Updated for September 2026
The Best Aquariums in California
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every aquarium in California that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Parking
Aquarium of the Bay
Aquarium in San Francisco
The collection concentrates on species of the local bay and of the connected rivers and watersheds reaching up to the Sierra. It is one of seven bodies under its parent, Bay Ecotarium, and is both a Smithsonian Affiliate and a city-certified Green Business.
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Animal feeding experienceOn-site diningParking
Aquarium of the Pacific
Aquarium in Long Beach
It opened on 20 June 1998 and recorded 1.7 million visitors in 2018. It faces the convention centre, Shoreline Village and the Queen Mary across the water, and has a street named Aquarium Way.
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Keeper talk or showOvernight stayGuided tour
Steinhart Aquarium
Aquarium in San Francisco
Steinhart Aquarium, opened in 1923, is an aquarium in San Francisco, United States.
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Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Zoo & Aquarium in San Pedro
The programmes and displays cover the oceanography and marine biology of Southern California.
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Overnight stayGuided tourOn-site dining
California Academy of Sciences
Aquarium in San Francisco
Its origins lie in a learned society of 1853, and it was rebuilt from scratch in 2008. The main building, in Golden Gate Park, covers 400,000 square feet.
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Aquarium in Monterey
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.
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ParkingMobility equipment loanImmersive media attraction
Heal the Bay Aquarium
Zoo & Aquarium in Santa Monica
It was previously called the Ocean Discovery Center and was run by UCLA up to 2003. It now serves as Heal the Bay's site for marine education, advocacy and community science, with programming centred on marine conservation, pollution prevention and environmental education. Over 100,000 visitors come each year, about 15,000 of them students.
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Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Aquarium in La Jolla
Birch Aquarium at Scripps is an aquarium in La Jolla, United States.
Aquariums nearby
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 8 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.