ESTRAN Cité de la Mer
About ESTRAN Cité de la Mer
ESTRAN Cité de la Mer is a maritime museum and aquarium in Dieppe, offering 1,600 m² of interactive exhibitions about the sea and Norman coastline. The museum showcases shipbuilding techniques, traditional fishing methods, marine ecosystems of the English Channel, and coastal geology including cliff formation and pebble beaches. Highlights include large aquarium tanks with local species like cod, sea bass, rays, and dogfish, where visitors can even touch stingrays in interactive pools. Daily fish feeding demonstrations take place at 10:30 AM on weekdays. Founded in 1987 and opened to the public in 1993 with French oceanographer Anita Conti as godmother, this is the only aquarium in Seine-Maritime dedicated to Channel marine life. The museum holds the Tourism & Handicap label for all four disability categories, making it fully accessible to all visitors.
Interesting Facts
The museum's name ESTRAN is an acronym for "Espace Scientifique et Technique des Ressources Aquatiques et de la Navigation" (Scientific and Technical Space for Aquatic Resources and Navigation), but it also cleverly refers to the French word "estran" meaning the intertidal zone - the coastal area between high and low tide marks.
With approximately 40,000 visitors annually, ESTRAN Cité de la Mer ranks as the 5th most visited museum site in the entire Seine-Maritime department. Beyond tourism, the museum runs social and professional integration programs, helping unemployed individuals gain skills while contributing to coastal environmental protection and education.
Planning Your Visit
Opening Hours
Ticket Prices
General Admission
RecommendedLocation & Practical Info
Address
37 rue de l'Asile Thomas, 76200 Dieppe, France
Day Routes
Explore all day routesThese carefully curated day itineraries include this attraction and show you exactly how to plan your visit, including transport, timing, and what else to see nearby.
Want to visit this attraction? These routes show you how to get here and what to combine it with.
Multi-day Itineraries
View complete itinerariesPlanning a longer trip? These multi-day itineraries incorporate this attraction into complete travel experiences with accommodation, transport, and daily schedules.
This attraction is featured in comprehensive multi-day trips with full logistics included.
