A Day Out at Akvariet i Bergen – Bergen’s National Aquarium

I am a sucker for a good aquarium, and when asking locals what to do in Bergen, they suggested the national aquarium there. So, Dann and I went along to see what sea life we could spot there. You do enter Akvariet i Bergen through the gift shop, which is a little strange, but then you are presented with three, quite large, outdoor areas for animals. The first – and the one I was most excited about – was the penguins. I love penguins and Dann had never seen them before in real life, so we were in for a treat as they swam around, got quite close to us, and went about their day. These penguins were adorable, and it is so good to see they are out in open air, getting to experience weather.

Along with the penguins, we saw some sea lions that really loved entertaining – through big windows on the outside of their tank. They just kept swimming quickly by, doing flips or spins as they passed the windows, clearly having a great time. Beyond the sea lions there was an area full of otters, which were hiding primarily when we came, but they seemed to have a huge play ground of wooden boat parts, logs, and more to swim and dive around. There is an indoor bit that gives you a look into their environment, inside the main part of the aquarium.

From the outside, Akvariet i Bergen does look a bit small, but once you get in it is actually quite massive. The first area has an open tank, that is covered over, with some grabs and star fish hanging out, as well as small fish. This place seems to be primarily a cafe area and a place where schools gather children before leaving, with the area opening up to a larger floor with a few interactive bits. One of the smaller crocodile areas are up here, as well as a large exhibition on axolotls, which are actually endangered despite being sold as pets in a few countries, and a tank full of crabs and starfish that are much larger than the small open air tank.

Beyond that, in Akvariet i Bergen, you start to go downstairs (though there is an elevator). The first floor was massive – containing a tropical area that had things beyond sea life. There were spiders, turtles, geckos and tree frogs, in various little tanks. Big bugs, African snails, snakes and more lived in this tropical zone, which was done up to look like you stepped into a wooden hut full of creatures.

Once we were done checking out all these insects and reptiles, we moved on to the labyrinth, which was exactly that. This area was full of so many different tanks of sea life, it was amazing. There were various collections of fish, sea plants, and more. It’s something that you walk around and marvel at, as you see these creatures dip around and move with the current. Above each area were signs in English and Norwegian, which told you about where these animals had come from. Many of these tanks were sorted by depth, which was something we had not seen before, where creatures from one depth were grouped together, letting you see how different surface fish were from ones that lived deep down.

I really loved seeing so many different flat fish and sting rays, as well as the massive amount of crabs and sea cucumbers that this aquarium had. Akvariet i Bergen has a small, but really impressive shark tunnel, that allows sharks to swim right up over you as you walk through it. This really amazed me and we went back a few times to take a look at it! Along the walls of the area there were more information on fish and sustainability, which seemed to be a big focus of this aquarium. There was a giant display on recycling instead of throwing away, as well as a tank full of ‘bio-degradable plastics’ showing how long it takes them to actually break down. Other plastics, like soda bottles, were in another tank, which hadn’t changed at all in their time in the water. This sort of hands on impact was interesting to see.

The floor above this area had more tanks, this time with different schools of fish or types of fish that seemed to get on well together. This was actually the top floor of the aquarium, but because we went in and straight, we had not seen it until we got to the end of the labyrinth and went up. The tanks were huge, with massive fish in them, which was really cool to see. There was another entire floor of Akvariet i Bergen which contained crocodiles, more fish, and a few more insects, for viewing. We had never seen crocodiles sort of standing in water, with just their heads above. It was quite the site.

Akvariet i Bergen also has a movie playing for younger children, which seems to be animated and about a turtle, as well as a bunch of different talks around many of their animals. They are happy to talk in English and to switch the movie over to English, if you ask, which is very considerate. We spent a good few hours checking out all of the fish, plants and sea life that was there and had a really good time walking around. If you are staying in a hotel in Bergen, do bring your hotel key or proof of stay, for a discount on your ticket!

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!