them we were visiting from Canada (my two children and their elderly aunt), this did not move them in the least! They kept looking at each other and made no attempt to even pretend to help us. The last entrance to the aquarium is at 5 pm. I asked them how it made sense that you allow people to enter until 5pm but you don’t let them buy a ticket at 4:32? Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. So many more incredible things to see in Milan, with people who are willing to help and welcome visitors…...