The Sea Life Centre in London, also known as the London Aquarium, is a marine creature aquarium. The London Sea Life is one of the largest and best-known aquariums in the UK, even if it isn’t the biggest Sea Life Centre in the country - that would be Sea Life Brighton. As such, it makes for an excellent family-friendly activity, especially for nature and animal lovers.

The London Sea Life is a rather large establishment, home to 500 species and 14 themed zones. The total volume of its tanks amounts to more than 2,000,000 litres. Considering all there is to see at the aquarium and all the dedicated activities, we recommend you prepare to spend at least 1.5 hours inside Sea Life.

Among the species found in the Sea Life London Centre, some popular favourites are the gentoo penguins, the sharks, whales, and dolphins, the Cuban crocodiles, the piranhas, and the jellyfish. The areas inside the aquarium include the following.

• Atlantic Coasts area: where you can see sand eels and octopuses.
• Shark Walk: a glass-floored corridor where you can see sharks swimming beneath you.
• Ray Lagoon.
• Ocean Tunnel: a glass tunnel that allows visitors to look at the fish and sea turtles swimming above their heads.
• Open Oceans area: where you can see grey whales, purple tangs, triggerfish, and other tropical fish.
• Shipwreck area: where you will see several species of sharks.
• Coral Kingdom: this area constitutes the UK’s largest living coral reef.
• Seahorse Kingdom: here you’ll enjoy hundreds of seahorses, seadragons, and pipefish.
• Rainforest Adventure: an area dedicated to the tropical rainforest river life.
• Rockpool Explorer: where visitors can interact with starfish and sea anemones.
• Polar Adventure: where you can see gentoo penguins up close.
• Shark Reef Encounter.
• Ocean Invaders: three interactive zones all dedicated to jellyfish.
• Conservation Cove: where visitors learn about the threats to marine life and what is being done to preserve it.

Location

Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7PB.

The Sea Life London Aquarium is located in one of the busiest areas of London, the Waterloo district, where many other important sights are. The closest is the London Eye, in front of which, on the other side of the River Thames, you can see Westminster Palace and the Big Ben tower. Just behind them is also Westminster Abbey.

Sea Life Tickets

Sea Life London Aquarium tickets can be bought either online on the official website or in person on the day. However, buying them online almost always guarantees lower prices. Prices for an adult timed ticket cost between £29.50 (in advance online) and £35.00 (if bought in person).

There are discounts available for young visitors. If you want to purchase your tickets in advance but are not sure about the time you’ll be able to go, you can buy Anytime Entries for £43.00

The Sea Life London Aquarium is also included in the London Pass (free entries for all pass owners) and the 2FOR1 offers, which give you two tickets at the price of one.

Sea Life Opening Times

The Sea Life London Aquarium’s opening hours vary greatly depending on the season, day of the week, and holidays. The longest opening hours go from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm and the shortest go from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The aquarium is normally open every day of the week.

The best time to visit the Sea Life Aquarium is during the week and on working days, when fewer people are visiting the aquarium. In the summer, there are generally more visitors, so we recommend going as early in the morning as you can.

To make sure you have the correct aquarium schedule for the day of your visit, we suggest checking the updated opening times on the London Sea Life website .

Transport

The Sea Life Centre in London is extremely well-connect thanks to its central location. If you are taking the Tube, you can take the Bakerloo, the Jubilee, the Northern, or the Waterloo and City line. The stops you can use are Waterloo, just northeast of the aquarium, or Westminster, on the other side of the bridge.

If taking the bus, lines 12, 148, 159, 211, 381, 453, and 734 all drop you off in front of Sea Life.

You can find a summary of the public transport options in the table below.

You can also decide to go by taxi, but we advise against it since public transport is much more time and cost-efficient than private transport in Central London.

Nearby sights

London Eye - 190 m (0.1 miles) north, 2-minute walk.

Big Ben - 400 m (0.3 miles) west, 5-min walk just across the river.

Westminster Palace - 700 m (0.4 miles) southwest, 9-minute walk across the river.

Westminster Abbey - 750 m (0.5 miles) southwest, 10-minute walk.

St James’s Park - 750 m (0.5 miles) west, 11-minute walk.