Le Musée de la mer

About

The Aquarium de Biarritz, also known as the Museum of the Sea, is located in Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques opposite the Rocher de la Vierge. The idea of a museum of the sea in Biarritz was inspired in 1871 by the Marquis Léopold de Folin. The current Art Deco-style building, adjacent to the Atalaye plateau cliff, was inaugurated on August 10, 1933. It underwent a first renovation in 1992 to house a large collection of marine animals and naturalized birds. An extension of the museum from 2009 to 2011 has doubled the area of visitation and considerably increased the number of ponds, to the detriment of the area reserved for naturalized birds that no longer exists. The emblem of the Museum of the Sea is a white octopus on a blue background.

Before the 2011 extension: It is built on four levels:

In the basement, aquariums present the marine life of the Bay of Biscay: fish, plants, molluscs and crustaceans; the first level provides information on fishing techniques, cetaceans, whale hunting and marine life; the second level presents the cave of the scales of 120 m3 (requins, big fish, a turtle) and the vision...