Georgia Aquarium

Bernie Marcus, who co-founded Home Depot, gave around 250 million dollars to build the aquarium as a gift to Atlanta, and it opened in 2005. The Ocean Voyager exhibit holds roughly twenty-four million litres, with a viewing window about twenty-three metres wide and a tunnel underneath, and it was built specifically to keep whale sharks - the largest fish species - which few facilities anywhere attempt. That has drawn sustained criticism from marine biologists and welfare groups over whether animals of that size can be kept properly, and two whale sharks died in 2007. Beluga whales, manta rays, sea otters and a dolphin presentation are the other main exhibits. Behind-the-scenes and diving programmes run at extra cost.

What you actually see

• A 24-million-litre tank - with a twenty-three-metre window and a tunnel.
• Whale sharks - kept at a scale almost nowhere else attempts.
• Belugas, manta rays and otters - the other main galleries.
• A building funded by one donation - from Home Depot's co-founder.

When to go

Year round; weekday mornings are calmest. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Timed tickets are required and sell out at peak. It is expensive and add-ons more so. Keeping whale sharks and cetaceans in captivity is genuinely contested - decide on that before booking. School groups crowd weekday mornings.

Nearby

The World of Coca-Cola and Centennial Olympic Park are adjacent.