Concarneau Aquarium

The Concarneau aquarium, known as the Marinarium, is a small attraction with an unusual pedigree, because it belongs to the oldest marine biology station in the world. The Station de Biologie Marine de Concarneau was founded in 1859 by the naturalist Victor Coste, a professor at the Collège de France who wanted to study the life of the sea at the water's edge rather than from specimens brought to a laboratory. Concarneau, with its rich fishing grounds and sheltered bay on the south coast of Finistère, was a natural place for such work, and the station has been studying marine life ever since. Today it is linked to the French national museum of natural history.

The Marinarium is the public face of this research. It is a modest aquarium, and visitors should not expect the size or the spectacle of the great aquariums of the large coastal cities. Instead, it shows the species found in the waters of the Atlantic off Brittany: fish, crustaceans, shellfish, anemones, starfish and other creatures that live between the shoreline and the open sea. Tanks are arranged to illustrate different habitats, from rocky shores and sandy bottoms to deeper water, and explanatory panels describe the animals and the work of the scientists. For children, the touch tank and the close view of crabs, lobsters and small fish are the main attraction, and it is a manageable size for young visitors with short attention spans.

The real value of the aquarium is the context it gives to the town. Concarneau is one of the major fishing ports of France, historically famous for tuna and sardines, and its economy has always depended on the sea. A visit helps to explain the species that appear on local menus and the questions of overfishing and conservation that affect the industry. The research station also carries out work on the marine environment, with studies of algae, shellfish and coastal ecosystems, and some of this work is explained in the exhibition.

The aquarium makes a suitable stop for a rainy day, since it is indoors and takes only an hour or so, and it combines easily with other things to do in the town. The Ville Close, the walled old town on its island, with its ramparts and its museum of fishing, lies close by, and the Musée du Filet and the Old Port, the Vieux Port, are within walking distance. The Citadel and the lanes of the old town are a good walk after the aquarium. Les Sables Blancs, a long sandy beach, lies a few minutes by car or bike from the centre.

Opening times change a lot with the seasons, from long days in July and August to short afternoon hours in winter and early spring, so check the current schedule before you go. The aquarium suits families with young children, school groups and anyone curious about marine science, and it is best treated as a short, pleasant stop and not the main reason for a trip to Brittany.