New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium sits on Central Wharf at 1 Central Wharf on Boston's waterfront, Massachusetts, beside Long Wharf and the harbor ferries. Its centerpiece is the Giant Ocean Tank, a cylindrical four-story Caribbean coral reef exhibit holding sea turtles, sharks, rays and hundreds of tropical fish, viewed from a spiral ramp that winds around it. Other galleries feature the outdoor harbor seal habitat, African black-footed penguins on the lower level, a touch tank for rays and sharks, jellyfish displays and exhibits on Northwest Pacific and Atlantic species. Visitors typically spend two to three hours, and admission is about $40 per adult and $31 for children 3 to 11, with timed advance tickets advised. The aquarium also offers whale watch cruises from its dock, which operate seasonally and are sold separately, and an IMAX-style theater for large-format films. Good photo angles include the ramp beside the Giant Ocean Tank, where the glass allows close views of passing turtles, and the penguin viewing windows. Feeding times and talks are posted at the entrance and add structure to the visit. Crowds are heaviest on school holidays, rainy weekends and summer afternoons, when queues form at the entrance and around the penguin colony. Weekday mornings are the quietest. The aquarium is typically open daily from 9am to 5pm, with later hours in summer. The nearest MBTA stop is Aquarium on the Blue Line, and the waterfront location lets visitors combine the trip with a walk along the Rose Kennedy Greenway or a stop at Faneuil Hall Marketplace a few minutes away.