Interactive encounters with marine life and state of the art displays, Melbourne Aquarium is one of the city’s major tourist attractions that ensures its visitors both an interesting and educational experience for all. This incredible attraction filled with exotic marine life and mammals is located just off the Kings Way on the banks of the Yarra River opposite Crown Casino and close to popular Batman Park.
Melbourne Aquarium offers a fun day out where visitors can walk through underwater glass tunnels and view rare species of marine life that are indigenous to this part of the world. Expect close encounters with stingrays, sharks and turtles and opportunities to assist at feeding time. The King Penguin Playground is a unique addition to Melbourne Aquarium, as the animals are mesmerising to watch with their quirky personalities, impressive demeanour and colourful plumage. Visitors can be educated about the penguin’s social behaviour and group tendencies and discover how they managed to adapt to the most extreme living conditions in Antarctica and the surrounding regions. Also ripe for discovery is the Bay of Rays, Coral Caves, Croc Lair and the breathtaking Sharks Alive. If all of this feels a little too daring, visitors can simply admire the wonderful array of vibrantly coloured fish swimming.
Reaching Melbourne Aquarium from central Melbourne is easy, as it is situated on the banks of the Yarra River and served by several trams and buses which stop directly outside. The route can also be walked in 25 minutes from Melbourne central. Flinders Street Railway Station transports visitors into the city from further afield, from here the Aquarium is a short 8-minute walk past the Immigration Museum by the picturesque banks of the river.
Melbourne Aquarium was constructed between 1998 and 1999 and opened the following year to huge public reviews. The size and structure of the building itself were taken into great consideration. Due to the scale of the project it was not meant to look too imposing at street level. The actual structure extends seven metres below ground level and became the world’s first 2,200,000 litre Oceanarium and a place where the marine life circles around glass tunnels for ease of viewing. A grand expansion was unveiled in 2008 which extended the building from Yarra River to Flinders Street close to the rail station and mammals including the King and Gentoo Penguins were introduced into the Aquarium ensuring it remained at the forefront of Melbourne tourist attractions.