The underwater world
Lisbon's Oceanarium is one of the world's largest
aquariums. Designed by American architect Peter Chermeyeff, it rises from the river and is reached by a footbridge.
It is a deep-sea diving experience without any of the risks, with about
25,000 fish, seabirds, and mammals in an enormous central tank that is the size of
four Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Visitors can look into it from different
levels for close-ups of the various creatures, including different species
of sharks.
But it's the design rather than the size that makes it outstanding.
It
is the first aquarium ever to incorporate world ocean habitats within a
single environment, with impressive recreations of various ocean ecosystems
-- the Antarctic tank containing penguins, and the Pacific tank with otters
playing in rock pools.
They are all separated from the main tank by
invisible acrylic walls, giving the impression that all the creatures are
swimming in the same space.
There are also high-tech multilingual
interactive displays explaining the development of ocean life.
Oriente
Station - A stunning modern station.
Portugal
Pavillion - A gravity-defying structure.
Atlantic
Pavillion - A UFO-like arena.
Interactive
Science Museum - Scientific exhibits with cutting-edge technology.
Vasco
da Gama Tower - The city's tallest building with a panoramic viewing platform.
Vasco
da Gama Bridge - One of the world's longest bridges.
