Nausicaá Aquarium, Boulogne-sur-Mer

Our recent trip to Nausicaá Aquarium made us feel like kids again! The Nausicaá Sealife Centre is the biggest aquarium in Europe, located in Boulogne sur Mer on the Côte d’Opale.

More than just an aquarium, Nausicaá is also known as the Nausicaá Centre National de la Mer, or the a center for marine education and awareness, focused on the relationship between mankind and the sea.

Aquarium filled with brightly colored fish

Thank you to Nausicaá Aquarium, l’Office de Tourise du Boulonnais Côte d’Opale and Pas de Calais Tourisme for collaborating with us for this post. All opinions are our own.

We spent the entire day at the Boulogne aquarium and enjoyed every moment of our experience! You could easily spend an entire day as an individual, a couple or a as a family, exploring everything that Nausicaá has to offer.

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Nausicaá Aquarium stats at a glance

Nausicaá is home to 58,000 animals & 1600 different species
It is the largest aquarium in Europe
It features a tactile aquarium – meaning you will have the chance to touch sting rays! (How cool is that?!)

The animals of Nausicaá Aquarium

As we mentioned earlier, Nausicaá is home to 58,000 animals. It is an incredible place to see a wide variety of sealife, to study marine animals and to go back to being a kid for the day.

All the beautiful fish at Nausicaá Aquarium

It was so relaxing standing, hand in hand, and watching all of the beautiful and colorful fish.

Aquarium filled with beautiful blue striped fish

The brown jellyfish

The variety of jellyfish at the aquarium is amazing! These brown jellyfish inhabit the Pacific Ocean. They are so beautiful when they swim through the water. This particular kind of jellyfish is carnivorous. They feed on zooplankton, fish and shrimp.

two brown jellyfish in a deep blue aquarium

Penguins from South Africa

Visiting the penguins was the most touching moment for me. I have loved penguins since I was a little girl and my mom and I regularly spent full days at the Central Park Zoo.

I was touched by the experience at Nausicaá because I had never been so close to penguins before. You can sit next to the penguins for as long as you like and there is nothing but a small glass door between you and the penguins. I could have spent an entire day in this part of the aquarium.

The sea otters

Who doesn’t love sea otters? Aren’t they just the cutest? They have the funniest behaviors and it is such a joy to watch them swim and interact.

Nausicaá Map, Getting around Nausicaá Aquarium

map of Nausicaá Aquarium, getting around Nausicaá Aquarium

(Image Source)

Giant, panoramic fish tank

The giant, panoramic fish tank at Nausicaá is a sight to be seen! It is absolutely mesmerising. We enjoyed watching the fish, and listening to the soothing music, for 45 minutes!

The fish tank has been incredibly well thought out. There is comfortable seating facing the fish tank and a nice selection of calming music making it a surround sound, sensory experience.

large fish tank filled with fish and people standing in front of it and looking at the fish tank

The giant manta ray

In the photo above, we captured a stunning moment. The giant manta ray was swimming around the tank followed by a gorgeous school of bright yellow fish. It was incredible!

Nausicaá Aquarium is also home to over 70 types of coral

Isn’t the coral gorgeous? Nausicaá Aquarium is the only place that produces coral in Europe.

Visiting as a couple, as a family, a place to take special photos…

We wanted to get a special photo together in front of one of the large aquariums. Maybe you would love to have a special photo of you and your family when you visit too?

We took this photo as we were exploring the aquarium with our tripod, but we loved that Nausicaá also provides photographers who will approach you in the aquarium and offer to take some keepsake photos for your special day. (These photos are available for purchase at the end of your Nausicaá aquarium visit.)

Couple kissing in front of a gigantic aquarium at Nausicaa Aquarium in Boulogne-sur-Mer

If you will be taking your own photos at the aquarium, here are some tips for getting the best photos possible :

Taking photos at any aquarium is no easy feat. The movement of the fish, the movement of the water and the low lighting make it difficult to take photos that aren’t dark and/or blurry!

These tips will help you take lovely photos of the fish and animals from your visit.

Remember, turn off your flash, as it is extremely disruptive for the animals at the aquarium.
Once your flash is off, put your camera lens right up to the glass, and even touching the glass, to take your photos and avoid glare, weird reflections and limit blurriness.
If using a manual camera, turn up the ISO, lower the f-stop and lower shutter speed to let in as much light as possible.
If you are still having a hard time getting nice photos inside the aquarium, switch to video! It is easier to get nice videos inside an aquarium because you don’t have to worry about accounting for movement. Video on your phone or camera should work nicely.

Where to eat at the aquarium

We were invited to sample the lunch at Le Calypso Café. There are some other options too, in the form of simple cafes throughout the aquarium for a quick coffee and muffin or a small meal.

At Le Calypso Café, we enjoyed a lovely lunch with a gorgeous seaside view. What a lovely way to spend a Thursday! We sampled simple fish dishes, including moules-frites and fish and chips. There are also meat options if you are more of a meat eater. You can enjoy lunch with a glass of wine, beer or a variety of other drinks with your meal. You can probably guess that I opted for a glass of wine and Hugo had a beer!

Finish your meal with a delicious, homemade dessert. We had a tasty sugar tart, une tarte au sucre, a specialty from the North of France, known for its sugar production, and a slice of chocolate fondant. Each dessert is also topped with a precious sealife inspired cookie!

Activities & feeding at the aquarium

During your trip to the aquarium, make sure you take a look at the feeding schedule and watch the sea lions being fed or a fish feeding on the lagoon.

Nausicaá’s educational, research and preservation projects

Nausicaá is dedicated to raising awareness of marine life, educating children and adults alike and supporting, and participating in, a long list of research and preservation projects.

We were particularly inspired by the GoodFish movement which involves educating people on sustainable fish consumption. We will be sharing our dining experience at La Matelote, a Michelin starred restaurant across the street from the aquarium soon. The chef at La Matelote also participates in the GoodFish program.