Travel+Leisure’s recent tally of the nation’s top places to see sea life and learn about everything from sharks to jellies was topped by a familiar California name, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Are we surprised? Nope — just gratified. Since the day this gorgeous marine life center opened in 1984, its exhibits and conservation efforts have wowed crowds of kids and grown-ups alike, who flock to gawk at the 28-foot tall Kelp Forest, the adorable otters and mesmerizing jellies.
A sea otter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Calif., on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. The aquarium’s otter program is responsible for reestablishing much of Northern California’s critically endangered Southern Sea Otter population. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
It’s one of three West Coast aquariums to get a nod. The Seattle Aquarium on Elliott Bay, where a new Ocean Pavilion will make its debut on Aug. 29, took the No. 6 spot. That Pavilion, by the way, showcases a reef ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific’s Coral Triangle that’s home to so many different types of sea life, it’s been called the Amazon of the ocean. (That’s a reference to the South American rainforest, not Jeff Bezos. Or so we hope.)
The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport was named No. 10, thanks to not only its current exhibits, but the Jelly Gallery opening this fall, a new mangrove exhibit and soon, the Sees-Ha Xwee-Nish Marine Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
Here’s the T+L list. Read more about these aquariums and find more travel inspiration at https://www.travelandleisure.com.
10 Best Aquariums in the U.S.
1 Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey
2 New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts
3 Audubon Aquarium, New Orleans
4 Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois
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5 Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia
6 Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, Washington
7 New York Aquarium, Brooklyn, New York
8 National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland
9 Alaska Sealife Center, Seward, Alaska
10 Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon
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