Oceanographic Museum of Monaco

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The Monaco Oceanographic Museum was opened on the basis of the Oceanographic Institute in 1910. It is located in a rock near the Princely Palace of Monaco. For a long time, Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the director of the museum. In addition to the museum's main exposition with stuffed animals and skeletons of marine animals, there is an aquarium with 6000 fish and invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea and tropical waters. The most famous aquarium is the Lacuna Lagoon (Le Lagon aux requins), where visitors can see a real coral reef and its inhabitants. On the Turtle Island visitors can observe land and sea turtles in glazed and open enclosures.

Le bassin tactile or the Petting Pool is perfect for children, here they can stick their hands in the water and pet 15 species of marine animals: starfish, crab, cuttlefish, baby of sharks, etc. A visit to the tactile pool is paid separately.

The museum has a gift shop, a panoramic restaurant La Terrasse at an altitude of 85 meters above the sea and a lounge bar on the Turtle Island.

Photo: M. Dagnino - Musée océanographique de Monaco.