On Thursday (May 11th) we left the downtown portion of the city and headed for the Valencia Oceanografic, the largest aquarium in Europe and one of the top four rated aquariums in the world.
The Oceanogràfic de València (Valencia Oceanografic aquarium) and Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe (science museum) are both part of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències Valencia (Valencia City of Art and Science).
Tickets were available at the site and cost us about 30 Euro each. We purchased the two-day pass that includes both the Oceanografic and Museu de les Ciències. We figured (correctly) that we’d need two days to get through both.
This place is huge, covering nearly 30 acres and multiple levels to more than 30′ underground. What you see on the surface doesn’t prepare you for the views through the many glass walls alongside and the glass tunnels under the sea life.
We started with a dolphin show in, where else but the Dolphinarium. A beautiful outdoor facility with seating for 2000 and every seat is great. Let me tell you, the show starts off with a bang – six or eight dolphins swimming and leaping into the air in sync with the music. Awesome. The presence of hundreds of kids with various school groups added to the enjoyment as their excited cheers let you know that they were obviously thrilled with the show.
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The site is laid out by region of the world, so we sought out the penguins next. This was our first venture into one of the many underground venues. The cool temperature and artificial snowfall made the penguins feel right at home and reminded us of the wonderful winter weather in Western NY.
Moving on, we next moved to the Belugas, Seal Lions and Walrus exhibits. This is a huge tank, three levels deep built around the central viewing area. The huge glass walls cover about 80% of the outside surface and provide excellent views. Moving on there were different section after section with incredible displays. There are so many I can’t describe them all, but what I thought was the best feature were the underwater caves.
Walking through the water
There’s a maze of underwater glass tunnels or caves that let you seemingly walk among the sea life. As you walk through the tunnels you see turtles, sharks, fish, aquatic plants – you name it. Best of all, you can experience this at eye level or even from below. It was like being underwater but with the advantage of remaining dry.
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Valencia Ocenaografic
We had a fantastic time at the Valencia Oceanografic aquarium. You can find more pictures
here.