My Downtown Tampa

The Florida Aquarium is one of downtown’s gems, and is often named one of this nation’s best aquariums.

Jennifer Murphy from ForbesTraveler.com recently reported on America’s Most Awesome Aquariums, and names Tampa’s own Florida Aquarium in the top ten:

While African black-footed penguins are on exhibit at the Florida Aquarium, the diverse aquatic habitats and ecosystems of Florida are the main feature here. Ideal for children, the Aquarium offers everything from a Caribbean-themed outdoor water exhibit where kids can play to a shark-diving activity that allows certified SCUBA divers (at least 15 years of age) to swim with live sharks. Equally inspiring is the Aquarium’s Coral Reef Gallery, which simulates a 60-foot dive from shallow-water reefs to deeper waters teeming with eels, squirrelfish, angelfish, and blue tang.

This is the fourth such honor the aquarium has received in as many years.  Both Coastal Living and TripAdvisor.com ranked Tampa’s aquarium in its top 10 aquariums in America and Parents Magazine ranked it in their top five “family-friendly aquariums in the country.”

The Florida Aquarium (map) is in the Channelside District.

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