Description of the attraction
The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco was founded in 1889 and opened to the public in 1910 by Prince Albert I of Monaco. The idea to create a laboratory for the study of marine biology arose in 1885, after the report of expeditions led by Professor Milne-Edwards. The collections collected during scientific travels required detailed study and description.
The plan of the building, towering more than 85 m above the sea, was developed by the French architect Paul Delefortier, and the first stone was laid in April 1899. In order to build this huge architectural monument, it was necessary to solve many technical problems and wait twenty years. The building is 100 m long and is nestled against the steep cliff of Monaco. The main building materials are white stone imported from La Turbier and limestone from Brescia.
Since 1957, Jacques-Yves Cousteau has been the director of the institution. Currently, the aquariums of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco have 90 pools, in which you can see 6,000 species of fish and invertebrates living in an environment close to natural. The Tropics section houses a huge 450,000 liter aquarium, many pools with tropical fish and live coral reefs full of varied life. Large predators, turtles, scalars and moray eels swim in the Akula lagoon, behind a thick 30-centimeter glass, at a depth of up to 6 meters.
The museum houses an invaluable collection of art and crafts related to the sea, as well as educational programs introducing the diversity of the marine world.
Under the patronage of the Prince Albert II Foundation, the museum regularly hosts art exhibitions, international conferences and information campaigns. The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco receives about 650 thousand visitors a year, which makes it one of the main tourist attractions of the principality.
