London Aquarium

I took my partner (a real fishophile) to the London Aquarium on the 3rd June 2008 as a birthday treat.

Stupidly we had not booked in advanced so we missed out on two possible reductions (booking online has a 10% reduction and we are both over 60). There was just one person at a desk to service both the 'not booked in advance' and 'fast track' tickets and it was not at all clear which line to stand in. We were not offered any guide to the place, either free of paid for.

The entrance to the Aquarium is gloomy in the extreme and the whole place feels old and shabby and well in need of attention. Having been to one in Perth, Western Australia perhaps my expectations were a little high but this is the centre of London and as such should be top notch. I would have been mortified if I had come more than 60 miles for this.

Perhaps because this is popular with tourists notices should be in several languages. I saw a small German boy having a great time banging his hands in the water, despite a huge sign saying 'no splashing'. Nearly everyone was taking photos, again despite signs saying 'no flash photography'.

And finally, we were somewhat surprised that there was not one single cod or sea bass (two of our most common North Sea inhabitants) in the whole place.

Standing outside leaning on the wall watching life go by on the Thames and listening to Big Ben for free was worth the trip though.

Altogether a rather disappointing visit.

I have been to the aquarium several times and always enjoyed it. However this has mostly been with a two-for-one-deal (see railcard or oyster or newspapers for vouchers) as it is quite pricey-you probably won't spend more than 2 hours there.

I most recently went in February 2008 with my sister who has never been before and she loved it! We spent about 3 hours in there as we went to most of the feeding talks and it was really quiet so we could take our time at each tank. At L6 each with a valid Oyster card I feel this was good value.

The aquarium is split into different parts of the world, with a big tank housing sharks in the centre. Our favourite parts were the tropical reef and the amazon area.

I have seen people queuing for this attraction and I would really recommend that you don't do this! It isn't that big and as other reviewers have said it means queueing around the tanks once inside. I can imagine that would make the whole thing stressful especially if you have impatient children with you! Also as with everywhere in London take your own refreshments if you are on a budget-it soon adds up..