The National Aquarium in Baltimore in Baltimore is one of the world's leading aquatic facilities, home to more than 10,500 specimens and 560 species of animals. Baltimore City's most-visited tourist attraction, the Aquarium was recently ranked as the nation's 18th top-rated attraction in a Zagat Survey for its appeal to both adults and children and the quality of visitor service.

The Aquarium opened in 1981, the anchor to the revitalization of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Through live exhibits, innovative habitat restoration projects, and quality educational programming, the Aquarium educates 1.6 million visitors annually about the fragility of the world's aquatic ecosystems.

In 2003, the Baltimore attraction broke ground on a 65,400-foot expansion that poises the facility to become the first of the next generation of Aquariums. Outside of the current buildings, visitors can expect to see towering rock cliffs emerging from within a crystal glass pavilion. The future home of immersive exhibits will lead visitors on a journey across the state of Maryland, through the Chesapeake Bay watershed and around the world to Australia – a land of flood, fire, and famine.

Hours vary from season to season and on holidays. The Aquarium is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

Adults, $21.95,
Children, ages 3 to 11, $12.95,
Adults, 60 years and older, $20.95
Children under 3, admitted free