Aquarium Tropical du Palais de la Porte Dorée

The entire aquarium can be seen in less than 2 hours, so it can easily fit into a day of sightseeing or a visit to the Paris Zoological Park nearby. Highlights include a pair of rare albino alligators, while temporary exhibitions take on weighty subjects such as global warming and ocean conservation.

The building that houses the aquarium was built in 1931 by French architect Albert Laprade as part of the Paris Colonial Exposition. Its distinctive colonnaded façade resembles a classical Greek temple, with walls covered in bas-relief carvings of more than 250 figures and animals depicting life in the French colonies. Upstairs, a separate ticketed museum examines the story of immigration into France. Admission is included with the Paris Pass and other Paris attraction cards.