Barcelona Aquarium Tickets

The Aquarium is one of Barcelona's most popular visits and one of the best things to see and do in the city. Unlike a visit to Barcelona Zoo, the main advantage of the Aquarium is that you can do a full tour in much less time, making it ideal for those tourists who will only be in the city for a few days.

Below you'll find all the information you need to buy your tickets to the city's Aquarium, but if you're looking for a few days of family fun, I recommend exploring excursions to do with children near the city.

The Best Choice

Barcelona Aquarium Tickets

An attraction for the whole family

Buy this skip-the-line ticket for a day of fun at one of Barcelona's most visited attractions, the Barcelona Aquarium has one of the most amazing collections of sea creatures in the world.

From £19 at Hellotickets

Recommended if... you're looking to make the most of your visit to Barcelona to learn about marine life in an environment characterised by its richness and diversity of species. This ticket will allow you to access without complications and without waiting.

As one of the most visited attractions in the city, the Aquarium administration offers different combos or price options. The cheapest tickets for the Aquarium are the online booking tickets in a time slot: you choose the day and time and your ticket is scheduled to be used within 30 minutes. This type of ticket is available from €25 for adults and young people aged 11 and over; €17 for children aged 5-10 and €10 for children under 5.

You also have the Flexi-Ticket, a ticket that you can use any day and time you want in a period of 90 days after purchase. This ticket costs €30 for adults and young people up to the age of 11, €22 for children between 5 and 10 and €12 for children under 5.

Other interesting combinations include the ticket with a meal option for lunch inside the park. If you're travelling to Barcelona with children, this alternative is often very useful with fast food menu options that avoid the need for planning.

At the moment you won't find any guided tours or tour operators offering exclusive guided tours of the aquarium, although it may not be necessary to book a guide for this attraction either, mainly because all the facilities are very well documented and it is easy to keep up with the information.

If you need transport

In the absence of a guide with transport you can use the resources of thetourist bus to get to the site. In this case you should take the bus route East and get off at the Port Vell stop, which is only a few metres from the attraction.

If for some reason you forget or prefer to purchase your tickets once you arrive at the attraction, you only need to go to the ticket booth located near the main entrance. Please note that the ticket booth closes approximately one hour before the official closing time of the attraction.

While this is a possible option, it is not one that I recommend for travellers visiting Barcelona for the first time or who will only be in the city for a short time, such as two days or three days, as the ticket booth can have long lines, especially during peak tourist months. The smartest option is always to purchase your tickets in advance weeks before your visit and ensure availability if you really want to visit this attraction.

Of course it is! The Aquarium is one of the best things to do in Barcelona on a family holiday; a fact well known to tourism companies who have developed a tourist card called the Barcelona Pass which includes no less than 20 major tourist attractions around the city, including the Aquarium.

This resource is quite useful as it allows you to explore Barcelona for two or three days (depending on the pass you buy) and visit destinations such as La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and Park Güell. Some alternatives also include a pass for the Barcelona Tourist Bus, one of the best ways to get around the different tourist sites.

The Aquarium is located in the Old Port, the quay of Spain. Getting to this area of the city is really easy and you have several alternatives to get there, which are listed below.

• On foot: from the heart of Barcelona head to the area around Plaça de Catalunya and take a leisurely stroll to the aquarium. The walk will take you about 25 minutes and you can explore the streets of the city.

• By Metro: taking the L4 line, Barceloneta station is only 10 minutes away, taking the L3 line, Drassanes station is a 15 minute walk.

• By city bus: you will find that several public transport routes reach the Aquarium's vicinity. These are: V17 and 39, 45, 59, 59, 91, 120, D20, H14, V13, V15.

• By tourist bus: the East route will drop you off at the Port Vell stop just 2 minutes from the Aquarium entrance.

The Aquarium is a must-see if you are visiting Barcelona with children. If you're only in the city for a few days and your itinerary doesn't allow for activities that require more time, such as an afternoon at Barcelona Zoo, the Aquarium is a fantastic alternative that you can see in half the time and with the same level of involvement and fun for the younger ones.

My recommendation to make the visit even more memorable is to get the kids involved in the extra activities that the Aquarium includes in its seasonal calendar. One of my favourites is a full-day activity, Aquarist for a Day, aimed at children from 5 to 15 years old, where they are shown the main activities related to fish care.

If your visit doesn't allow for full day activities be sure to observe the feeding schedule of the marine animals. Attend the show where the keepers feed penguins, rays and even sharks.

While it is true that all the spaces inside the Aquarium are interesting, it is also true that some are more impressive than others. On your visit, pay attention to the following.

• The Mediterranean Aquarium: Throughout 14 aquariums you can enjoy the largest exhibition of Mediterranean fish in Barcelona, showing the marine life of the different communities.
• The Tropical Aquarium: In this space you can enjoy the colourful tropical sea and species of different sizes.
• The Oceanarium: An 80-metre long glass tunnel takes you through the largest aquarium in the place; possibly one of the most exciting visits you can make at the Aquarium is to visit this tunnel with sharks, rays and other species of the sea.
• Shark dive experience: One of the Aquarium's most impressive activities called shark diving takes place in a large pool where you can swim with sharks if you have a diving licence. If you don't you can watch other people do it.

The minimum time you should spend on a trip to the Aquarium is approximately 2 hours; this time will allow you to see the highlights and marvel at the beautiful creatures that live here. However, there is plenty to see and do inside this attraction, as its 35 aquariums currently house no less than 11,000 specimens.

It is no secret that the Aquarium building is a structure in which space is used intelligently to make the most of every square metre, so if you have time to spare and can dedicate an entire afternoon to take a leisurely tour, I assure you that you will not get bored!

Before visiting the Aquarium and any other attraction in the city of Barcelona it is important to inform yourself about the opening hours and especially if the opening hours change according to the season. The Aquarium is one of those attractions that experience variations throughout the year, in your visit to this space take into account the following.

• During the months of April and May and again in October, the opening hours from Monday to Friday are from 10am to 7.30pm. On weekends and national holidays the opening hours in May are from 10 am to 8 pm; in April and October from 10 am to 8:30 pm.

• During the months of July and August the opening hours are from 10am to 9.30pm every day due to the peak summer season in Barcelona.

• During the months of June and September the opening hours are from 10h to 21h, every day.

• During the remaining months (January, February, March and December) the opening hours from Monday to Friday are from 10am to 7.30pm and until 8pm on weekends and public holidays. These are the coldest and winter months in Barcelona.

Here are some tips that could be very helpful on your visit to the Aquarium. If you want to have a fun day out with as few inconveniences as possible, take the following into consideration.

You are not allowed to feed the animals or throw objects at them

This is especially important when travelling with young children. Be sure to explain the rules of the place in advance, including not feeding the animals or throwing objects or rubbish into the areas where they live.

Buy your tickets in advance.

The Aquarium is an incredibly popular attraction and during school holidays there is a significant influx of visitors. To avoid inconveniences such as tickets being sold out by the date of your trip or long lines at the ticket office, it is always best to purchase your tickets in advance.

Find out what is forbidden in the Aquarium

On your visit to the Aquarium you will find that small vehicles such as bicycles, scooters and scooters are prohibited from entering the facilities. Similarly, pets and companion animals of any kind are not allowed.

To take photos you need a good camera

If you want to take photos in the Aquarium you need a camera capable of taking photos in low light, as the space and the paths are illuminated with just enough light not to disturb the tranquility of the species that live there.

It's a good attraction to visit in winter

Don't let the large pools and aquariums that make up this space scare you. The inside of the Aquarium is fully air-conditioned, which makes it a good alternative for those days when the streets of Barcelona are a bit cold due to the winter: or on those rainy days when you don't feel like being outdoors.

Visit the Aquarium at opening time

If you want to make the most of your time at the Aquarium, it's best to visit the attraction just before opening time at 10am. In addition to arriving early, I recommend going directly to the most in-demand attractions so you can see the creatures up close without too many tourists; as midday approaches more and more families begin to arrive with the intention of spending an afternoon of fun at the Aquarium.