Lisbon Oceanarium

Portugal. What a beautiful country. Lisbon. What a beautiful city.

But what is there to do in Lisbon, Portugal? I asked myself that question after I had purchased a ticket there. I had several days but no idea what to do with my time.

Sure, lots of people go to Lisbon to get drunk and party all night. I ran into a lot of that type. I, however, was hoping to get a little more out of my trip.

Enter the Lisbon Oceanarium.

Maybe you had to read that last line twice. That's right, I said you should visit an aquarium. But why? To be sure, there are plenty of these in the United States. In fact, there's one not 30 minutes from my home.

Well, this particular oceanarium was voted the top aquarium in the world less than two years ago (according to TripAdvisor). I absolutely trust the rankings of TripAdvisor, so I bought a ticket.

Pro tip: If you buy your ticket online before arriving, you get a discount. It's not much of a discount, I believe 10-15%, but if you're a budget savvy traveler, it's worth it.

After arriving at the Lisbon Airport, I went straight to the aquarium. It's easy to get to by the metro system. The very first time you use the metro, you must pay 0.50 euros for a reusable ticket. You can then refill it over and over again with your trips. Anyway, the airport metro stops at the Oriente Station and that's where you get off for the oceanarium.

The aquarium has 50 lockers there you can use free of charge. Since I still had all of my belongings with me, I placed them in the locker. You must put in a one euro coin, but it will be returned to you upon removal.

My ticket granted me entrance into the temporary exhibit, so I began with that. Imagine a fish tank at a dentist that goes around the entire room. It was pretty cool. Then, I went on to the main attraction.

The oceanarium it self is highlighted by a massive two-story multi-fish tank located in the center of the main aquarium. It's huge. And it has so many different forms of life.

Pro tip: Avoid taking pictures at the first window where you see this tank. There are dozens of other stops along the walk through where you can get the exact same picture.

As you walk along you will find sea life from all different climates. You could easy spend half a day thoroughly looking through everything.

If you enjoy nature and sea life even just a little, I would recommend a stop at the Lisbon Oceanarium. It won't disappoint.