The La Rochelle aquarium, one of the biggest in Europe!

Of all the private aquariums you can visit in Europe, the one in La Rochelle is one of the largest, with 12,000 marine animals living in almost 3 million litres of seawater. Young and old alike are amazed by these grandiose discoveries, which give them the impression of immersing themselves in the world’s marine flora and fauna.

The La Rochelle Aquarium in figures

When you visit the La Rochelle Aquarium, you’ll discover 600 marine species in 82 aquariums, spanning 10 very different worlds. It takes around 2 hours to visit the aquarium as a whole, or even longer if you’re really keen!

To help you better understand the world of silence, 123 fact sheets on the species presented are on display, outlining the characteristics associated with each one. There are also 2 audio-guided tours, so you can go at your own pace, as well as 26 educational activities. These educational activities are open to 13,500 pupils from nursery to secondary school every year, to help them learn as early as possible about respect for the seas, oceans and living organisms that make them up.

A family of enthusiasts behind the La Rochelle Aquarium

René Coutant, a naturalist with a boundless passion for animals and plants, created the very first seawater aquariums at the dawn of the 1950s. Then, in 1960, he developed a closed-circuit system. Ten years later, the first aquarium open to tourists, students and seabed enthusiasts opened in La Rochelle, measuring 250 m2.

His passion for marine animals never left him, and he passed it on to his children, who opened the largest aquarium in France in 1988, still in La Rochelle. And the family story continues to this day, with grandchildren continuing the dream of their grandfather and parents.

Thanks to the admissions, scientific research and campaigns to raise awareness of the need to preserve biodiversity can be undertaken every year. The Coutant family’s motto is “Dream and understand the sea”, because every species has a role to play at sea.

Let yourself be carried away by the magic of the seabed

It’s not for nothing that the La Rochelle Aquarium is the^{number one} tourist attraction in the département and number^two in the region. Every year, some 800,000 visitors flock to the doors of this place, which promises a wealth of discoveries about the magic of the seas and oceans, which are so important to preserve.

From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to the tropics, travel to the four corners of the world to study the evolution of ecosystems, the ballet of jellyfish, the necessary work of cleaning fish, the need to protect sharks, which have acquired a bad reputation over the years but are nonetheless essential to the balance of the seas, the intelligence of octopus, and discover the bioluminescent species that live in the depths of the abyss by crossing the gallery of lights and venturing into the tropical jungle!