The innovative Istanbul Akvaryum, the world’s largest thematic aquarium, is home to 15,000 land and sea creatures on view in 16 intricately designed exhibits on different aquatic regions. Sections on the nearby Aegean and Marmara Seas ebb into exhibits on more distant waters, including the Red Sea, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Antarctic. Visitors can learn about local wildlife in the Bosphorus, admire models of Istanbul’s European and Asian shorelines or watch recently hatched guitar sharks in the Dardanelles section swim over a model of the Trojan Horse. An immersive Amazon rain forest exhibit showcases carnivorous piranhas, the petite caiman crocodile and the largest rodent in the world, the capybara, amidst live tropical plants.

Istanbul Akvaryum, Yeşilköy Halkalı Caddesi 93, Florya, +90 (0)212 444 9744