Musée Océanographique de Monaco

Perched 85 meters above the Mediterranean, the museum houses extensive marine science collections, including historical instruments and specimens from Prince Albert I’s expeditions, and features a multi-level aquarium showcasing Mediterranean and tropical marine ecosystems.

Planning your visit

Prince Albert I of Monaco was a serious oceanographer who ran twenty-eight scientific expeditions, and he built this museum in 1910 into the cliff face — a monumental building rising eighty-five metres straight from the Mediterranean, with the sea directly below the terrace.

The upper floors hold his collections: instruments, specimens, whale skeletons and the apparatus of nineteenth-century marine science, in galleries that are period pieces themselves.

The aquarium below covers Mediterranean and tropical ecosystems, with a substantial coral reef installation and shark lagoon. The conservation programming is genuine — the museum runs coral restoration and turtle rehabilitation work.

Jacques Cousteau directed the institution for over thirty years, which is part of its standing.

The rooftop terrace has one of the best views on the coast, over the harbour and toward Italy.

It sits in Monaco-Ville beside the palace. Allow two hours. The main booking is an entrance ticket. Current availability is shown below.