Musée Océanographique de Monaco

Description:

• Albert I, great-grandfather of the present prince, founded this museum in 1910. In the main rotunda is a statue of Albert in his favorite costume: that of a sea captain. Displayed are specimens he collected during 30 years of expeditions. The aquarium, one of the finest in Europe, contains more than 90 tanks, and even has a shark lagoon.

  The collection is exhibited in the zoology room. Some of the exotic creatures were unknown before he captured them. You'll see models of the ships of his scientific cruises from 1885 to 1914. The most important part of the laboratory has been preserved and re-created as closely as possible. Skeletons of specimens, including a whale that drifted ashore at Pietra Ligure in 1896, are on the main floor. The whale skeleton is remarkable for its healed fractures sustained when a vessel struck the animal as it was drifting on the surface. An exhibition devoted to the discovery of the ocean is in the physical-oceanography room on the first floor, and underwater movies are shown in the lecture room.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010