Visiting the Oceanario de Lisboa

The Oceanário de Lisboa is one of Europe’s best aquariums, and one of Lisbon’s most popular attractions for families. Built for Expo 98, it’s centred on a huge open-ocean tank seen from all sides. Here’s everything you need to know before you visit.

Quick answer: the Oceanário is in Parque das Nações, by Oriente metro station. Tickets are from about €25.50 for adults (more for combined exhibitions), with discounts for children and families. Allow 2 to 3 hours, and go early or late to avoid school groups. See Oceanário tickets.

Why go

The Oceanário isn’t a long row of small tanks. The whole building is designed around one giant central tank, so you keep coming back to it from different angles and levels as you walk through the four ocean habitats. It works for toddlers and adults alike, and it’s one of the best things to do in Lisbon on a hot or rainy day.

What you’ll see

• The central tank: a giant open-ocean tank with sharks, rays, shoals of fish and sunfish, visible from both floors.
• Four ocean habitats around it: the North Atlantic, Antarctic, Pacific and Indian oceans.
• Sea otters playing in the Pacific habitat, the stars of the show.
• Penguins in the Antarctic habitat.
• Temporary exhibitions in the second building.

How the visit works

You start on the upper floor, where each corner habitat has both an above-water and a below-water section: seabirds on the North Atlantic rocks, penguins on the Antarctic ice, otters in the Pacific and a tropical reef in the Indian Ocean. You then go down a level and see the same habitats from underwater, with the central tank always in view through large windows. Smaller tanks along the way show creatures such as jellyfish and seahorses. The permanent exhibition is called “One Planet, One Ocean”.

How long it takes

The permanent exhibition alone takes about 1.5 to 2 hours at a normal pace. Add a temporary exhibition and a coffee and you’re looking at 2 to 3 hours.

Tickets and opening hours

• Hours: usually open every day from 10am to 8pm, with last entry an hour before closing. Hours are shorter on some holidays, such as 24 and 31 December.
• Prices by time slot: tickets are cheapest for late-afternoon entry and most expensive in the morning, so going after 4pm saves a few euros per person.
• Children and seniors pay less, and babies under 3 go free.
• Flexible tickets without a fixed date are sold at a higher price.
• Lisboa Card: check whether it currently gives a discount here before you count on it. See is the Lisboa Card worth it?

Tips

• Timing: weekday afternoons are usually quieter; weekends and rainy days are busiest.
• Tickets: buy online to skip the queue.
• Accessibility: step-free with lifts. See accessible travel.
• Rainy day: perfect. See Lisbon on a rainy day.
• Buggies: the route is step-free, so you can bring one in.
• Photos: turn off your flash. It bounces off the glass and disturbs the animals.
• Food: there’s a café inside, and plenty more choice in the Vasco da Gama shopping centre next to Oriente station.

Around Parque das Nações

• The cable car along the river.
• The Pavilion of Knowledge science museum, also good for kids.
• The riverside promenade and the Vasco da Gama Bridge.

See Parque das Nações.

Getting there

Take the red metro line to Oriente (it’s also close to the airport), then walk about 10 minutes through the park. Trains to Porto and the Algarve also stop at Oriente. From the Baixa, change to the red line at Alameda; the whole trip takes about 25 minutes. A taxi or ride-hailing car from the centre takes about 15 to 20 minutes outside rush hour. See the Lisbon public transport guide.

Next door: the Pavilhão do Conhecimento science centre

The science centre is in Parque das Nações, a short walk from Oriente metro station and next to the Oceanário. Ticket prices change with the exhibitions, so check the current price before you go. Allow about 2 hours. Combine it with the aquarium and the riverside cable car for a full family day.

What you’ll find

• Interactive exhibitions: experiments, puzzles and hands-on displays.
• Areas for younger children.
• Temporary exhibitions on science and technology.

Tips

• Weekends and school holidays are busiest.
• Hours: it usually opens later at weekends than on weekdays, so check before you go.
• Rainy day: one of the best indoor options. See Lisbon on a rainy day.
• Combine with the Oceanário: do the aquarium in the morning and the science centre after lunch.

Around Parque das Nações

The riverside promenade, the cable car and the Vasco da Gama Bridge. See Parque das Nações.

A family day in Parque das Nações

• Morning: arrive at the Oceanário as it opens, before school groups.
• Lunch: picnic by the river or eat at the shopping centre.
• Afternoon: the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, or the cable car along the river and a play in the waterside gardens.

More: Lisbon with kids and things to do in Lisbon.

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