Among all the private aquariums you'll have the opportunity to visit in Europe, La Rochelle's is one of the largest with its 12,000 marine animals living in nearly 3 million liters of seawater. Young and old are amazed by these grandiose discoveries that give them the impression of immersing themselves in the marine fauna and flora from around the world.

La Rochelle Aquarium in a few figures

When you visit La Rochelle Aquarium, you set off to discover 600 marine species scattered across 82 aquariums, through 10 very different universes. You should allow about 2 hours to visit the entire aquarium, or more if you're passionate about it!

To better understand the world of silence, 123 fact sheets on the species presented are displayed to outline the characteristics related to each of them, but also, 2 audio-guided tours that allow you to go at your own pace, as well as 26 educational activities. These educational activities notably welcome 13,500 students from kindergarten to high school each year, to raise their awareness as early as possible about respecting seas, oceans and the living organisms that compose them.

A family of enthusiasts behind La Rochelle Aquarium

René Coutant, a naturalist with an unbounded 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 marine enthusiasts opened in La Rochelle, covering 250 m2.

His passion for marine animals never left him and he managed to pass it on to his children who inaugurated France's largest aquarium in 1988, still in La Rochelle. And this family story continues today with the grandchildren who pursue their grandfather's and parents' dream.

Thanks to admissions, scientific research and awareness actions aimed at preserving biodiversity can be undertaken each year. The Coutant family's motto is "Dream and understand the sea", because each species has a role to play in the sea.

Let yourself be carried away by the magic of the seabed

It's not without reason that La Rochelle Aquarium is the 1st tourist site in the department and the 2nd in the region. Some 800,000 visitors flock to the doors of this place each year, which promises discoveries full of promise about the magic of seas and oceans that it's important to preserve.

Atlantic, Mediterranean, tropics, travel to the four corners of the world by studying ecosystem evolution, the ballet of jellyfish, the necessary work of cleaner fish, the need to protect sharks which have acquired, over time, a very bad reputation and which are nevertheless necessary for the balance of seas, the intelligence of octopuses, also discover bioluminescent species that live in the depths of the abyss by crossing the gallery of lights and venture into the tropical jungle!