With 4 million visitors, La Cité de la Mer, created in 2002, is one of the major European sites of the sea. In spring 2019, it widens its horizon again with a new permanent exhibition of 1400 m² on 3 floors, including 17 aquariums, entirely dedicated to the ocean.

An adventure designed as a declaration of love

From the surface to the depths, the world of the sea unfolds like a narrative where the beauty of the marine environment, its richness, its strength and its fragility, its past and its future are scenographed with interactive technologies, gigantic installations to immerse public in the deep waters of the infinitely small to the big mysterious pits.

Giant spheres and Cyclorama

Take a new look at the Blue Planet with the giant sphere and the cyclorama of the Planet Ocean space. Life arose from the ocean since the beginning of time. And the ocean has driven the evolution of humanity, leading men to open sea routes to trade, dominate other peoples and discover promised lands. A conquest of the sea that continues today.

Abyssal Aquarium

It is the highest aquarium in Europe where you will be surrounded by fabulous animals in the world of divers and freedivers who frequent dolphins, whales and sperm whales. An exceptional underwater vision offered by the pioneers of sea imagery, from Commander Jacques Cousteau to Jacques Perrin. And the Nautilus and its captain Nemo are never far away... The videos projected on three-meter-high glass panels create the almost perfect illusion of a prodigious dive where the mysterious fauna is summoned.

A Complete Success

Other highlights of the visit include the gardens of the sea with the digital table to compose a meal of iodized products and its marine kitchen garden in a huge vertical aquarium. Cylindrical aquariums populated by seahorses, jellyfish and moray eels remind us of these species that survived the dinosaurs.

Between the spectacular ballet of marine species and closeups of legendary shipwrecks, the space of La Cité de la Mer sweeps a wide spectrum of knowledge and sensations. The ocean of the future is a fairytale of fugitive and magical visions that helps become aware of this splendor which requires protection.

Photo: Cherbourg Sea City

The housing solution in Cherbourg

If you are looking to stay in Cherbourg, the Smartappart residence is an economical alternative to hotels. Its furnished and connected apartments lend themselves to any type of stay, of short medium or long duration and the rates are discounted starting from two nights.