Oceanografic

The Oceanografic invites us to travel around the planet's main seas and oceans. More than 45,000 examples amongst which can be found sharks, sea lions and penguins.

The Oceanografic invites us to travel around the planet's main seas and oceans. More than 45,000 examples of 500 different marine species - amongst which can be found sharks, Beluga whales, walruses, sea lions, penguins and manta rays - inhabit nine underwater towers that, structured in two levels, represent the most emblematic ecosystems of the planet.

The Oceanografic. City of Arts and Sciences.

The oceanographic park, created as a great leisure, training and research centre, is structured into ten great areas. The marine areas reflect the Mediterranean habitats, the polar oceans - the Arctic and the Antarctic, the islands, the tropical seas, the temperate seas and the Red Sea. Moreover, the park also has a spectacular dolphinarium, an auditorium - within which one can find the Red Sea aquarium - with an area for the mangrove swamps and another for the marshlands, and different garden areas, with more than 80 different plant species. And of course it also offers many different services such as shops and restaurants, amongst which should be highlighted the underwater restaurant where clients can have dinner surrounded by an immense aquarium.

Oceanografic Map

The Aquarium at the City of the Arts and Sciences is made up of different buildings, each one identified with one of our planet's seas and oceans, and housing the exhibitions of the most typical environments and ecosystems. The spectacular circular entrance building with its 26 metre glass walls was designed by the architect Félix Candela. The ground floor houses information points, shops and other general services. From here we can access ten different areas.

Mediterranean

Aquariums: Meadows of Posidonia, Ports, Upper Shore, Mid Shore, Touching Pool, The Breaker and Coral.

Wetlands

Tropical and sub-tropical environments of the Mangrove Swamps and the Mediterranean Marsh.

Temperate and Tropical

Exhibitions: Sea turtles, The seaweed Kelp Forests, The Izu Peninsula in Japan, The Seal Exhibition, The Aquarium of the Senses, The Passage across the Atlantic Ocean and the Oval Room representing the Tropical Zones as the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean.

Oceans

This aquarium represents an imaginary journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the West coast (Bermuda) to the East coast (The Canaries).

Arctic

Walruses and Belugas exhibition.

Antarctic

A colony of Humboldt Penguins stars in this exhibition.

Islands

Colonies of Patagonian Sea Lions.

Red sea - Underwater auditorium

This is the name given to the large room with the roof shaped like a "pilgrim shell". It contains an auditorium whose backdrop is a spectacular aquarium representing the Red Sea. The auditorium has seating for 440 and the exhibition includes a demonstration where divers feed the animals in the aquarium.

Underwater restaurant

In the centre of the Park we find the Aquarium's flagship building, with its unique lily-shaped roof designed by Felix Candela. The lower floor houses a large aquarium that is visible on all sides. The upper floor of the building, like an island, is surrounded by a lake and acts as a hub that connects the different themed buildings. There is a colony of flamingos on an island near the Underwater Restaurant. This incomparable setting allows visitors to observe the breeding areas of these spectacular-looking birds.

Dolphinarium Exhibition

The dolphinarium of the Oceanography, with a total of five pools, is the largest of its kind in Europe. Here one may sit back and observe the magnificent dolphins display their ability and intelligence during a stunning exhibition. The dolphinarium contains some 23 million liters of water, it can seat 2,210 people. The pools hold mules dolphins, specie belonging to the group of the cetacean with teeth or odontocete cetaceans. Check timetables in the information desk of the Oceanográfico, located in the floor-1 of the Building of Access.

Restaurants

Underwater Restaurant
Located in the centre of the lake, it is undoubtedly Oceanogràfic's most emblematic restaurant. Consisting of two levels, the upper level is displayed like an island in the middle of the lake, while the lower level is surrounded throughout its perimeter by a grand aquarium. The restaurant offers a refined and elaborate cuisine with a traditional Valencian gastronomy.

Oceans Restaurant
It has an interior dining-room and a large outdoor terrace with wonderful views over the central lake.

La Lonja Restaurant
A spacious self-service with a dining room for 350 persons. Its outdoor terrace is surrounded by attractive garden.

Timetable

Admission Prices

Reduced Ticket

• Children from 4 - 12 years old. Free admission for children from 0 to 3 years old.
• Over 65s and/or retired 65 on presentation of supporting document.
• The disabled with supporting document.

School Group Ticket

• Groups of regulated education pupils (minimum 15 people).
• Groups of pupils from rural associations, social programmes and curricular diversification even though not fulfilling the minimum of 15 people.
• EPAS, Institutes, Universities, Workshop schools and Popular Universities.

Adult Group Ticket

• Minimum groups of 20.
• This fee will be applied both to advanced booking and at the ticket office, but in the latter case the approval of the staff in charge will be required.

Youth and Student card

15% discount applicable to the individual adult fee.

Visit to the City of Arts and Sciences

To visit the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum may take an average of 3 hours and the Oceanogràfic approximately 4 hours, depending on your level of interest and motivation. Sessions at the Hemisfèric generally last about 45 - 50 minutes. The visit to the entire complex can be done in a single day, but to enjoy a more relaxed visit we suggest to take two or three days.

The City of Arts and Sciences is open 365 days of the year. The Museum and the Oceanogràfic both open to the public at 10:00 and you can then visit at any time you like. At the entrance building to the Oceanogràfic, next to the information point, we have a left-luggage service where you can leave your luggage or other belongings. It costs 2€ per day and no pre-booking is required. At the Príncipe Felipe Science Museum we have a free cloakroom service but it does not accept luggage or similar items.

We hold several dolphin exhibition sessions a day. However, their times are subject to change due to large number of people or weather conditions. For this reason, we prefer that visitors ask at the Information Desk in the Entrance Building on the day of their visit, in order to avoid any confusion.

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Oceanografic Location

Address:
Autopista del Saler 5, Valencia 46013.

Marine environment and fauna conservation activities

The Oceanografico at the City of the Arts and Sciences was not only designed as a leisure and entertainment project, but also to educate and carry out research on marine sciences and to make people more aware of the need to conserve biodiversity. The great size of the aquariums, the absence of visual barriers and special features such as the tunnels and domes allow visitors to penetrate the submarine world. At the Oceanogràfic, wich has two research laboratories devoted to the conservation and recuperation of marine species, we develop scientific and educational programmes in line with the philosophy of the most modern and important aquariums in the world.

The park also contains the Education and Research building, the entrance building and different catering and merchandising facilities. The Aquarium is organised on two levels, an upper level with the open-air exhibitions and a lower level housing all the aquariums. A large Central Lake, recreating a sea with its coasts and islands, envelops all the themed buildings. These buildings are interconnected by wooden walkways giving access to the different aquarium areas.

Oceanographic Pictures

The Oceanographic at the City of the Arts and Sciences invites you to discover a real marine park that includes the main seas and oceans of the planet. With a surface area of 110,000 m2 and 42 million litres of water, it is the largest aquarium in Europe. The designs of the spectacular roofs, the posthumous work of the architect Félix Candela, combine with the latest knowledge of marine flora and fauna. L'Oceanogràfic has two structures with the trademark style of this great architect. They are the park's flagship buildings, whose concrete roofs look like a water lilies.

The park consists of two very different scenarios: the installations for fish and invertebrates that show different marine ecosystems, and the areas housing marine mammals. During the visit and throughout the tour, visitors can get close to the behaviour and lifestyles of over 45,000 examples of 500 different species.

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