IF YOU’VE EVER OWNED A PERSONAL AQUARIUM, you know how hard it can be to maintain. You’ve got to keep the water clean, you’ve got to make sure it has the right level of saltiness, and you need to ensure the fish you put into it won’t eat each other. I once made the mistake of putting a goldfish into a tank with a Siamese fighting fish (also known as a betta). When I woke up the next morning, the betta was gone, and my goldfish was incredibly fat. Even if the pet-store clerk hadn’t led me astray, it was not the outcome I would have expected for that fight.
So naturally, it’s infinitely more impressive when major aquariums put together million-gallon tanks with thousands of fish and hundreds of different species. It’s a feat of planning we typically don’t recognize, beyond looking at the fish and saying, “Oooh, that’s pretty!”
And with our oceans in the state they are, these aquariums are often hubs for research and conservation projects, spearheading the movements to save our seas — while others may be mistreating their animals or obtaining them through sketchy means. The list below includes both.
1
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California does a huge amount of marine research, and was the first aquarium to successfully keep a great white shark in captivity. It's also one of the few places where you can see an ocean sunfish. Photo: Angelo De Santis
2
Hotel Atlantis Dubai
The Hotel Atlantis in Dubai offers these "underwater" rooms built right up against huge aquarium tanks. It’s a cool view, but I’d be terrified of it breaking in my sleep... Photo: Werner Bayer
3
Okinawa Churaumi
The Kuroshio Sea is the main tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. It held the record of the world’s largest tank when it opened in 2002, but has since been surpassed by the Georgia Aquarium.
Photo: Sonotoki
The New England Aquarium in Boston also doubles as a whale watching spot because
of its location near the harbor, and many of its staff participate in marine animal rescue operations.
Photo: Theresa
5
L'Oceanogràfic
L'Oceanogràfic is in Valencia, Spain, and has a total capacity of up to 11 million gallons of water in all of its tanks. It also happens to be a particularly beautiful building.
Photo: Nickolay Pirogov
6
Aquarium of Genoa
The Aquarium of Genoa is the largest in Italy, and has a number of different marine habitats, including North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Ligurian Sea tanks.
Photo: Castgen
7
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom
The Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin, China, broke five world records—including largest aquarium—when it opened earlier this year. Unfortunately, it’s come under a lot of criticism for its methods of obtaining the animals. Photo: Sina
8
Deep Aquarium
The Deep is an aquarium in Hull, England, that is the world’s only “submarium.” It also functions as a charity and a research center, and happens to be pretty beautiful from the outside as well. Photo: Adrian S Jones
9
AquaDom Berlin
The AquaDom is a cylindrical, 25-meter-tall aquarium in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin. Inside the cylinder is a glass elevator.
Photo: Jamie Mead
Probably the most (in)famous aquarium in the world, SeaWorld is known for its shows with marine animals, particularly killer whales. It came under a ton of criticism for its treatment of those whales recently, thanks to the documentary Blackfish. Photo: Chris A
11
Hilton Maldives Undersea Restaurant
The Hilton in the Maldives has both underwater suites and an underwater restaurant. The Maldives is actually at risk of sinking into the sea, due to climate change and sea level rise, so this might be the way the whole country is going. Photo: Christian Jensen
12
uShaka Marine World
The uShaka Marine World in Durban, South Africa, is the largest aquarium on the African continent. It’s also connected to a water park and has SeaWorld-like shows. Photo: Cat
13
The aquarium bed
Okay, so it’s not the largest by any measure, but I would’ve killed as a five-year-old to fall asleep with fish swimming over my head. And the sound of the aquarium must be insanely soothing. Photo: Wicker Paradise
14
TurkuaZoo
The TurkuaZoo in Istanbul, Turkey, has the largest aquarium in Europe. It also allows visitors to go diving with sharks. Photo: Pixage
15
Shedd Aquarium
The Shedd Aquarium has been in Chicago since 1930, and for a long time it was the largest aquarium in the world, though it has since been dwarfed by a lot of these other spots. Photo: Smart Destinations
16
Georgia Aquarium
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta was the largest in the world when it opened in 2005, and it remains the largest in the United States. It's home to 500 different species and holds a total of 10 million gallons of water. Photo: Melvin "Buddy" Baker
17
Newport Aquarium
The Newport Aquarium in Northern Kentucky is probably best known for its shark petting exhibits. Photo: Ken Colwell
18
Dubai Mall Aquarium
The largest mall in the world also has one of the largest aquariums in the world—the Dubai Mall Aquarium has a single tank with 33,000 animals in it. Photo: Salis
19
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium has one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world, and is located right next to the Oriental Pearl skyscraper in Pudong. Photo: Aapo Haapanen
20
National Aquarium Baltimore
The beautiful National Aquarium in Baltimore Harbor is technically partnered with the National Aquarium in Washington DC, but Baltimore’s aquarium is significantly cooler. It’s home to 750 species and can hold 2.2 million gallons of water.
Photo: Jeff Kubina
