Biarritz Aquarium: Seals, Sharks and Octopus on the Roof

I walked out onto the third-floor terrace of the Biarritz Aquarium on 12 June, a little before half past ten, and landed straight in the middle of the seals’ lunch. Two grey seals, a keeper in rubber boots and the Atlantic right behind the railing. Nobody announced a show. The keeper talked in French, the seals did their daily moves to earn their fish, and I stood there with everyone else, grinning. I didn’t catch every word. I didn’t need to.

My verdict up front: the Biarritz Aquarium is the best thing to do in this town when it rains, and with kids it’s ideal. I went alone, stayed two hours, and it turned out to be a surprisingly good find right in the middle of Biarritz, next to the Rocher de la Vierge, where most people only come to take a photo.

Below is everything you need before you go: when the seals are fed, where these animals come from, what else is inside this 1933 building, how to get onto the rooftop without a ticket, plus prices and opening hours. Prices and times were checked in November 2026.

Seal feeding: 10:30 and 17:00

The seals are fed twice a day, at 10:30 and 17:00, by the outdoor pool on the third floor. The aquarium doesn’t call it a show, and it’s right. There are no tricks. The keeper (a technicien aquariologiste) talks about the animals and runs exercises with them that also make it easier for the vet to check them later. Each seal eats around four kilos of fish a day.

There are two of them, both grey seals: Charlie and Izar. Both were found as pups on the Basque or Landes coast and have lived here since 2000 and 2014. The darker one, Charlie, is already a proper old pensioner, and honestly it’s hard to picture a cuter retiree than a seal lifting his head out of the water to check whether the fish is coming.

Turned up at the wrong time? No problem. On the second floor there’s a glass wall where you can watch the seals swimming underwater.

Rescued animals, not display fish

What stayed with me most was what the keeper and the panels told me about where these animals came from. This isn’t a place stocked with random animals bought in from somewhere. A lot of them are individuals rescued from storms.

The aquarium runs a care centre that takes in two to six stranded young grey seals every year. They often arrive exhausted or bitten by dogs. Once a seal is healthy and heavy enough, it gets a tag and goes back to sea. In May 2026 four young seals that had spent the winter at the centre were released on a beach in the Landes.

The same goes for turtles. Every year injured sea turtles are found on the Atlantic coast, caught in fishing nets or sick. The aquarium treats them and, where it can, returns them to the ocean.

The 1933 Musée de la Mer

The building itself is very, very beautiful. It’s an Art Deco house that opened on 10 August 1933 as the Musée de la Mer, the Museum of the Sea. The history is fascinating, and you see it on every floor.

In one hall a whale skeleton hangs from the ceiling, a glass case holds an old sailing ship model, and the window behind it shows the same ocean ships like that once sailed. In 2011 a new wing was added and the floor space doubled to 7,000 square metres. That’s where the tropical tanks and the sharks live now.

Bay of Biscay, jellyfish and sharks

The first tanks are so, so pretty. Near the entrance you start with the Bay of Biscay: local fish, conger eels, seahorses and an octopus. These are the same species that live right here in the bay, under the cliff. I loved this part, because afterwards you look at the beaches of Biarritz with completely different eyes.

Then the rooms get darker. Jellyfish glow in black water, a coral reef shines in blue light, and finally you reach a 1.5-million-litre tank full of sharks and rays. According to the aquarium there are eight shark species here, including Lucien the hammerhead, the only one in France.

There weren’t many people, and that made a big difference. For families it’s a dream, but if you’re on your own and just want to stand in front of the glass and stare, you can do that too.

The rooftop: octopus and the Bay of Biscay

After the aquarium I was invited up to the rooftop, and it was the second high point of the visit. Le Rooftop sits on the roof of the aquarium, it’s run by Olatua, and you don’t need an aquarium ticket to get in. They don’t take reservations.

I had octopus in a creamy sauce. It was seriously delicious. The view goes straight out over the Bay of Biscay, the rocks and the Rocher de la Vierge, and once you’ve sat there you’ll want to come back, even if you never set foot in the aquarium again.

Worth knowing: Le Rooftop is open from April to October, lunch 12:00 to 14:00 and dinner 19:00 to 22:00. In winter Olatua runs its winter restaurant Negua in the same spot, and there you need to book a table. Check the exact winter dates on Olatua’s website before you go, because they change from year to year.

Who I’d recommend the Biarritz Aquarium to

• As a rainy day plan. Almost everything is indoors, only the seal terrace is outside.
• Families with kids. Ideal. Under fours get in free.
• Animal lovers who care where the animals come from.
• Surfers and ocean people. After the Bay of Biscay room you’ll know who you share the water with.

If all you want in Biarritz is beach and sun and aquariums leave you cold, you can skip it. But go up to the rooftop anyway.

Tickets, opening hours and getting there

• Tickets 2026: adults €17, children 4 to 12 €12, teens 13 to 17 and students €15, under 4 free. The price is the same at the desk and online, and you can buy your ticket on the spot.
• Combined ticket with Cité de l’Océan: adults €28, children 6 to 12 €20. Valid for a year, and you can visit the two places on different days. During school holidays the combined ticket only lets you in on a chosen day and time. Cité de l’Océan is a surf and ocean centre three kilometres away.
• Annual pass: adults €42, sold only at the desk.
• Opening hours: November to March every day 9:30 to 19:00, last entry at 18:00. Closed on 25 December, open 14:00 to 19:00 on 1 January. In summer the aquarium stays open longer, until 22:00 in July and August.
• How long: the aquarium says an hour and a half; I stayed two hours including the seal feeding.
• There’s no cloakroom, so don’t bring a big bag. Photos are allowed without flash.
• With a pushchair: there are lifts, but since it’s a 1933 building the aquarium recommends a baby carrier instead.
• Parking: the aquarium has no car park of its own. The nearest is the paid Port Vieux car park 240 metres away; the covered Indigo Sainte-Eugénie car park costs about €2.30 an hour.
• By bus: Txik Txak line N4, stop Port Vieux.
• By plane: Biarritz has its own airport (BIQ). Compare flights to Biarritz and Bilbao on Kiwi.com, and find trains and buses in France on Omio.
• Behind-the-scenes tour: every day at 15:00, online booking only, ages 8 and up, €15. You also get to watch the sharks being fed from above.

Still thinking about the ocean?

If after the aquarium you want to see the real ocean, these three have the best ratings around Biarritz:

• Whale and dolphin watching on a small boat
• Basque coast boat trip from Saint-Jean-de-Luz
• Surf lesson in Biarritz

For more Biarritz, there is my spring Saturday in Biarritz, where the aquarium makes the perfect morning. If you have a car, Hossegor, the surf capital of Europe, is 45 minutes away, and for the whole region there is my Basque Country in 7 days route. For a first surf lesson I recommend Hendaye.

Biarritz Aquarium: frequently asked questions

My visit and lunch on the rooftop were courtesy of the Biarritz Aquarium. The opinions are my own. Cover photo: Tom Delanoue / Unsplash.

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