Updated for September 2026
The Best Aquariums in San Francisco
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 San Francisco that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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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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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.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 2 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.