07 April 2008

Musée Oceanographique - 3


It wasn't until yesterday that I realised you could get a shot of the Oceanographic Museum from this angle. Just shows what you discover if you let your feet wander. I walked up steps and then way along the far end of Fontvieille port, hoping for a better shot of the Cathedral which is to the left of this building - and suddenly there, before me, was the museum. We'll see the cathedral another time. We are looking up at le Rocher, where you also find the Prince's Palace.

I've written about this amazing museum before but it bears mentioning again. Founded by Prince Albert 1, it was inaugurated in 1910. It's a museum of marine sciences and not to be missed when visiting Monaco. The building rises majestically from the sea to a height of 279 feet and took 11 years to build, using 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie, a village high above Monte Carlo. Part of the museum is dedicated to Albert 1, who was a major navigator. Here you'll find his laboratory ships and collections of marine fauna including a skeleton from a 66-foot whale.

The famous Jacques Cousteau was director of the museum for many years.

In the basement, you will find the world-famous aquarium with its extraordinary show of marine flora and fauna. With 4,000 species of fish and over 200 families of invertebrates, the aquarium is now an authority on the presentation of the Mediterranean and tropical marine ecosystem.

And the winner is...for the result of The Great Monte Carlo Swimming Pool Quiz please click on the link.

10 comments:

Kris McCracken said...

That is such a lovely picture. Thanks very much for sharing it.

I'd love to see that building up closer!

Bergson said...

whaou!! une photo qui nous réchauffe

Jim Klenke said...

Wow, the building looks like its built into the rock and teetering on falling over. Its very beautiful and a great picture.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Brilliant blue sea. Lovely photograph, and again, I learnt something along the way.

isa said...

66-foot whale! That's longer than most houses in the US!
Was the museum built that close to the edge originally, or was there some rock erosion over the years?

Ming the Merciless said...

Oh wow! That is an amazing photo. It looks like mythical castle from the fairy tales.

Clueless in Boston said...

What a beautiful building and setting. I'm glad you took a walk to get a picture of the cathedral and got this picture. I think that is called serendipity.

Jill said...

Interesting, beautiful building. Thanks for this great shot.

Anonymous said...

It is a very beautiful building. 11 years to build it seems amazing to us in this day and age when buildings go up so rapidly. But then again, modern buildings with precast elements don't have the level of skill that it must have taken the stonecutters to achieve this splendour.
As for the fish. I have to say that apart from eating it, I'm not a fish person but the 4,000 species amazed me. I should have realised that there would be quite a few but never imagined that there would be this many.
Great photo, Jilly and I'm looking forward to seeing that Cathedral photo.

Kitty said...

what a stunning photograph?!
There must be such a view from inside. Wow!

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