New Orleans: Audubon Aquarium & Insectarium Ticket

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/11

Duration2h–3h

Mobile ticketAccepted

Walk Through a 30-Foot Reef Tunnel at New Orleans' Top-Ranked Aquarium

You get self-guided access to over 3,600 animals across the Audubon Aquarium's Caribbean, Amazon, and Gulf of Mexico galleries. Touch sharks in the discovery pool, walk through the 30-foot reef tunnel, and spend as much time as you want at each exhibit. Entry and all fees are included; you arrive on your own schedule and leave whenever you're done.

2h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans

Make your own way to aquarium
Explore Caribbean and Amazon exhibits
Touch sharks and stingrays
Walk through Great Maya Reef tunnel
Discover Amazon Rainforest gallery
View Gulf of Mexico habitat

The Experience

You step through the entrance of the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans and the whole place opens up around you — 3,600 animals from over 250 species spread across galleries that move from the Caribbean straight into the Amazon Rainforest, then down to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The aquarium's been voted one of the top five in the USA, and once you're inside, you understand why. It's self-guided, so you move at your own pace, which means you can spend five minutes at a tank or thirty, depending on what catches you.

The Shark Discovery Touch Pool is where most people stop first — you can actually touch sharks and stingrays, which sounds small until you're standing there with your hand in the water and something smooth glides past. After that, the 30-foot tunnel through the Great Maya Reef is the thing everyone remembers. You're walking through glass while creatures swim all around you, and the scale of it hits different than looking at a tank from the outside. The Amazon Rainforest gallery has free-flying birds, anacondas, piranhas, and enough green to make you forget you're in the middle of New Orleans. The largest exhibit — the 450,000-gallon Gulf of Mexico habitat — takes up a whole section, and it's the one that reminds you why this city exists where it does.

The aquarium sits right next to the French Quarter, so getting there is straightforward. You buy your ticket, you go in, and you stay as long as you want. There's no guide, no set schedule, no rushing through. Wheelchair access is available throughout, and if you're bringing kids, strollers work fine on the floors. Public transit is nearby if you need it, but most people walk from the Quarter or park close by.

What’s included

Your ticket covers entry to the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium, all fees and taxes included.
You explore at your own pace through galleries spanning the Caribbean, Amazon Rainforest, Mississippi River, and Gulf of Mexico, with access to the Shark Discovery Touch Pool and the 30-foot Great Maya Reef tunnel.
The facility is self-guided with no time limit on how long you stay.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Audubon Nature Institute Inc.

Is this one for you?Right for anyone who wants to see New Orleans' top-ranked aquarium without a guide or fixed schedule — you arrive when you want and spend as long as you need at each exhibit, which is what makes it work for families with different interests and paces.