Lost Chambers Aquarium

The Lost Chambers is built on a conceit that works far better than it should: the aquarium is presented as the excavated ruins of Atlantis, and you move through flooded chambers, tunnels and passageways rather than past a row of tanks. Around 65,000 marine animals live in it.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The Ambassador Lagoon

The centrepiece — an enormous habitat holding millions of litres of water, viewed through windows several metres high. Rays, sharks and huge groupers pass close enough to change the scale of the room. People sit here far longer than they plan to.

The chambers

Themed halls trace the "ruins", each with different species and lighting: jellyfish galleries, seahorses, moray eels, piranha and lionfish among them. The theming is genuinely atmospheric rather than superficial.

Touch tanks and talks

Supervised touch pools let you handle starfish and other safe species, and marine-life talks run through the day — a good draw for families.

GOOD TO KNOW

Allow one to two hours. It is entirely indoors and air-conditioned, which makes it a dependable choice in peak summer or during the hottest part of the afternoon.

The aquarium sits inside Atlantis The Palm, so it combines easily with Aquaventure Waterpark on the same resort. For the city's other big aquarium, Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo sits inside The Dubai Mall. For the view over the island, see The View at The Palm, or browse more Dubai attractions.