Audubon Aquarium
Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean reef, rainforest, and conservation exhibits connect New Orleans to the waters surrounding it.
Artwork inspired by Ida Kohlmeyer
The aquarium’s most useful story begins outside: a Mississippi River port sits between a continental watershed and the Gulf. Inside, freshwater, coastal marsh, open Gulf, reef, and tropical systems show how water, sediment, fisheries, storms, trade, and animal movement connect. Large sharks and rays draw attention, but smaller estuary species often explain Louisiana’s ecological stakes more directly.
The renovated campus shares entry planning with the adjacent insectarium, and ticket types, showtimes, and crowd flow can change. Move against the impulse to rush from charismatic animal to animal: watch one tank long enough to identify depth zones, feeding strategies, schooling, and human infrastructure. Riverfront events and cruise traffic can complicate parking even when the aquarium itself is quiet.
- Setting
- Mississippi Riverfront
- Core habitat
- Gulf of Mexico gallery
- Plan for
- 2½–4 hours
Quick guide
- Start
- Mississippi-to-Gulf sequence
- Pause
- One habitat for ten minutes
Make the visit count
- Begin with the watershed
- Trace how inland rivers deliver water, sediment, nutrients, pollution, and commerce to the Gulf.
- Watch layers
- Compare surface, midwater, reef, and bottom behavior before reading species labels.
- Ask about recovery
- Read keeper talks can explain rescue, rehabilitation, breeding, and post-storm operations.
- Separate campuses
- Check the operating schedule: Open on a seasonal daily schedule with holiday and weather changes.
Good to know
Aquarium and insectarium access may be bundled, timed, or routed through a shared entrance, while the zoo remains a separate campus. Strollers, school groups, riverfront festivals, and cruise days can create bottlenecks; buy the correct location and date before parking downtown.
Notice these
- Gulf of Mexico habitat
- Caribbean reef tunnel
- Mississippi River setting