Founded on the 20th of May 1898, and delivered in 1901 to the Portuguese Navy, Vasco da Gama Aquarium has been visited by successive generations of families, becoming part of our collective imaginary.
This warm memory is our greatest heritage. Witness to a certain period in the history of science, Vasco da Gama Aquarium is associated with the beginning of aquatic life dissemination in our country. This historical heritage was greatly enhanced by the legacy of D. Carlos I Oceanographic Museum Collection, in 1935.
Being one of the oldest public aquariums in the world, the museum collections, and the aquarium exhibit, associated with the building itself and all its history, attracts scholars from many fields of study.
In recent years, the Navy has improved the Aquarium's infrastructure and invested in a transition to the digital future. The already renovated galleries of the permanent exhibition and the creation of a new technological area, foster the Aquarium into a new phase of its existence, playing a fundamental role in the ultimate search for innovation, knowledge, and ocean sustainability.
Committed to promoting the aquatic biodiversity of Portugal, the live exhibition creates an intimate atmosphere, where our visitors can let themselves be carried away by curiosity for a closer encounter with the animals.