Tiffany Y.

The Lisbon Oceanarium houses approximately 500 species from four oceans--the temperate Pacific, the Antarctic, the tropical Indian, and the North Atlantic. The grand aquarium contains about 5 million liters of saltwater. Tickets may be purchased for the oceanarium, a nearby cable car, or a guided tour. My husband and I bought tickets in-person for only the oceanarium. The cost was 31 euros per person, which came out to $76 USD total. As we walked around the building, we saw fish (e.g., sharks, sunfish, clownfish, pufferfish, sea dragon, barracuda, seahorse, garden eel, wedge fish, ratfish, rays, mackerel, triggerfish, sea dragon, and wrasse), invertebrates (e.g., coral, starfish, jellyfish, and anemone), mammals (e.g., sea otters), and birds (e.g., puffins and penguins) Interestingly, I read on the website that the sharks do not eat the smaller fish, because the trainers feed dead foods to the sharks in specific locations at specific times. This oceanarium also has a gift shop and restaurant, where we browsed but did not buy anything. Overall, my husband and I liked this oceanarium, but we had expected a larger area and more animals and activities.

Stasia T.

Oceanário de Lisboa is a must if, like me, you want to visit every large-scale aquarium. I went in January and it was not too uncrowded, which made a big difference. There is a certain serenity that massive aquariums bring, a form of hypnotic biophilia that acts directly on your nervous system and reduces stress and anxiety. I have always been wondering why aquariums/deep water have such effects. The slow, continuous movement of fish and water holds attention without demanding it, allowing the brain to shift out of high-alert, task-oriented states. This results in measurable reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived stress, similar to effects observed in natural environments such as forests or coastlines. In large-volume tanks, flow patterns are slower and more laminar, encouraging natural swimming behaviors rather than repetitive or erratic movement. The presence of schooling fish and large pelagic species reinforces predictable motion patterns, which the human visual system and nervous system interprets as calming. This giant central tank of the aquarium is widely cited as one of the largest single aquarium tank in the world. It represents four oceans, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Antarctic, in one continuous ecosystem. The layout: you start at the upper level and gradually spiral downward. As you descend, the viewing angles improve and the scale becomes apparent, with large pelagic fish (incl. the massive slow-moving sunfish), sharks, rays, and schooling species sharing the same water column without visual barriers. The central tank holds approximately 5M liters of seawater and relies on controlled lighting, filtration, and circulation systems to maintain multiple habitat zones within a single body of water. Surrounding it are satellite habitats focused on specific ecosystems, including open ocean, coastal waters, polar environments, and temperate reefs. There is also a small kelp forest section, which immediately reminded me of the magnificent kelp exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California (still unmatched; love it!), but this felt like a respectful and well-executed nod. The aquarium sits in Parque das Nações, the former Expo '98 site, which adds a lot to the experience and activities. Before or after the visit, you can use the Telecabine Lisboa (cable cars). It operates along the waterfront and provides a continuous overhead view of the Tagus estuary, surrounding Expo-era structures, and the Vasco da Gama Bridge (the second longest bridge in Europe). In January, it closes at 6 PM, and the ticket allows round trips. (Ticket cost for aquarium and cable car is less than 40 euros/person. 10-15 min from the Humberto Delgado Airport. Street parking is tough; garage parking is approx. 15 euros/24h.)

Kevin W.

It was funny since some taxi drivers we encountered said this place is a tourist trap and not worth the time. But since we finished the zoo in a relatively quick way, we had extra time so we ended up coming here anyway. I'm glad we did make our way here as it does live up to its reputation as a premier oceanarium. It was good enough that I enjoyed it as much as visiting the elite aquariums in Osaka and Baltimore. It's got a pretty simple layout, big tank different sections and you traverse around it. It's not something that's going to take up more than 2 hours or so of your day but the quality of the exhibitions are good and they keep this place very well maintained and cleaned. There's also a decent food court and souvenir shop on the premises as well. It's also close to other local attractions and a very good gondola experience as well. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has some extra time in Lisbon and wants to see more than just historic sights or shopping areas.

Dorothy H.

A really nice activity in Lisbon near the airport, the aquarium is quite large! I was surprised when walking through to keep entering new rooms with new aquatic animals to see. There are different exhibits to see with a beautiful Japanese-inspired exhibit and a short visual exhibit, "One". The price is a bit high, but I don't think it was unreasonable compared to other aquariums across the world. Definitely a great indoor activity and great for families and kids.

Daniel M.

Great interaction between the aquatic displays and the different rooms that allow you to experience the climate changes for the pinguins, otters and artic birds. We bought the combo pass which allowed us round trip on the air tram ride at the park abd the visit to the aquarium at €30 per person.

Sunshine M.

Lisbon aquarium Always wanted to come here so I did! Lovely aquarium and a great reason to escape the downpour that is Lisbon in the winter. It was a weekend and I arrived at opening time. Kids everywhere cause it is the weekend ( silly me ) Was advised to start at upper level and work my way down. Beautiful, moments of peace and quiet. The music goes well with the experience on the upper level / forests under water, it was a walk down memory lane to see some of the fish I had as a kid again! ( gouramis) Lots of seating available throughout the property. My faves were: Jellyfish, sea otters ( big size boys) penguins, vibrant sea anemones & pineapple fish ! * Wish they had baby carriage check in- you trip and bump into so many of them in the dark.

Darryl S.

Popped back into the Oceanária de Lisboa on Christmas Day to celebrate our 22nd anniversary! Little did we know a million other folks were also thinking of spending Christmas Day there, as well...!!! (Lol!!!) First time here (on a private tour), we missed the "Florestas Submersas" exhibition and the "One" immersive, double-screened movie. SO glad we returned, as both exhibitions (along with everything else) was well-worth every penny!!! This being one of Europe's (and the World's!) largest aquatic exhibitions, everything about this place is awesome!!! We even got to see a feeding in the large tank, complete with two diving Santas...! :D What a Merry way to spend Christmas in this beautiful City...!!! :D (It's a pity I'm not able to post videos because I took some awesome ones!)

Terra S.

This place was a great place to see while in Lisbon. Especially if you have kids. They had different kinds of snails and seahorses (leafy seadragon!) I had never seen before. The sea otters and penguins were so cute and people love the big shark tank! Pineapple fish, snowflake moray, zebra Moray, ringed pipefish, and some weird razorfish were all unique to this aquarium I feel like. These I don't believe I have seen in the aquarium's in the states. If you are in Lisbon this is a must see!

Ann S.

Highlights: amazing central tank, with at least 10 different window in which to watch the sea life. Totally worth a visit!

Gyr N.

So thrilled to be in the biggest aquarium in all of Europe. My family spent the entire Sunday here. The main tank in the middle of the aquarium is enormous! There are so many varieties of fish we can't manage to remember all their names.

Michael U.

Located a short drive outside Lisbon proper, Oceanário is arguably the city's premier destination. Opened in 1998, the Oceanário was the centerpiece of a World Fair and remains committed to conservation above all. Less "cute" than many modern aquariums, the focus on education over cartoons admirable, much of the space wraps around an enormous central tank featuring countless fish both common and novel. From Sun Fish to Sharks the space then expands to artistic aquascaping and theaters that outpace most.

Angela R.

We decided at the last minute to visit the aquarium and were glad we did. The area it is in is very nice, along the waterfront with huge courtyards, gardens, and fountains. We did the combo ticket which gets you entrance into the aquarium with unlimited rides on the cable car, 28 euro per person which seems about reasonable for aquarium admission. The aquarium is fairly good sized- a bit smaller than some others I've been to but still plenty to keep you occupied. I believe it's partially under sea level and is an engineering wonder. There's a central tank that the building revolves around, along with some side areas and tanks. It was ultra cool getting different views of the big tank. Some of my favorites were the cute otters and puffins, though I do kinda wish there was a way to view them swimming underwater too. The sea dragons were spectacular and so neat to look at. There was also an octopus. There are plenty of photo ops scattered throughout, and interactive areas for kiddos. This aquarium appeals to adults and kids alike. Thes staff was so nice and helpful. There was a restaurant and gift shop, which we walked through (all looked nice) but didn't buy from. Overall not a bad place to spend some time in Lisbon. For sure pop in if you're in the area!

Suor K.

I enjoy visiting aquariums. The oceanarium in Lisbon is one of the best aquariums that I've visited so far. It consists of a large central tank, surrounded by four smaller tanks that house different habitats. They have sharks, manta rays, sunfish, otters, penguins, jellyfish, and various other marine life. The tanks extend from floor to ceiling, so you can view it from the top floor or the bottom floor. The flow of the oceanarium takes you through all of the exhibits and all of the floors. It's extremely well-planned. When I visited, there were tons of school children, so it wasn't as good of an experience. Also, buying entrance tickets was slow. You can purchase tickets online. However, I've heard about issues with online ticket purchases if you don't purchase 24 hours ahead of time.