Sightseeing
Quirky FunFenelon Place Elevator
Under $25Ride a tiny funicular cable car 189 feet up the bluff for views of downtown Dubuque, the Mississippi and three states.
Photo: Dirk Hansen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
MuseumsFamily FavoriteRainy-Day PickHistory Buff
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is a museum in Dubuque, IA. Cost: $25 to $50.
350 East 3rd St · Dubuque, IA
Why you should go…
This Smithsonian-affiliated campus on the Dubuque riverfront pairs a river history museum with more than a dozen aquariums. The tanks hold wildlife of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, including catfish, sturgeon, rays and river otters. Two main buildings house riverboat artifacts and hands-on exhibits such as River of Innovation and a maker space. On the grounds you can see the steam dredge William M. Black, a National Historic Landmark.
- #aquarium
- #river museum
- #mississippi river
- #steamboat
- #family activity
What's around here?
The closest stops to National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, ordered by straight-line distance.
0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
- SightseeingIconic
Field of Dreams Movie Site
FreeWalk the baseball diamond cut into an Iowa cornfield for the 1989 film and tour the original farmhouse.
20 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
- Sport & OutdoorOutdoor Adventure
Maquoketa Caves State Park
FreeHike six miles of trails linking about 13 caves, a 50-foot natural bridge and a 17-ton balanced rock.
27 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
- Sport & OutdoorHistory Buff
Effigy Mounds National Monument
FreeHike trails past more than 200 prehistoric mounds, including earthworks built in the shapes of bears and birds.
49 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
