Lisbon Oceanarium
In Parque das Nações, the former Oceans Pavilion of Expo'98, with a five-million-litre central tank and eight thousand animals.
Lisbon Oceanarium – Oceans Building
On the banks of the Tagus, in Parque das Nações, the Lisbon Oceanarium began life as the Oceans Pavilion of Expo'98, the world exhibition devoted to the oceans as a heritage for the future, which opened on 22 May 1998. The project, begun in 1994, is the work of the American architect Peter Chermayeff, of the practice Cambridge Seven Associates, who also designed the aquariums of Boston, Baltimore and Chattanooga; the original complex comprises the Oceans Building and a support building. When the exhibition closed, it remained open to the public as the Oceanário de Lisboa. The permanent exhibition is organised around a large central tank holding five million litres of seawater, which represents the global ocean. Around it lie four marine habitats, the North Atlantic, the Antarctic (Southern) Ocean, the Temperate Pacific and the Tropical Indian Ocean, arranged so as to create the illusion of a single tank and a single ocean, and the visit runs on two levels, above and below the water. Some eight thousand animals live here, among them rays, sharks, penguins, sea otters and the inhabitants of coral reefs. The temporary exhibition 'Forests Underwater by Takashi Amano' presents tropical forests and their underwater systems in the world's largest nature aquarium, created by the renowned Japanese aquascaper. It is open every day.
Located at: Oceanário de Lisboa
Address: Esplanada D. Carlos I, 1990-005 Lisboa
Opening hours: daily 10:00-20:00 (last admission 19:00)
Phone: +351 218 917 000
Coordinates: 38.7635196, -9.0937161
Buses: 728, 26B
Metro: Oriente (Red), Cabo Ruivo (Red)
Train: Azambuja Line, Lisboa Oriente Station
Opened: 1998 (28 years)
