The first day was only one of the three days in which I would only visit one zoo, not because the institution in question is that big, but because I had 400 km to drive from the Netherlands. Contrary to the Netherlands, COVID19 regulations in most French zoos are much more relaxed a. On paper it is however obligatory / strongly advised for some of the aquariums, so I had reserved a time slot for 14:30 for Europe's largest aquarium.
Nausicaa, Boulogne-sur-mer
On arrival it did however quickly become clear that what is written online, is not necessarily the case on the ground. It did save time to enter the aquarium with a reserved time slot, but there was a huge queue of people without tickets, who could all access the aquarium without problems. It quickly became clear that social distancing only occurs on paper in France and the aquarium was absolutely packed and people did not even want to keep distance to eachother. At least everybody was wearing face masks, but contrary to claims online there was exactly zero effort in crowd control.
Nausicaa basically consists of two parts: the original exhibitions which are 10-30 years old and "The High Seas", the 2018 extension, both are connected by a large hall, which means you can visit both parts as often as you want, so no forced exit after one round. I decided to start with the High Seas, this part is modeled around Malpelo Island, far off the coast of Colombia. The theming and educational displays are impressive here and it starts as soon as you quite literally take an escalator down "into the deep", through a huge video screen with waves.
On arrival a large jellyfish tank bids you welcome. Even though you already have descended, the first view into the main tank, shows that you are only just below the surface. The high seas is an exposition modeled around the main 10 million liter tank. You walk around the main tank and there are small glimpses into it along the way, including a short tunnel. As you descend there are several aquaria along the way, representing different habitats on different depths. These are generally of a high quality and the most eye-catching is an artificial reef showing how reefs can be restored using artificial materials. This tank is home to several large moray eels, large groupers and smaller reef fish. Overall the number of tanks is rather limited, but each one is rather nice.
After a longer descent and many glimpses, one finally arrives to the main viewing window of the open ocean tank. With 10 million liter this is Europe's largest tank. The main tank measures roughly 60 x 30 x 10 meters and the adjoining separation tank alone holds 700.000 liters. Contrary to many other large tanks, there is a real sense of depth here and due to smart design it is nearly impossible to see other viewing windows from each viewpoint. Smart lighting also means that from every viewpoint the inhabitants can disappear into the blue. The main viewing window (roughly 20x5 meters) is located on one of the short ends of the tank, giving even more depth than otherwise. The design of this tank is very spectacular and means it is so much more than just a large tank with large fish, as is the case in Singapore or Lisbon, to name just a few examples. The number of species represented is relatively low. There are however large schools of Mackerels, False Herrings and other schooling fish. The number of larger fish is relatively low however, with Black-nosed Guitarfish, Spotted Eagle Ray, Common Eagle Ray, a smaller Mobula species and Sandbar Shark (a few large individuals) being the main residents. The big star is however the only Giant Manta Ray in Europe. Unfortunately the other individual has already died, as have all the Scalloped Hammerheads and this shows. Whereas the tank is extremely impressive, it could do with some more large fish and maybe less smaller fish. The negative here is that the species signage is on a very slow slide show on the electronic signage, which simply doesn't work if you have >50 species signed....
Afterwards one takes an escalator to the top, from where you can view the tank from above, which is a nice final touch:
Unfortunately the rest of the aquarium looks extremely dated when compared to the new extension. Educational displays are much less sophisticated, tanks are often small and sometimes overcrowded. Most importantly the architecture hasn't aged well at all, with a strange angular design and gloomy rooms. And it certainly wasn't meant to handle the current crowds. There is the obvious selection of local aquaria, some tropical reef tanks and an Amazonian flooded forest is the only freshwater tank around (together with a wearly place New Guinea tank). There are also several reptile and amphibian displays dotted around. Additionally there is also a Californian Sea Lion pool, with beach views and an African Penguin enclosure.
Sea lion tunnel
Sea lion enclosure with beach view
Amazonian flooded forest
The highlight here is clearly the lagoon area. This is divided into two main sections: sharks and a coral reef, with small side-displays of a mangrove and a tiny beach with an Aldabra Giant Tortoise. The shark tank holds roughly 1 million liters, if I am correct, and houses Sand Tigers, Nurse Sharks, a Sea Turtle and some larger fish. It really is quite boring, but it is interesting to watch from above. The coral reef section is much more interesting. There is a very large shallow part with living corals and small fish, that can only be viewed from above. This was a new perspective for me and it was very entertaining to watch all the smaller fish go about their business. The deeper coral part hosted many larger fish species and even a pair of Zebra Shark, for which this tank certainly isn't big enough.
Overall this really is an aquarium with two faces: the extension is impressive, the older parts less so, though the majority is still enjoyable, it feels way to crowded and it's design is not particularly impressive. It is still a must-visit though, as the open ocean tank is something unique on the continent, but my advice would be to wait after the COVID crisis is under control... I spent a total of 4 hours here, the majority in the extension part.
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