Acquario di Napoli — Attraction in Naples

The Naples Aquarium, established in 1874, is the second oldest in Europe and among the oldest in the world. It forms a part of the renowned Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, a historic institution with a rich legacy in scientific research.

The station's founder, Anton Dohrn, financed the construction of its neoclassical building, equipped the laboratories, and curated a unique specialist library using his own funds, alongside private donations and public subsidies. Dohrn's ambitious project garnered support from prominent figures such as Charles Darwin, Karl Ernst von Baer, Thomas Henry Huxley, Emil du Bois-Reymond, Hermann von Helmholtz, and Rudolf Virchow. The station became a hub for many of the great zoologists of the era, including Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Koch, Theodor Boveri, Jacob van Rees, Nettie Stevens, and Otto Warburg.

The institution houses not only the aquarium but also a herbarium, a historical archive, a library, and an extensive zoological collection. The library is particularly notable for its collection of texts, many of which were donated by Dohrn and other eminent scientists, including Darwin. The walls of the library are adorned with frescoes by German painter Hans von Marées, depicting scenes from the lives of Neapolitan fishermen.

Remarkably, the aquarium’s tanks are still connected directly to the sea via an underground canal, a system designed over 150 years ago. Visitors can explore the original tanks, as well as new installations showcasing a tropical coral reef and offering a glimpse into potential future changes in the Mediterranean.

While the aquarium's historical significance is immense, the actual facility is relatively small, and most visitors can see everything...

Small aquarium, but a good option for kids who like aquariums. Interesting fish, not a ton of information on them, but they were active, and it wasn't expensive ($20 for our family of four). I would recommend giving yourself time to figure out parking. We were there at 0930 and there were options, but getting into the garage that was closest to the entrance we were told to come to wasn't simple. We ended up in street parking across from a farmacia down the road a bit. Fine, except for a downpour of rain, began, and it's hard to move fast with children. There is parking on the seaward side you can do with an app (Neos Park). The entrance we were told to use was across from a place with an awning that says Nuts, blue flags on the top of the park entrance. The surrounding park looks nice but was not open to us, and has a lot of construction going on. No food or drinks available in the aquarium, and I did not see a changing table inside...

Very small, but cute enough. Expect to spend no longer than an hour in here. Each tank has some images and names of the fish in both Italian and English and the climate of the water, but no further information on the different fish. The ticket for the aquarium only is 7€ and can be easily bought at the entrance. It was a bit difficult to get to the aquarium as the park around it was already closed. Some gates have a doorbell but we got lucky someone was leaving so we slipped in the gate as they left. When we finished around 4 pm a guard remotely opened the gate and we closed it behind us. Good for a rainy day but if you've been to another aquarium before, it won't be...