Aquarium de Paris

The Aquarium de Paris sits in former limestone quarries beneath Trocadéro gardens, making it France's only underground aquarium. The centerpiece is that massive 3-million-liter shark tank with 37 sharks - you walk through a glass tunnel as sand tiger sharks and nurse sharks glide overhead. The Japanese koi section surprises everyone with fish the size of small dogs, and the jellyfish room has better lighting than most aquariums I've visited.

You enter through a modern glass pavilion, then descend into cool limestone corridors that feel genuinely underground. The layout flows logically from smaller tanks to the main shark tunnel, which takes about 5 minutes to walk through slowly. Kids love the touch pools with sturgeon - these prehistoric fish feel like sandpaper and can live over 100 years. The cinema shows decent nature documentaries, though they're only in French.

Honestly, it's solid but not spectacular - the shark tunnel impresses, but many tanks feel smaller than expected. Skip the overpriced café and eat before coming. The touch pools are the real winner with kids under 10. Adults without children might find it underwhelming compared to major aquariums elsewhere, but the underground setting is genuinely unique in Paris.