In Nicomachean Ethics X.7-8, Aristotle surprisingly claims that happiness is a contemplative activity. Commentators generally assume that he means happiness consists exclusively in theoretical contemplation. In this paper, I challenge that assumption by examining how Aristotle uses the term theōrein (“to contemplate”) to describe a practical kind of contemplation that is integral to virtuous action. Then, I argue that the contemplative activity Aristotle identifies with happiness in NE X.7-8 includes both practical and theoretical contemplation. This interpretation improves on existing explanations for why Aristotle thinks a life without theoretical contemplation can still be happy and why happiness requires moral virtue. Finally, I explain why Aristotle’s account of happiness is philosophically appealing by arguing that happiness can be understood as the contemplative recognition of the value of fine (kalon) objects in the universe and in practical affairs.