The Vasco da Gama Aquarium sits in Algés, in the municipality of Oeiras just outside Lisbon, Portugal, and ranks among the oldest aquariums still operating anywhere in the world. It opened on May 20, 1898, timed to the fourth centenary of Vasco da Gama’s departure on the voyage that charted a sea route to India, with King Carlos I personally backing the project as part of his own passion for oceanography.
Today the aquarium is run by the Portuguese Navy’s Cultural Commission, which has maintained it since the Ministry of the Navy took over funding in 1901 after an earlier period of neglect. Visitors descend through five ground-floor rooms holding roughly 90 tanks before reaching the Salão Nobre, an upper hall added in 1917 that still displays King Carlos I’s original oceanographic collection.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Algés, Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal
- Opened: May 20, 1898
- Size: Five rooms, about 90 tanks, plus the upstairs Salão Nobre hall
- Species: More than 300 live marine species
- Annual visitors: About 70,000
- Famous for: One of the world’s oldest operating aquariums, built around King Carlos I’s royal oceanographic collection
A Royal Origin Story
The aquarium traces its roots to King Carlos I, a monarch with a genuine scientific interest in the sea who spent twelve years gathering marine specimens aboard his royal yacht, Amélia, starting in 1896. When Portugal planned celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s historic voyage, the king threw his support behind building a public aquarium on land donated by the Ministry of Public Works, with marine zoologist Albert Girard overseeing construction.
After the centenary festivities ended, the aquarium nearly stalled from lack of funding until the Ministry of the Navy stepped in around 1901. In 1935, its holdings grew further when the collection from the D. Carlos I Oceanographic Museum was transferred in, deepening the direct link between the aquarium and the king’s original research.
What Visitors See Today
Inside, guests move through tanks housing marine life alongside thousands of preserved specimens upstairs in the Salão Nobre, a layout largely unchanged since the early twentieth century. A newer addition, the interactive “Window to the Ocean” exhibit, occupies a former otter tank and was designed specifically for young children.
Visitor numbers have declined from a peak of 218,000 in 1992, largely because the much larger Lisbon Oceanarium opened nearby in 1998. Even so, the Vasco da Gama Aquarium continues to draw around 70,000 visitors a year who come for its old-world atmosphere and direct tie to Portugal’s age of maritime exploration.
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Vasco da Gama Aquarium FAQs
Where is the Vasco da Gama Aquarium located?
It’s in Algés, part of the municipality of Oeiras, just outside Lisbon, Portugal.
When did the Vasco da Gama Aquarium open?
It opened on May 20, 1898, as part of the fourth centenary celebrations of Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India.
How many species does the aquarium hold?
The aquarium displays more than 300 live marine species across roughly 90 tanks, plus a historic collection of preserved specimens upstairs.
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Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.