Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Cannes Chronicles IV - Marineland

If you're travelling with children to the French Riviera, then Marineland in Antibes is a must go. I hadn't even planned on going there until X mentioned it one night in Cannes so off we went. This place, by the way, was where Angeline Jolie brought her kids last year & coincidentally we were in Nice as well & thought of dropping by to see Ange & Brad but decided otherwise cos she probably needs her rest to get ready to deliver her twins.

Anyway, taking a train there is a breeze. From Cannes to Biot station (not Antibes) is about 20 mins & then it's another 5 mins on foot to the park. Marineland actually consists of 4 parks - Marineland, Aquasplash, Far West Farm & Adventure Golf. I wasn't interested in going to the Farm (cos we have that here) nor the Mini Golf so it was just to Marineland & Aquasplash.



After several days of swimming in the sea, it was actually a nice change to swim in the pool (yeah no sand !). There are, of course, all sorts of water slides, wave pools & lots of screaming kids running around. Which is not surprising that The Girl decided to stay near the kiddie slides. She wasn't too keen on getting herself splashed & was quite happy playing in the kiddie area. I think X was the one who had the most fun trying out all the different slides.





That's the kiddie slide.
It looks deserted only because I took this
in the morning before the crowd arrived.




But the main attraction has to be Marineland. If you timed it well enough, you can actually go from watching the seals perform to the Dolphin show then followed by the killer whales back to back. We started with the dolphins & really enjoyed the show, well who wouldn't cos they just charm the socks off you. Even then, I was just blown away by the next show. It is mesmerising to watch these magnificent creatures. The tank is huge with a panoramic glass wall so you can see the action both above & under water. Awesome !!

I'm trying something new here so I hope this works. Click on the slideshow to see more pictures.






There is a shark tunnel where you get to watch sharks & manta rays swim all around you.



A touch pool where you are encouraged to dip your hands in to caress the rays & skates. We really enjoyed that.





And for those who may not know this, this little creature is my favorite animal.



It's funny how ALL the children, regardless of nationality or race, shrieked Nemo when they came to this tank.



Seeing this reminded me that we had to head back to Cannes to meet some friends for sushi dinner which nicely leads to the next post - my favorite restaurant in Cannes.
BTW You do know what this is, don't you ?


3 comments:

Edith said...

Sure looks like a paradise! Wish we were there too. :)

Tsu Lin + + said...

Lovely! I have been planning to bring my daughter to the London Zoo and the London Aquarium for a long time. It's time. I thought she might quite enjoy it too.

The last one : Fugu?

petite fleur said...

She might be too young still to appreciate the zoo & aquarium but it doesn't hurt to expose her now.

Sea urchin.