The Acuario Nacional is located on the waterfront in a suburb to the west of the old city. Founded in 1960, its main field of focus is research and environmental education, and one of its aims is to exhibit organisms of the tropical marine flora and fauna, in order to connect visitors with the main landscapes and ecosystems of the Cuban Archipelago.

This is a spectacular aquarium divided into four big sections: in "Isla Tropical" -Tropical Island-, there are turtles and pelicans surrounded by seashore vegetation; a second section, "Gruta Marina" -Sea Cave-, shows a cave with species that seek a refuge in shadows; a third one, "Manglar" -Mangrove-, shows the three types of this variety of tree in Cuba, the "manglar", growing in swamps; and the fourth one, "Siete Picos" -Seven Peaks- represents a panorama of the Cuban submarine landscape. There are also shows with dolphins and sea lions.