One could say with no exaggeration that Voronezh Aquarium is the pride of Russia. It was built in 2011 by Russian specialists without attracting any foreign capital. Building a huge aquarium far from the seas was a bold move which, apart from Voronezh, only two capital cities could afford – Moscow and Astana (Kazakhstan). In 2019, according to travelers, Voronezh Aquarium was recognized as the best in Russia. In Europe, it stands at 8th place, and 22nd in the world.
Map of Voronezh Aquarium
The Aquarium in Voronezh is a part of the City Grad shopping and entertainment center. The Aquarium complex was built by European standards with the preservation of Russian cultural and historical traditions. Here you can learn a lot of amazing things about life on our planet and get a lot of positive emotions. To do this, you just need to buy a ticket for the Aquarium and surrender to the charm of its inhabitants.
Over 4300 amphibians, mammals, river and sea fish live in aquariums, terrariums, aviaries of the complex. All of them are distributed over 4 climatic zones: “Forests and steppes”, “Polar waters”, “Jungle”, “Seas and oceans”, please see the plan of the Aquarium:
Please note, there is a strict ban on flash photography (punished by fine of 1000 rubles). Flash light can cause aggression in some animals. For example, a “yellow box” – a horned fish with sad eyes – at the moment of fright shoots out some poisonous mucus, deadly for the neighbors. If you want to get high-quality photos please use a professional camera that can take pictures without a flash.
1. Forests and Steppes
The content of the first exposition is the fauna of fresh water and flat territories – the steppe regions of Russia, the savannah of Africa, the prairies of America.
In a two-meter high aquarium, guests are greeted by fish-knives from Amazon river. They cleverly control the movement of a flexible body with a single wave-looking fin.
Further on display are enclosures with animals living along the banks of lowland rivers and lakes.
European river otter Nord – an inquisitive predator with a smart face. She swims and dives almost without respite, getting rocks from the bottom of the reservoir.
The raccoon is a native of North America, he has an inborn habit of rinsing in the water everything that falls into his paws, very similar to human palms.
Meerkats are the favorites of the exposition. These charming tiny animals come from South Africa. Impossible to see without emotion how they stretch quietly on a rack, lifting their muzzles with huge eyes upward – this way meerkats meet the sunrise. The inhabitants of Africa call them solar angels. A friendly family of meerkats lives in Voronezh Aquarium, it includes parents and 3 babies and the most daring of them is a female named Sun.
Next to the meerkats lives another graceful predator of the steppe regions of Africa – the serval, looking like a long-legged cat, or a spotted cheetah, or a formidable lynx.
The underwater world is represented by freshwater fish of impressive size – catfish and pike, sturgeons and carps, grass carp and bream. They live in three huge open aquariums. One of the aquariums with freshwater fish organically fits into the picturesque composition with a fishing hut and nets drying on the shore.
2. Polar Waters
The second zone of Aquarium is the Polar Waters. This is the habitat of fur seals, penguins, cold-water fish, octopuses and crabs.
The fur seal apartments are divided into two parts: a living compartment and a performance arena. Three artists in elegant fur tuxedos, Black, Zlata and Mira – regularly host a show called Catch the Wave. Of course they do: after all, they need to somehow pay off the feeding. The Black male, for example, weighs 168 kg and eats at least 7 kg of fish per day.
The “ice” blocks and icebergs are decorated with an aviary with Humboldt penguins, the inhabitants of Peru and Chile. 4-kilogram birds look quite natural in such an environment. Every day they demonstrate the “penguin effect”, familiar to many of people: no one dares to dive into the pond first. They are afraid not of cold water, but of predators who are waiting for the daredevil in natural conditions – sea lions and killer whales. There is no danger in their enclosure, but instinct cannot be overcome.
The restless waters of the wave aquarium move against the background of Far Eastern geysers and mountain rivers. This is the habitat of salmon and golden trout is the queen here. A distinctive feature of salmon is that they cannot live and breed in warm and murky waters.
In the center of the Polar Waters exposition there is an annular aquarium standing on ice stalactites. Swarms of silver fish swimming in a circle mesmerize with their beauty – especially if you watch them from inside of the ring.
Among the huge crabs, the deep-sea long-liver of the Sea of Japan called the spider crab, stands out. He lives up to 100 years, and the span of the first pair of his legs can be upto 4 meters!
The pride of the polar exposition and the entire aquarium is the giant Doflein octopus named Davy. While it weighs about 10 kg, having matured, it will grow up to 40-50 kg, and its meter-long tentacles will increase 3-5 times. Davy changes a form and color depending on his mood. Nice to watch him when he is in a good mood after a meal.
3. The Jungle
The zone of inhabitants of the rainforest opens an enclosure with charming and friendly animals. The Fenech desert fox and lemurs with luxurious striped tails get along well with each other. Of course, as Fenech is the prototype of the wise Fox, who taught the Little Prince the subtleties of human communication. In nature, the Fenechs remain faithful to their chosen ones for all their lives and even they are able to get along with adult cubs for a long time in the same hole. Will you agree, not all people can do it. The touching sight of a tiny creature with huge ears can melt the heart of the most inveterate misanthrope.
Lemurs are no less interesting animals. Their half-meter tails far exceed the length of the body and help them deftly jump from branch to branch. On earth, they do not feel so confident.
Employees of the aquarium are convinced, to be gloomy near the enclosure of Fenechs and lemurs is a real crime against your health.
A unique vulture tortoise is placed in one of the jungle aquaterrariums, with her powerful jaws and a carapace similar to crocodile skin. She gains weight and grows all her life; when she is old, her weight reaches 80-100 kg. Her relatives live outside up to 200 years, but in a cage the life of turtles is shorter.
Striped beauty, iguana lizard is in the company of a long-lived turtle.
A giant anaconda lives in the neighboring terrarium. Her eyes are located on the top of her head proving that the snake lives in the water. She dives into shelter at the first danger, and is able to stay at a depth for quite some time. They feed her only once a week with rodents, fish and chickens.
And feeding the crocodiles in the aquarium has become a real show called “Toothy Brothers.” Carnivorous predators lose their equanimity and demonstrate miracles of dexterity, trying to grab a piece of meat before their counterparts. The enclosure with caiman crocodiles has a beautiful design with waterfalls, rocks, a jungle that goes into the distance, a fishing boat broken by the rapid current.
Among the inhabitants of the aquariums of the Jungle exposition, piranha attracts special attention. These fish attack the victim in a flock and in a few minutes only bones remain from the victim. The gnawed skeleton of a cow at the bottom is a common occurrence in the Amazon river. Moving the herd to the other side, the shepherds are forced to leave one animal to be eaten by horrible predators in order to distract the piranha from the rest of the cows.
In the dry enclosures opposite the aquariums live macaques, monkeys, crested mangobeys, the favorites of the public.
4. Seas and Oceans
The largest exposition of the aquarium displays the fauna of tropical seas and oceans: sharks and stingrays, moray eels and exotic fish ply in a giant pool around a sunken ship. The richest collection of the exposition is sharks: 10 species are represented here.
Sand tiger sharks are considered unique and expensive. These are the most frightening marine predators: they start their natural selection already in the womb, where the most carnivorous devour their brothers and sisters. Swallowing everything that falls into the mouth, tiger sharks do not worry about their teeth: a damaged tooth is spitten out and a new one grows in its place just in a day – to the envy of the whole human race!
The shark-nanny named Manyunya is the one and only in the aquarium. She shows a gentle confidence in divers who descend into the aquarium to feed the inhabitants. A white waltz and a nose stand are the most delightful tricks of this artist. It is only necessary to imagine: a predator 2.5 m tall and weighing 110 kg, standing on its bow, balances in the palm of a diver!
The shark feeding show is the most exciting sight in the Voronezh Aquarium.
No less interesting and dangerous exhibits live in other aquariums here.
Long-nosed bat (monkfish) – a fish that can walk but can not swim. Sitting in an ambush, she releases a smell attracting the victim and devours it.
Stonefish is the most poisonous in the world. The poison is contained in the needles of the fins, the injection of which kills a person in 2 hours. Without water, she can live the whole day. But the Japanese learned to cook sushi from this fish.
Lionfish is a fish in a luxurious “plumage”, however an injection of this beauty causes respiratory paralysis, and she herself is ready to eat everyone who is smaller than her.
Moray eels are creepy but beautiful snake-like predators, ready to swallow everything that, inadvertently, swims nearby.
Voronezh Aquarium ticket pricing
The price of admission to the Voronezh Aquarium depends on the age of the guests and time of visit. When buying a ticket, those who are entitled to discounts must present the appropriate document: birth certificate, student ID card, pension certificate, disability document, award certificate. The price of the entrance ticket includes watching the exhibits, viewing the show and all the feedings that will be made during the visit.
Categories of visitors. Price on weekdays (rub.) Price on weekends (rub.)
Children under 4 years old Free
Adults 550 650
Children 4-7 years old 250 350
Pupils and students, seniors 450 550
Heroes of Russia, war veterans, disabled people of groups I and II 200 350
Birthdays (3 days before / after the date of birth) 15% discount on the price of the price
Anniversaries Discount 20%
Large families Save 30%
Excursions for groups of 15 people. 1500
Full-day visit * plus 100 rubles. to a full ticket, plus 50 rubles. to a discount ticket
Taking pictures (no flash!) 150
Video Recording 500
| Categories of visitors | Price on weekdays (rub) | Price on weekends (rub) |
| Children under 4 years old | Free | |
| Adults | 550 | 650 |
| Children 4-7 years old | 250 | 350 |
| Students, seniors | 450 | 550 |
| Heroes of Russia, war veterans, disabled people of groups I and II | 200 | 350 |
| Birthdays (3 days before / after the date of birth) | 15% discount | |
| Anniversaries | 20% discount | |
| Large families | 30% discount | |
| Excursions for groups of 15 people | 1500 | |
| Посещение на целый день* | plus 100 rub to a full ticket, plus 50 rub to a discount ticket | |
| Taking pictures (no flash!) | 150 | |
| Video Recording | 500 | |
*allows you to leave the Aquarium’s expositions and then return to the tour again.
Schedule
The Aquarium is open to visitors daily. The general schedule is easy to remember:
- Monday – from 14:00 to 21:00
- Tuesday – Sunday – from 10:00 to 21:00.
Ticket offices finish work half an hour before closing, but this time is not enough for the tour so it’s better not to spend money at all. A minimum of 2 hours is required to examine the expositions of the Aquarium. Animal feedings are regularly held here:
- feeding sharks – daily, except Monday at 18:00;
- feeding crocodiles – on Saturdays at 16:00;
- feeding penguins – on Mondays at 18:00;
On Sundays and holidays, you can see the feeding of other animals. Traditionally, special show programs are these:
- “The Secret of the Golden Ship” – performance with sharks;
- “Living Tale” – a family tour “;
- “Catch the wave” – an attraction with fur seals, etc.
The schedule of events and the working hours of the expositions, as well as current news, can be found on the official website of the Voronezh Aquarium. For information call 8 800 7007 800
How to get here
The Aquarium is located 20 km North from the city center. The address is City Park Grad, st. Park 3, pos. Solnechny, Ramonsky district, Voronezh region
Public buses serve from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. every 10-15 minutes:
- No. 64 – from Voronezh State University (travel time 52 minutes);
- No. 34 – from VASO (Left Bank, travel time 1 hour 17 minutes);
- №84 – from the street Khulzunova (microdistrict Severny, travel time 39 minutes).
Also, you can use minibuses (marshrutka): No. 111a, 366, A3, A49, A5, A70. From minibus stop you will have to walk another 700 meters by foot.
By car, you need to drive along Moskovsky Prospekt just 3 km in Moscow directions and park at the free parking by City Park shopping center. Travel time from the main building of the Voronezh State University in the city center is only 20 minutes.
From Moscow, by M-4 highway from the junction to Voronezh, you need to drive only 6.5 km, then turn to the Grad City Park. A detailed location map can be found on the official website.
Hotels nearby
- Boutique hotel Vetryakov 4 * – the closest hotel facility to Grad, located in the village. Sunny – to retail outlets and entertainment complexes – 5-10 minutes walk. The interior and service are at the level of European standards. Room prices – from 4800 rubles.
View prices for the hotel “Vetryakov” - Mini-hotel Almaz in the Yamnoe village is a more affordable option for relaxation, the rooms here are from 2500 rubles per day, and a bed in a dormitory room will cost 500 rubles. There is a bathroom, toilet, kitchen utensils, Wi-Fi and free parking. City Park is 2.5-3 km away.
View prices for mini-hotel “Almaz” - Hotel “Sweden” in Podgorny –13 km from the center of Voronezh, 5 km from Grad. Rooms from 1700 rubles., With a standard decor and soundproofing. Near the hotel there is a cafe.
View “Sweden” hotel prices - Amaks Park Hotel 3 * – is located in the green zone of the park on Moskovsky Prospekt, near the exit from Voronezh. Bright modern rooms (from 2080 rubles), a private spa, restaurant, free parking, Wi-Fi.
View Amax Park Hotel prices - Hotel Yar 5 * – is located on the M-4 highway north of the junction on Voronezh. The elegant hotel complex has a 24-hour spa, a restaurant serving European and Russian cuisine, a sushi bar. Room rates – from 6000 rubles.
View prices for hotel “Yar”
No matter where you come to the Aquarium from, watchingh the inhabitants of Voronezh Aquarium will perhaps awaken in you a long-forgotten feeling of joy and peace.
If you have already paid a visit here, please share your impressions below!
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