Aquário de Porto Pim

On the bay of Porto Pim, in Horta, the old whale factory of the Azores now keeps an aquarium: the Aquário de Porto Pim, where the marine life of the archipelago swims in the tanks of the historic building. Around the bay — one of the most beautiful of the Atlantic — the story of the whales and of the people who hunted them is part of the memory of the island of Faial.

The aquarium

The aquarium was installed in the old factory of Porto Pim, on the beach of the same name, and shows the species of the seas of the Azores — fish of the coast and of the open ocean, in the tanks of the building that once worked the whales. The visit joins the living marine world and the history of the bay, run with the institutions of the island, and the Observatório do Mar dos Açores keeps there its work of study and interpretation of the sea of the archipelago.

What to see

• The marine species of the Azores, in the tanks of the old factory.
• The history of the whale factory and of the bay of Porto Pim.
• The beach and the bay of Porto Pim around the aquarium.
• The work of study and interpretation of the sea of the Azores.

Visiting

The aquarium is on the bay of Porto Pim, a short walk from the centre of Horta, on the island of Faial; the times and tickets are published with the official information of the island. The beach of Porto Pim and the paths of Monte da Guia around it complete the visit.

Nearby

The town of Horta and its Museu da Horta are the natural complements of a day on the bay.

Information: cmhorta.pt.

Image credit: The bay of Porto Pim, by José Luís Avila Silveira, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.