Audubon Aquarium of the Americas

At the Omni Riverfront Hotel, you’re just steps away from some of the best attractions in New Orleans. Museums, shopping, and award-winning restaurants await you at every corner, showcasing our unique and celebrated heritage. Your time in the Crescent City will be even more memorable after a visit to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

Walking onto Convention Center Boulevard, you’ll see the grand glass structure that houses one of the nation’s top 10 aquariums situated just a few blocks down. Located right along the banks of the Mississippi River, the Audubon Aquarium connects you to the Gulf of Mexico, the mighty Mississippi, and explores the undersea wonders of the Western hemisphere. The Audubon Aquarium welcomes you through a walk-through tunnel showcasing a variety of Gulf fish and other sea creatures. There are 15,000 animals inhabited here, including clown fish and blue surgeonfish (think “Finding Nemo!”), lionfish, sharks, sea anemones and seahorses. There’s even a special section dedicated to frogs! You can pet a sting ray, or be entertained by penguins and sea otters. 

Explore the most popular exhibits:

• Step into the re-created Amazon-Orinoco rain forest and Piranhas, pacu fish, poisonous frogs and exotic birds abound. Look up and try to spot the owls, perched high above on the rocks. Parakeet Pointe offers an interactive experience within its outdoor structure, housing hundreds of Budgerigars, or parakeets. Get up close and personal with the birds by feeding them seed sticks, which can be purchased at the entrance.
• Take an underwater adventure into a submerged Maya city of the Yucatan peninsula in the aquarium’s new $1 million, 4,200-square-foot Great Maya Reef exhibit. A 30-foot-long tunnel welcomes you to explore mysterious ruins and forgotten treasure among stunning coral, surrounded by exotic sea creatures—lion fish, yellowtail snapper, moray eels, spiny lobsters and more. You can even dive into the fun with an amazing SCUBA dive or snorkel adventure!
• Explore the Gulf of Mexico’s sea life in the aquarium’s largest exhibit, a 400,000-gallon saltwater exhibit featuring a quarter-scale replica of an offshore oil rig teeming with sharks, schools of fish, stingrays, and sea turtles—including King Mydas, an endangered green sea turtle.

Before heading back to the Omni Riverfront, you and the kids can take a splash through the aquarium’s 90-foot linear water feature to cool off as you head into the steamy air that is summer in New Orleans.

Things to Know Before You Visit The Audobon Aquarium

• Address: 1 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
• Hours: Tue - Sun | 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Pass through Fulton Street on your walk back from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, where you can choose from many family friendly and casual dining options. Fall asleep in the posh comfort of the Omni Riverfront Hotel rooms, counting penguins instead of sheep.

Learn more about the aquarium.

Tickets to the Audubon Nature Institute Museums

Get the complete Audubon Nature experience with your choice of admission to the group of museums that make up the institute.

Purchase Tickets