Nausicaa - Boulogne-sur-mer

Nausicaá, National Marine Center, is a marine environment discovery center opened in 1991 in Boulogne-sur-Mer in the north of France.

It has the largest aquarium in Europe and ranks fifth in the world. It is also the largest coral breeding centre in Europe .

With an average of more than 800,000 visitors per year, it is the most visited tourist site north of Paris after Parc Astérix.

The complex is divided into two large sections, the historical exhibition "Of Shores and Men" and the exhibition "Voyage on the High Seas" inaugurated in May 2018, with a 10,000 square meter aquarium. m3 recreating the ecosystem of the island of Malpelo (making it the "largest aquarium in Europe"), as well as several smaller permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Visitors can discover “Grand large”, an augmented reality immersion in the world of the high seas.

In 2020, Nausicaá will contain 17 million liters of seawater, several dozen aquariums and terrariums and around 58,000 marine animals from around the world.

Nausicaá is also an anagram of the word "casino" , chosen to recall that the old casino of Boulogne-sur-Mer, very popular at the time, was located on this site. The "Nausicaá gardens" next to the sea center are sometimes still called "casino gardens".

Willem Vandenameele