Famous Aquarium in Bristol: Everything To Know

We know that 70% part of the earth is covered with the sea. Can you imagine the diversity of aquatic flora and fauna with this fact?! How you can see them closely? Either dive into the water or drop by an aquarium. Diving is not an option for everyone. But anyone can go to the aquarium. If you ever want to visit the aquarium, larger-than-life, then plan your trip to the Bristol Aquarium. It is the most famous aquarium in Bristol, the city in the UK.

Oceans and seas are the habitat of the tiniest marine creatures like krill to giant creatures like blue whales. Nonetheless, water bodies like rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, etc. are also home to numerous aquatic lives.

Isn’t it sound very exciting that you can experience all these amazing aquatic creatures under one roof in the Bristol Aquarium? Let’s take you on this fascinating journey.

Most Famous Aquarium in Bristol: Bristol Aquarium

Bristol Aquarium has been one of the major attractions in Bristol as well as in the UK. Being one of the top fifteen aquariums, indeed it is also a famous aquarium in the UK.

Bristol’s colourful aquarium is providing naturally themed habitats to more than thousands of amazing marine life. Also, it is the only aquarium in the UK that has a giant botanical house inside it.

1. Inside the Bristol Aquarium

Bristol Aquarium has over 40 naturally themed displays. As a result, one hour to one and a half hours is a must, as you need to spend a minimum of ninety seconds at each display.

However, these displays are spread over different sections named Sunken Shipwreck, Bay Of Rays, Ocean Floor, Learning Lab, Edge of the Rainforest, Amazing Amazon, Coral Seas, and Urban Jungle. Let’s walk through each of them one by one.

1.1 Only Aquarium with a Giant Botanical House – Urban Jungle

Bristol Aquarium maintains a huge tropical jungle in the form of a botanical house. In which, there are numerous trees and exotic plants from different parts of the world.

They have designed it very thoughtfully, so when you enter into this, you forget that you are in the UK. You feel like you have entered the Amazon rainforest on a rainy day. Certainly, a tropical and warm environment and lush green scenery will fill the freshness in you.

1.2 Sunken Shipwreck

As the name suggests, it is a sunken ship-themed aquarium tank.

This huge tank contains a total of 25 marine water creatures like crayfish, catfish, smooth-hound sharks, jellyfish, carbs, and many more.

1.3 Bay of Rays

It is the water body located in the botanical house with a rocky setup. There are a total of 8 marine water species in this section.

From the name itself, it is mainly dedicated to ray fishes like the common stingray, blonde ray, painted ray, undulate ray, and thornback ray. Also, it has other species like wrasse, Malawi cichlids, and thick-lipped grey mullet.

1.4 Ocean Floor

This section is dedicated to deep marine water creatures. Therefore, the aquarium refers to them as wonders of the deep. It maintains a relatively cooler temperature of water than in previous sections.

A total of 13 species are there. Some of them are smooth-hound sharks, Bloody Henry starfish, sea bass, bull Huss shark, cuckoo wrasse, Atlantic wreckfish, lesser spotted cat sharks, and gilthead sea bream.

1.5 Edge of the Rainforest

This is the coral house of tropical rainforest freshwater creatures. A total of 15 species are there. It has archerfish, deadly piranhas, deadly poison dart frogs, and blind cavefish.

This section maintains a relatively higher temperature of water than in previous sections.

1.6 Amazing Amazon

This is an open-top tank setup inside the Urban Jungle section with a capacity of over 60,000 litres of freshwater. It also contains freshwater species that maintain the tropical temperature range as in the previous section and provide a home to tropical fish. In addition to that, this tank is surrounded by various plant and tree species.

It has 5 species giant pacu, red pacu, black pacu, yellow-bellied turtles, and Mississippi map turtle. Freshwater catfish and stingrays are also there.

1.7 Coral Seas

Here, the huge Coral Sea underwater tunnel display gives you the feel of a spectacular undersea safari.

Walking through it while watching the tropical coral reefs and other marine creatures is fun. It is a massive display with a capacity of over 250,000 litres of marine water.

It contains more than 50 species. Certainly, it is a huge and diverse one in every aspect of all the above-mentioned sections. It has puffer fish, lionfish, wrasse, eels, rays, soldier fish, oriental sweetlips, tropical sharks, regal tang, honeycomb moray eel, clown fish, giant groupers, and whatnot.

1.8 Learning Lab

It is Bristol Aquarium’s baby-friendly initiative. It is the nursery display aiming to teach babies about fascinating marine life.

This section has seahorses, glass fish, pipefish, and rock pool inhabitants like lobsters, crabs, and starfish.

1.9 Other Attractions

Inside the aquarium, there is the C-Shed café and gift shop. There are exclusive offers, obviously, for annual members.

In the café, you can enjoy coffee, snacks, pizzas, paninis, and a lot more. Moreover, they also have a vegan, gluten-free Red Thai Vegetable Curry.

The gift shop is also open to non-aquarium visitors. Here they sell different gift articles. Their Eco-Buddiez Plush Toys are recycled from waste plastic bottles.

2. Location and Additional Information

Bristol Aquarium is located at the center of the city at the harbourside. The full address is Bristol Aquarium, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5TT.

You can reach there by public transport, by car, by bicycle or by taxi. You can also take a walk from the Bristol Temple Meads station and reach there in approx. 20 minutes.

They don’t have their parking, but you can park your car at the transport parking. Millennium Square car park is the nearest public car park, followed by Prince St (NCP), and Wapping Wharf.

However, get detailed instructions and public transport directions to reach there by visiting their official site here.

2.1 Opening Hours and Days

The aquarium remains open for all days of the week throughout the year except one day, Christmas Day.

Opening hours are 10 am to 6 pm, but the last entry is up to 5 pm. Though, visitors are advised to remain updated with their official site, as seasonal opening hours might be different.

2.2 Tickets

Ticket rates are different for different age groups. And then, there is an option for the whole family and group tickets too.

You can buy the ticket offline as well as online. Finally, you are advised to check their official site here before purchasing your tickets to avoid any inconvenience.

They also offer an annual membership, so you can get unlimited entry throughout the year. You can gift the annual membership pass to your loved ones. So that, they can also enjoy unlimited entry to the aquarium.

Additionally, Bristol Aquarium also encourages school groups and adult groups to visit through different packages.

2.3 Accessibility To Famous Aquarium in Bristol

Without a doubt, the aquarium is designed to keep the maximum possible accessibility. For example, they offer a free wheelchair to disabled visitors. They offer free caretaker tickets too.

Furthermore, C-Shed café and gift shop accessibility are also there for disabled visitors. There are two accessible toilets, one of which also has a dedicated area for baby changing facilities.

2.4 Other Activities at the Famous Aquarium in Bristol

Bristol Aquarium organizes different activities throughout the year. Undoubtedly, some of them are annual member exclusive. You can join them for seasonal events as well as for daily talks.

Here, educational groups can have a fish-feeding experience and learn about the conservation of the natural world. Furthermore, educational groups are guided by the aquarium’s tour guides.

The aquarium also offers venues for birthday celebrations, receptions, meetings, workshops, and even for filming. Their Turing room can cater to conference facilities. Besides they have a 300-seater auditorium cum theatre.

Above all, they also run conversation charities for threatened and endangered marine life. You can check out these activities here.

Conclusion 

In brief, from the marine creature sections like Sunken Shipwreck, Bay Of Rays, Coral Seas, and Ocean Floor to the tropical flora and fauna of freshwater sections like Edge of the Rainforest, Amazing Amazon, and Urban Jungle to the fun learning section Learning Lab, you just name it, and Bristol Aquarium will cater you all that under the single roof.

Lastly, take your toddlers, elders, and friends with you without worrying about accessibility issues. Have a chill pill at the café and gift something to your loved ones for the lifetime memory of this massive aquarium.

Thus, make a plan to get fascinated by taking a tour of the Bristol aquarium, the most famous aquarium in Bristol. Have a fantastic day!

Have you liked this blog? Then please like, share, and comment. After your visit, please share your reviews with us. We would love to hear from you.

If you liked it, you may also like this!