The Largest Aquariums in the US, and Which Are Worth the Trip

Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the largest aquarium in the United States, with more than 11 million gallons of water and a 6.3-million-gallon whale shark habitat at its center. If sheer scale is what you are traveling for, build the trip around it. The other four giants each have a reason of their own, from the world's largest indoor marine mammal facility in Chicago to the aquarium that was first to exhibit a living kelp forest, in Monterey.

Which aquarium to choose

Measured by water, the order is clear. Georgia Aquarium holds more than 11 million gallons, Shedd 5 million, Monterey Bay 2.3 million and Baltimore's National Aquarium more than 2.2 million. One more name belongs in the ranking: Shedd is the fourth-largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, behind L'Oceanogràfic, Georgia Aquarium and The Seas at Epcot.

Size is only part of the decision, though. Here is what each of the five does best, and what has changed lately.

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta: the biggest

Georgia was the largest aquarium in the world from its 2005 opening until 2012, and it still ranks sixth in the world. Its headline is Ocean Voyager, a 6.3-million-gallon habitat that is the largest indoor aquatic habitat in the world. You watch its whale sharks and manta rays from a 100-foot underwater acrylic tunnel and one of the world's largest viewing windows. The aquarium was designed around that whale shark exhibit, which made it the first institution outside Asia to house the species.

The rest of the collection is just as big-ticket: beluga whales, California sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, sea otters and tiger sharks. Sharks! Predators of the Deep, opened in 2020, adds great hammerheads and sand tiger sharks in a 20-foot-deep tank, plus a wading pool where you walk with rays and zebra sharks. Two male belugas, Balor and Zephyr, arrived from the closed Marineland of Canada on August 13, 2026, and the aquarium now houses six belugas.

Featured location Georgia Aquarium Atlanta, United States AZAWAZAWAZA-WP Its seven principal galleries contain upwards of 11 million US gallons of water. Nothing larger existed between its opening in 2005 and 2012, the year S.E.A. Aquarium in Singapore and China's Chimelong Ocean Kingdom surpassed it. It remains sixth in the world by size and the biggest anywhere in the United States.

Shedd Aquarium, Chicago: the classic, mid-makeover

Shedd opened on May 30, 1930, and its 5 million gallons hold about 32,000 animals. Its Abbott Oceanarium is the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world, with Pacific white-sided dolphins, beluga whales, sea otters and California sea lions. In Wild Reef, the main draw is a 400,000-gallon shark tank behind 12-foot curved windows.

Shedd is changing fast. In 2026 it took in ten belugas from Marineland of Canada, nine of which were living at the aquarium after one died. Wonder of Water opened in December 2024. It sits on Chicago's Museum Campus with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum, so it folds easily into a museum day.

Featured location John G. Shedd Aquarium Chicago, United States WAZA Some 32,000 animals are held in five million US gallons of water at a site that first admitted visitors on 30 May 1930. It ranks among the oldest continuously operating American aquariums outside government hands. By size it comes fourth in the Western Hemisphere, behind The Seas at Epcot, the Georgia Aquarium and L'Oceanogràfic, and eleventh in the world.

Monterey Bay Aquarium: California's own coast

Monterey was the largest public aquarium in the US when it opened on October 20, 1984, and the first to exhibit a living kelp forest. Today it shows 35,000 animals of more than 550 species in 2.3 million gallons. The Kelp Forest exhibit stands 28 feet tall, the 1.2-million-gallon Open Sea is its largest tank, and rescued sea otters are the only marine mammals on display. Next up: Ocean in Motion / La Danza del Mar opens on November 7, 2026, with a coral reef, an expanded African penguin habitat and play areas for children.

Here the wild ocean is part of the visit. The Life on the Bay exhibit is a vantage point for spotting wildlife from sea otters to humpback whales, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a federal marine protected area off California's central coast designated in 1992, harbors at least 36 species of marine mammals and 525 species of fishes.

Featured location Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey, United States AZAWAZA The aquarium shows 35,000 animals of over 550 species in 2.3 million gallons of water. Its staff pioneered jellyfish husbandry and were the first to keep and display a great white shark.

National Aquarium, Baltimore: the easy city add-on

The National Aquarium sits on Pier 3 of Baltimore's Inner Harbor and holds more than 17,000 animals of over 750 species. It is Maryland's largest tourism attraction, with 1.5 million visitors a year. Its route takes in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest, a multi-story Atlantic Coral Reef, an open-ocean shark tank and Australia: Wild Extremes, which won the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' best exhibit award in 2008.

Its six Atlantic bottlenose dolphins live in Dolphin Discovery, where shows ended in 2012. If they are the reason you are going, check before you travel: as of late 2023, the aquarium planned to move them to a sanctuary in the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico by 2026.

Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach: the whole Pacific in a day

The Aquarium of the Pacific's three major permanent galleries take you through Southern California and Baja, the Northern Pacific and the Tropical Pacific.

Tickets and saving money

These prices were checked in September 2026. Georgia prices its fixed-date tickets by day.

• Georgia Aquarium: fixed-date tickets from $54.99, or $69.99 for an Anytime ticket with no date; children 2 and under need no ticket.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: $65 for adults aged 18-69, $50 for youths aged 5-17, free for ages 4 and under.
• National Aquarium: $49.95 for adults aged 21-69, $39.95 for youths aged 5-20, free for ages 4 and under.

Atlanta CityPASS saves up to 47% on five top Atlanta attractions used over nine days, and Georgia's combo ticket with the World of Coca-Cola costs $79.99, which the aquarium says saves over 20%. In Baltimore, Half-Price Friday Nights run year-round after 5 p.m. at $24.95, and Maryland residents save $10 on adult tickets before noon on weekdays. At Monterey, beware of third parties offering discounted tickets: its own website is the only place to buy legitimate ones.

Best time to visit

Go on a weekday if you can. Georgia gets crowded on weekends and holidays and suggests a weekday, early morning or later evening. The National Aquarium says weekends, holidays and peak hours sell out quickly and recommends non-holiday weekdays. Monterey is busiest in summer, on holidays and on weekends, and school groups generally visit until 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday during the school year.

The time of day matters too. Monterey is quietest one to two hours before closing, especially in fall and winter, and because many visitors arrive right at opening, entry can be quicker later in the day; last entry is one hour before closing. Georgia runs low-sensory hours every day until 10 a.m., with low lighting and minimal music.

Hours as of September 2026: Georgia is open 365 days a year, with entry ending half an hour before closing. The National Aquarium is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days and until 9 p.m. on Fridays, with last entry 60 minutes before closing. For Monterey, pack layers: the coast averages about 57°F year-round.

Getting there

• Georgia Aquarium: across from Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, a 10-15 minute walk from several MARTA rail stations; its parking deck costs $30 for non-members.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: about 125 miles south of San Francisco, with no public parking on site; between Memorial Day and Labor Day a free trolley stops outside every 10-15 minutes.
• National Aquarium: a stop on the free Charm City Circulator's Green route; partner garages charge a flat $18 for up to 24 hours.

With kids and accessibility

Strollers are the biggest practical difference. The National Aquarium doesn't allow them on the exhibit route and has limited space at its stroller check, and Georgia recommends leaving them at home. Monterey allows strollers and wagons everywhere except the aviary, the Sea Otters mezzanine and the Auditorium.

Georgia, Monterey and the National Aquarium all lend wheelchairs free, some against a photo ID or driver's license. In Baltimore, visitors with disabilities and their guests can enter 30 minutes early on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month.