A Bustling Southern City Is Home To The Largest Aquarium In America

Terminus. The big peach. A-town. Atlanta goes by many names and is a diverse, vibrant Southern city known for its pivotal role in the Civil Rights movement and as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. It's famous today for its thriving culinary scene and hip markets, eclectic graffiti art, and sprawling, 200-plus-acre greenspace, Piedmont Park. Atlanta is also known as being home to the only World of Coca-Cola; the world's largest drive-in restaurant, The Varsity; and the busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The superlatives don't stop there for Atlanta. Another surprising stat this charming city can add to the resume? Atlanta is home to the largest aquarium in the United States. It's also the biggest aquarium in the entire western hemisphere, for that matter. The Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005, holds a whopping 11 million gallons of water — of which almost 99% is recycled — and houses over 500 species of marine life. To some, it might be an odd yet welcome sight to see all of that "ocean" in Atlanta. Plus, the aquarium boasts some species that you can't see anywhere else in the continental U.S.

There are only a few places in the world where you can see whale sharks up-close in captivity. Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China are two aquariums in Asia where the giant filter-feeders swim behind glass, but the Georgia Aquarium is the only attraction in the western hemisphere that has them in captivity. The whale shark is an extremely large mammal, known as the largest shark (and fish) in the sea, and averages between 18 and 32 feet in length. Its mouth is massive, stretching to over 4 feet wide. A whale shark's diet mostly consists of zooplankton, like fish eggs and krill, and small fish.

If you love these enormous, spotted sharks, head straight to the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager exhibit. Almost half of the aquarium's water is centralized in this tank, which is large enough to fit several boats. The creatures joined the Georgia Aquarium roster after being rescued from the Taiwanese fish trade — they would otherwise have been butchered for food. 

If marveling at these gentle aquatic giants sounds great but you'd rather get more up close and personal, you're in luck. The Georgia Aquarium is the only place where you can safely SCUBA dive with, and are guaranteed to see, whale sharks, manta rays, and thousands of other fish — all without needing to take a boat out to sea. The SCUBA experience lasts 30 minutes, though you'll also spend two hours out of the water learning about the Ocean Voyager tank and going over safety rules. The whole experience will run you just under $400per person and is only available to Open Water SCUBA-certified divers. Normally you can only see these animals if you dive in the Caribbean!

While the enormous whale shark and beautiful manta rays certainly catch the average visitor's eye, the Georgia Aquarium has plenty more aquatic animals worth swooning over. For starters, there are the waddling, tuxedo-clad African penguins, which paint art that you can purchase. And then there's the perpetually smiling beluga whale, the barking California sea lion (which even performs live), the cuddly southern sea otter, the indomitable goliath grouper, the stealthy electric eel, and the plenty of familiar faces from the Disney classic, "Finding Nemo." That variety consistently nabs the Georgia Aquarium at the top of lists of the best aquariums in America.

Entry to the aquarium costs $65 per adult for any day, any time admission, but plan-and-save tickets can start as low as $40 per person. Children age 2 and under are free. The aquarium is open 365 days a year starting at 9 a.m. And if you're the type to build your trips around animal admiration, make sure to stop at Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park, the only zoo in the country where you can currently spot giant pandas. The zoo currently houses four of the adorable, black-and-white spotted bears and is open nearly every day (except Thanksgiving and Christmas). Consider buying the CityPASS to save on the sights — it's only $94 per person and gets you free entry for the aquarium, zoo, and World of Coca-Cola as well as some other Atlanta attractions.