Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Biarritz Museum of the Sea, also named Aquarium de Biarritz, originated in an initiative of 1871 carried by the Marquis Léopold de Folin. The idea was to create a space dedicated to marine life, anchored in the biarrois landscape. The current Art Deco building was built on the Atalaye plateau and inaugurated on August 10, 1933. It is distinguished by its spectacular location, facing the Rock of the Virgin, and its emblem: a white octopus on a blue background.

In 1992, the museum underwent a first renovation to upgrade its facilities and host a collection of marine animals and naturalized birds. A major extension, carried out between 2009 and 2011, allowed to double its inspection area, from 3,500 m2 to 7,000 m2. This extension introduced new thematic areas, such as the North Atlantic, Caribbean and Indo-Pacific areas, with basins dedicated to corals, sharks and lagoons. The naturalized bird room has disappeared in favor of these enlargements.

The museum is structured around several levels: the basement features the fauna of the Bay of Biscay, while the upper floors approach fishing, cetaceans, and harbour seals, whose public meals attract visitors. The 2011 extension also included an educational workshop and a research centre linked to Ifremer, strengthening its scientific role. In 2011, the site was renamed Biarritz Ocean, bringing together the museum and the City of the Ocean and Surf, with an inauguration in the presence of the navigator Maud Fontenoy.

The museum is also known for its births of captive seals, a rare phenomenon. Four blanchons were born there between 2005 and 2009: Naïa, Urko, Txupi and Noëlla, from couples formed by Charlie, Okera and Sylvestrine. In 2011, the acquisition of a halicorn hammer shark, a rare captive species, marked the extension of the museum, although three of the four initially planned specimens did not survive transport.

The extension had to deal with technical constraints, such as the presence of three German Second World War bunkers and a road tunnel below the Atalaye plateau. These obstacles limited the possibilities of digging, but did not prevent the doubling of expositive spaces. Today, the museum combines tourist attraction, with 450,000 estimated annual visitors, and research centre, hosting laboratories dedicated to coastal risks and marine sustainable development.

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