Though owned by the University of Liège and housed in the university's neoclassical Zoological Institute, the Aquarium isn't a dry academic institution. Attractively presented underwater displays bring together 2,500 examples from 250 marine species. The exhibits cover a lot of ground -- or water -- in their 46 display tanks. Pride of place, for most younger visitors at any rate, goes to the 4,420-gallon shark tank. The Salle des Coraux (Coral Room) contains beautiful specimens collected from Australia's Great Barrier Reef by a university expedition in 1966 to 1967.

The ragged-looking Zoological Museum on the same premises has some 20,000 exhibits, including the skeleton of a 19m (62-ft.) whale. In its foyer is the mural La Genèse (Genesis; 1960) by Belgian artist Paul Delvaux, which depicts a kind of Garden of Eden scene, with smoke from volcanoes staining the skies of Creation.