Barcelona Aquarium

The Barcelona Aquarium is a popular tourist destination in the city. It is located in the Port Vell area, just behind the Maremagnum shopping centre.

The facility has 35 tanks, home to more than 11,000 fish of about 450 species. The aquarium contains a total of 5 million litres of water, 3.7 million of which are dedicated to a huge ocean tank in which sharks, rays and other large fish swim. This tank, the largest of the entire Barcelona Aquarium, has a diameter of 36 metres and a depth of 5 metres, and at the bottom runs a spectacular 80-metre-long underwater tunnel, which you can walk through.

What to do at the Barcelona Aquarium

A visit to the Barcelona Aquarium is a great opportunity for the whole family to have fun, and you can also venture into the underwater world and enjoy new experiences. Those who wish to do so will have the chance to turn themselves into divers for a day, and inside the placid tanks of the aquarium it will be possible to swim with sharks and even sleep next to them.

Every day the 11,000 fish housed in the facility are fed in a spectacle within a spectacle. You can witness this special event by watching how the experienced Barcelona Aquarium staff feed the sharks, penguins and stingrays every day.

Tickets for the Barcelona Aquarium

Tickets for the Barcelona Aquarium can be purchased directly at the ticket counters or conveniently online before you leave. Speaking of reductions, children are entitled to reduced admission and there are also discounted cumulative tickets for the whole family. There are different types of tickets: choose the one that suits you best! We recommend visiting the Aquarium at off-peak times, i.e. early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Skip-the-line ticket for the Barcelona Aquarium

Due to the large number of visitors each day at the Barcelona Aquarium, it is recommended that you book your tickets in advance online by clicking on the box below. By purchasing your ticket online, you will avoid the queues and ensure that you visit on the day indicated.

Combined tickets

If, in addition to the Aquarium, you would like to visit the Barcelona Zoo, a tourist bus tour, or other attractions in the city, choose a combination ticket: you could save money compared to buying individual tickets for each attraction.

Discounted admission with City Card

Finally, if you are going to buy the Barcelona Card Express, you will get a 20% discount on the entrance ticket to the Aquarium, in addition to all the benefits of the card, such as unlimited transport and free or discounted entry to over 100 attractions and activities in Barcelona.

Opening Hours

The Barcelona Aquarium is open every day of the year, although opening hours vary depending on the season.

• January, February, March, November, December: 10am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm on weekends and public holidays
• April, May and October: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends and public holidays
• June and September: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m
• July and August: 10:00 to 21:30

Entrances and gates are open until one hour before closing time, and the purchased entrance ticket is valid up to 90 days after purchase.

Services

The Barcelona Aquarium offers visitors numerous services, starting with theAuditori Barcelona, a hall with a spectacular aquarium as a backdrop and a seating capacity of 168. The ideal location for events, conferences, corporate meetings, presentations or screenings.

There is also a cafeteria, a self-service restaurant with a view of the Barcelona harbour serving dishes such as salads, pasta, meat and desserts, and a souvenir shop, located inside the remains of a galleon, where you can buy gifts, themed products, souvenirs, T-shirts and soft toys.

Curiosity: the submarine Ictine II

A stone’s throw from the aquarium you can admire a reproduction of one of the world’s first submarines, the Submarine Ictineo II, designed in 1859 by Catalan Narcis Monturiol.

It seems incredible that, with an older version of this fish-shaped wooden submarine, propelled by two steam engines, the inventor made a series of underwater voyages.

He had designed the submarine as a means of collecting coral. He later tried to sell it to the army, then eventually sold it in pieces and died a poor man.