Shedd Aquarium (#1), Chicago: Photos, Reviews & Location

State-of-the-art indoor aquarium, famous for its variety of habitats & views of Lake Michigan.

At a glance

#18 of 26 Historical landmarks in Chicago #88 of 131 Tourist attractions in Chicago

LocalGuideWorld score: 4.60

2.5 km from the center of Chicago

Rating breakdown

5 ★72%
4 ★18%
3 ★5%
2 ★2%
1 ★2%

What reviewers talk about

Share of 15 recent reviews that mention each topic.

Waiting & crowds33%
Price & value27%
Service & staff20%
View13%
Location7%
Cleanliness7%

1200 S DuSable Lk Shr Dr, Chicago, IL 60605, United States

sheddaquarium.org

+1 312-939-2438

Photos of Shedd Aquarium (219)

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Quick facts

What is the rating of Shedd Aquarium?: Shedd Aquarium is rated 4.6 out of 5 based on 58,257 reviews.
How does Shedd Aquarium rank in Chicago?: Shedd Aquarium is #18 of 26 Historical landmarks in Chicago by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
Where is Shedd Aquarium located?: 1200 S DuSable Lk Shr Dr, Chicago, IL 60605, United States — 2.5 km from the center of Chicago.
What do visitors mention most about Shedd Aquarium?: Most often: waiting & crowds, price & value, service & staff (from 15 recent reviews).
How can I contact Shedd Aquarium?: Phone: +1 312-939-2438 · Website: sheddaquarium.org

Reviews (15)

Karthikeyan V G 2024 Jan 14

Very good overall.
The wild reef section is excellent.
4d cinema screens are bad. Screen has scratches and dust.
The length of dolphin shows is too short

Akila Iyer 2024 Jan 12

MUST FOR ALL SEA ANIMAL LOVERS!!
We had a memorable experience at the SHEDD. The exhibits were amazing. The place was well marked with directions and instructions. My son loves sea animals and had a wonderful birthday here. The place is beautiful and beyond words. It’s well maintained and has lots to offer. Come and check it out.

Debra Marek 2023 Dec 14

What a pleasant surprise! It has been years since I came here as a kid (45 years)... My husband and I took the behind the scenes tour with Finn as our guide. Finn was incredibly knowledgeable, kind, enthusiastic and loved his work. This was so worth the money and this tour was really the best experience. I highly recommend doing this - it will be unforgettable!

Ninette 2023 Dec 10

We went for the penguins and loved it all. We got lucky and caught the spotlight for the dolphins and penguins. Goodness I have been following Wellington since Covid so it was such a delight to see him.

I liked touching the starfish too.

It looks big but was a bit smaller than I expected. Maybe since a lot is under construction right now.

Staff is super friendly offering tips and wanting to be helpful.

Still a recommend.

Jo Jo 2023 Dec 06

Eintritt war im City Pass enthalten, daher war das Erlebnis für den Preis ok. Hätte ich das Einzelticket bezahlen müssen, wäre es meiner Meinung nach zu teuer.

Haben hier etwa 3 Stunden verbracht und alles gesehen, mit zwei 4D Filmen (2 Filme von Dreien sind im City Pass enthalten) und der Show im Amphitheater.

Die Fütterung der Delfine war sehenswert.

Das Personal ist freundlich und beantwortet gerne Fragen.

Cassie Huff 2023 Dec 02

Even though there is construction going on it didn't interfere with our visit. Nice, big aquarium. Loved the cafe area & how much is recycled. Disappointed that the water was so cloudy in the underwater viewing area. Took less than 2 hours for the 3 of us. Quite pricey.

The Great Satan 2023 Oct 20

Overall I loived our experience there and my kids were very impressed (and worn out) by the end. My only issue is the city "Free Pass". I wa told by my brother that I should wait to go because through his local library he could get us a FREE pass to the Aquarium. So after weeks of waiting we finally got it and all that you get for FREE is the lobby!!
I can literally come in off the street and have the same experience without this worthless pass. The whole point is to get your toes dipped into the proverbial pool so you see what you can't get and pay for admission anyway!

light tower 2023 Oct 14

Had a good experience here, loved all the different varieties of sea creatures. Some of them were very interactive as well and very unique, never seen before.
Also saw the beluga whales show which was very nice.
Although the shark aquarium could use more sharks we had to wait for a shark to circle back to take a look.

Stephen Swidarski 2023 Oct 14

Such a great aquarium! The exhibits are all really well taken care of.

The food is actually good too!

Lived in the Midwest my whole life and it took me 38 years to finally get here. Don't be like me and visit the Shedd!

Amy 2023 Oct 09

Loved this aquarium! I feel like you can't really go wrong on vacation with visiting a zoo or aquarium, and this is a really good one. I got there not long after opening so it wasn't too busy, but by the time I left it was definitely busier. So go early for sure and hit the most popular areas first. Many of the various shows and the sting ray petting area were super cool, and free with admission. I would definitely go back.

Josue Sierra 2023 Sep 25

Great aquarium with an amazing collection! Wasn’t too crowded. Huge space for eating — we brought our own food and saved money. Outdoor eating area has amazing view of the lake. Reef area was hard to get to due to construction—had to wait in line for elevator to get down, and the photo booth caused a bottleneck when you get out of the elevators. Otherwise, displays are amazing. The big tank has a show every hour on the half hour, so we made it to 3 different ones. Dolphin show was the favorite of course.

Parking was a short walk away, though you want to get there early to find the close parking.

Megan Stanger 2023 Sep 24

Let's hit some key points here. First of all we have never been here before so we had zero expectations.
1 first stop upon getting in the gate is the stingray encounter. It would make WAY more sense to have the food tickets available out at the exhibit instead of having to go inside then back out. The exhibit feeding was worth the $5. It's intimidating and not for everyone but was fun.
2. There are maps available online and through the app. They don't make sense in real life being there or maybe there was signage missing that I didn't notice to help with the flow.
3 maybe once all exhibits are open the flow makes more sense but today it seemed really crazy. It's pretty much a free for all when you enter.

Pros! There are employees everywhere! They are all so kind and helpful. It was a bit expensive to get in so we just upgraded to a membership. I'm thrilled we did as we will be back to see the exhibits we didn't get to. It was a bit of a maze so we didn't get to see everything like we had intended. We snagged some 9am tickets and I'm glad we did as we were out by noon having almost seen everything. It was SO packed when we left I can't imagine much more people fitting in there

John J 2023 Sep 16

Your kids (and you) will love this aquarium. Beautiful location on the lake in an amazing historic building. The aquatic exhibits are fantastic and the large amphitheater has reall cool educational shows with dolphins / beluga whales etc. you can go downstairs to see into those tanks and get an underwater look at belugas and dolphins.

There is a kids playground in the basement with a digital background so it looks like they are with penguins. Also a neat submarine to play in.

Wild reef area is a lot of fun as well.

If you are having lunch, I suggest the patio on the lake (or if you are leaving around lunch just picnic on the lawn on the lake).

Jeffery Brooks 2023 Aug 25

I went to this aquarium because my brother's family has a yearly pass for his entire family. We went there on a Friday and it was very busy since it was summer time. I believe three of the exhibits were closed. One of the main shows was with dolphins and it was very cool. We got to see all the exhibits that were open in a very timely manner. We even enjoyed some ice cream from one of the food trucks outside. I highly recommend this museum, it has all the good stuff you'd expect from a high quality museum.

Megan Thayer 2023 Jul 24

We arrived just prior to opening on a Monday morning and were the first in line. The employees came out and scanned our tickets about 5 minutes before opening which was promptly at 9.

All the employees we encountered were friendly and willing to help.

The aquarium itself is huge with plenty to see and do! There are several hands on exhibits where you can touch stingrays, starfish and sturgeon (fish)!

They also have a dolphin tank with shows, and a theatre for various movies.

The gift shop was huge!

Everything was clean and well taken care of.

We parked down the road at the big lot near the planetarium for $12.

Overall a great experience.