Barcelona with kids: L’Aquarium de Barcelona review
When we visited Barcelona with kids for the first time we aimed to see as much of the city as we could on a budget. We spent most of our 48 hours in the city enjoying the free sights and soaking up the atmosphere of the beautiful Catalan capital by doing a lot of walking. However, we did indulge in one treat for ourselves and our two pre-schoolers on our last day in Spain: a visit to L’Aquarium de Barcelona.
Barcelona Aquarium is in the old harbour, Port Vell, right next door to the Maremagnum Shopping Centre, restaurants and bars. It boasts 20 tanks and an 80 meter subaquatic tunnel with a conveyor belt so all you have to focus on is the sea life eyeballing you from every direction. All this makes it the largest aquarium dedicated to the Mediterranean Sea in the world.
Here’s a video that sums up our visit:
There are tanks demonstrating the amazing aquatic wildlife living off the shores of Europe and more tropical climes. Each one had a display board with an explanation in several languages about the environment that had been recreated and what lived there. We also bought the souvenir guide book, which was very much geared towards kids with fun facts and activities to do on your way around the three floors of the aquarium.
We managed to keep Tin Box Tot interested in the first couple of tropical tanks by pointing out Nemo and Dory before swiftly moving on to the enormous Oceanarium and its two moving walkways. This is a round tank containing 4.5 million litres of water and some of the species you could expect to find in the Mediterranean. In the first tunnel you see fish swimming above you and to your right-hand side. Then in the second tunnel there are creatives all around. This is the place to spot sharks as well as 80 other species.
Even this didn’t impress Tin Box Tot for long. Luckily L’Aquarium de Barcelona is one of the most interactive aquariums we have been to, with a whole floor dedicated to children. In the Explora! zone there were child-sized aquarium tunnels for the girls to walk through, a whirlpool slide and a rather colourful submarine in which they could play at being captains.
The absolute highlight for Tin Box Tot was being able to feed the carp. For a couple of euros we bought a bottle of liquid food and spent about 15 minutes squirting it at the hungry fish. Tot was thrilled.
Next to the Explora! zone was Planeta Aqua – an area dedicated to species that have adapted to the hard conditions in Earths aquatic environs. This is where we saw rays, jelly fish and, a first for us in an aquarium, penguins.
We had spent a good couple of hours looking around Barcelona’s Aquarium and tummies were beginning to rumble so we decided to head back out to Port Vell to find lunch before reluctantly catching a taxi to the airport.
L’Aquarium de Barcelona is a great way to entertain kids for a few hours, especially if you are unlucky enough to visit the city on a wet day.
Family facilities
There is a large cafe selling fast food on the top floor and toilets with baby changing facilities on every floor. The aquarium is pushchair accessible and there is a lift and a ramp to go between floors.
Tips for visiting L’Aquarium de Barcelona
- We would recommend getting to the aquarium early to avoid the crowds. We visited on a Friday in June and the aquarium was getting very busy by the time we left just after midday.
- If you’d like to skip straight to the carp feeding in the Explora! zone before it gets too busy, go up to the cafe on the top floor and turn right.
- You can see the sharks, rays, and penguins being fed in the afternoons. Check the website for feeding times.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click them and buy tickets for L’Aquarium de Barcelona I may get some commission. Thank you in advance! Oh, and there’s no extra cost to you. We paid for our own entry to the aquarium.
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What a super place to visit! I’ve only ever taken my children to one aquarium, a rather small one in the Lake District (we have none on our island!) and they loved it. They’d be blown away by this one, I am sure!
Elizabeth recently posted…A Walk to Burra Ness Broch
This looks brilliant. I particularly like that you can feed the carp! Great photos and tips for visiting. Aquariums are such a great attraction for all the family. #citytripping
I’m always doing that 🙂
Doh! Sorry #mondayescapes !!
Elizabeth (Wander Mum) recently posted…Are Baby Swimming Classes Worth It?
My girls love an aquarium – this ones needs to go on our list!
It’s the most child-friendly one we’ve come across, although we have only three years experience of visiting this type of place with kids. I’m looking forward to seeing a few of the others that people have been suggesting 🙂
We’ve been looking at Barcelona and I didn’t know this place existed so I’m definitely going to add it tommy list! 🙂
Notmyyearoff recently posted…My Year 1 boy
It’s such a great city. Check out my 48 hours in Barcelona post for a bit more inspiration 🙂
This looks like a great day out for the kids. We went somewhere similar in Brest, France and ours loved it. This one looks so child-friendly though – lots of fun (and I love the baby’s bottle of liquid food!) #MondayEscapes
Nell (the Pigeon Pair and Me) recently posted…A family holiday at La Garangeoire, Vendée, France
Mr TB has been to the aquarium at Brest. He was there with the Royal Navy and had a day off. He came back with sooo many fish photos. I hope he’ll take us with him next time 🙂
Great tips we are going to Barcelona and the aquarium next mo th so this is very helpful #mondayescapes
Fantastic. I’m glad it helped. You’re going to have a wonderful time…I’m a tiny bit jealous 🙂
Barcelona is on my list, Mr A kept ending up there without me pre kids, so will have to be a family trip now – lovely to see what that might look like!
Yes, a family visit is definitely in order! I’d go back in a heartbeat 🙂
Dory and Nemo spotting would definitely be a hit with our lot. Looks great. We really want to do Barcelona in the next couple of years -will add the aquarium to my list.
Coral , Waytoomuchluggage recently posted…Edinburgh’s famous five
It’s such a wonderful city. Check out my 48 hours in Barcelona post for more inspiration. You’ll love it! 🙂
This sounds like a great aquarium – having a kids area with slides and a submarine is a brilliant idea. #mondayescapes
Trish @ Mum’s Gone To recently posted…Places to visit in Dumfries and Galloway
It really made out visit to have all of these features. We have visions of our last day of the holiday being really sad but this helped keep the holiday vibe going 🙂
I’ve done Lisbon ocenarium:) this one looks great too:) #mondayescapes
Tanja (the Red phone box travels) recently posted…My English memories: Cambridge
You’re the second person to mention Lisbon…it’s calling me! 🙂
We visited the aquarium on our last visit to Barcelona last year. Like you say, it’s very much geared towards engaging kids and being family friendly. There’s a lovely range of artefacts and fish species and some decent restaurants close by too.
David – Potty Adventures
#MondayEscapes
Yes, we ate at a pizzeria just outside the aquarium. Our last meal in spain – sob! It wasn’t cheap but it was tasty 🙂
Looks like a great place to visit! My daughter loved aquariums when she was young. I think it’s a great place to visit to keep the children happy when in Barcelona!
Absolutely. The interactive activities here were a hit!
Aquariums are always a big hit with our kids as well. Probably the best one that we have been to is the brilliant Oceanarium in Lisbon, although this Barcelona one looks like it has more “interactive” activities for the kids. Thanks for the post and the #MondayEscapes link up!
Jonny (Daisy the bus) recently posted…Two paths in the Pyrenees
Ah, Lisbon is on my list of places I’d love to visit next year. If we make it I’ll make sure we see the aquarium. Thanks for the tip!
It looks fab Claire, our two are mesmerised by fish even though they are older. I myself love Jellyfish they elegant beauty has me watching them for ages x
Sarah Christie recently posted…Monday Escapes
Me too Sarah. Mine are still a little too restless for standing looking at fish for too long, so I’m looking forward to the days when they are as mesmerised as me 🙂
I would love to visit Barcelona and cannot believe we have never been. I love the idea of feeding the fish with the liquid food. Another place to put on the travel list #Mondayescapes x
Tracey Williams recently posted…Win a family ticket to see The Railway Children at The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
Barcelona is one of my favourite cities. Sorry to make your bucket list that bit longer 🙂
Ladybug would love this. The only aquarium she’s been to is the one at Epcot but she was fascinated by it for over an hour and we had to pull her away. I’m putting this on our must-do list for when we go to Barcelona. #mondayescapes
Allison recently posted…Cuyahoga Valley National Park: An Overview
Fab! I hope you get to visit soon 🙂
What a fantastic aquarium! I love your photos and videos – a must visit place for next time we are in Barcelona #Mondayescapes
Thanks Jo. We really rated it 🙂
I passed through this area while visiting Barcelona but didn’t know there was an aquarium around. I like the opportunity you guys had to feed the carp. I have never seen something like that. The fish look so cute while trying to grab some of that food.
It was a super cute moment. It’s not something I noticed on my last visit pre-kids but it was the obvious choice for an activity on our last morning before flying home.
That looks like a great place to visit and sibling more to do if your children decide they aren’t actually interested in the fish. The conveyer belt sounds like something my kids would find entertaining all by itself. Did they have touch tanks too?
I think that was the one thing that was missing from out visit. We were only there in the morning though and I know they had a wider programme of feeding and meeting the fishy residents in the afternoon.
This looks like a fab aquarium! I love the look of the kids floor, my boys would be super chuffed!
The boys are desperate to visit Barcelona (more for the football stadium than anything!) so I will definitely keep this in mind.
#MondayEscapes
Looks like an amazing aquarium – what kids don’t like aquariums and we always find them to be the perfect distraction in a city visit in order to break up the day from the more adult-oriented sites. #mondayescapes
Corey with fifi + hop recently posted…Maine’s City by the Sea: Portland
Absolutely. Cities can by quite adult-focused. Zoos and aquariums are a great way to keep everyone happy.
Aquariums are such fun for kids! And I agree about getting there early – we visited the Toronto Aquarium this summer and made the terrible mistake of going midday on a Sunday. Never again ahaha!
Louise @ Travel the Unbeaten Path recently posted…Visiting Niagara Falls with Kids
Early is definitely the key whatever attraction you’re going to in the city. We all do it though. Sometimes you juts can’t move quick enough in the morning with kids! 🙂
That playground looks a great addition for an aquarium, I remember taking my son when he was a tot to one in Singapore. Whilst he enjoyed looking at the fish he did start to get a bit restless.
Sally@Toddlers on Tour recently posted…Travelling with Toddlers: Fun Family Activities in New Caledonia
Yes, at a certain age they can only be captivated for so long. The interactive kids area really helped to break up our visit.
Omg, this is so fun for kids! How nice to be able to feed the fishes and I love it that they have the tunnel and submarines to keep the children happy. #MondayEscapes
Bumble Bee Mum recently posted…Marriott’s Mai Khao Beach Resort (Phuket, Thailand)
It was a really good addition to the aquarium to have these extra features. Our girls were big fans of the slide. We went round quite a few times 🙂
Aquariums used to be one of my favourite bad weather attractions when the kids were young. Although plenty of others always had the same idea too! I love the idea of the conveyor belt 🙂 #Mondayescapes
Christine recently posted…A family walk around Lepe Loop, Hampshire
Yes, it would be ideal for wet days. I’ve not see the conveyor belt idea elsewhere either 🙂
I’ve been to Barcelona a few times pre kids. Looking forward to taking them the next time we plan a trip. They’d love the aquarium.
There’s so many family friendly things to do in Barcelona. You should also check out my 48 hours in Barcelona with a buggy post – lots to do for all ages 🙂
Feeding the carp part is so amazing, nice trip. 🙂
This looks like so much fun for the whole family Claire! My boys are also big marine life fans:) I thank the Octonauts for inspiring their love of sea creatures. We plan to head to Barcelona in Spring as I want my boys to visit some of the places I visited recently on the press trip so I will keep Barcelona aquarium very firmly in mind! #MondayEscapes
What a great idea to go back. Let me know if you have any room in your case. I’m aching to return! 🙂
Used to enjoy aquariums, now I do snorkeling 🙂
beatravelling recently posted…Shopping with a Purpose
Nice progression 🙂
This is very definitely on my list – my miniature marine biologist loves an aquarium and a really interactive one would get a grin as big as Tinbox Toy’s. So many temptations to get back to Barcelona and make up for my previous break which was rather dogged by bad luck. Thanks for linking up with #citytripping
Cathy (Mummytravels) recently posted…City Tripping #52 – Wander Mum’s giveaways
Great to re-read this and admire your amazing photos for #citytripping Thanks for linking
Elizabeth (Wander Mum) recently posted…5 Tips For Surviving Road Trips With Kids
Beautiful Barcelona, beautiful photos! Thank you!