Well worth the visit - Zurich Zoo is more of a conservation project than zoo. A 10-15 minute drive from downtown, the Zoo is situated on a terraced slope so you have several small hills to navigate. The Zoo stretches over a fairly large park with smaller focused areas with animal specific regions. Signage is pretty good plus they give you a map. There is a very impressive atrium, Masoala Rainforest, with lush tropical vegetation, animals and a waterfall. There is also a canopy top observation point accessible via a circular staircase. They have zebras, giraffes, elephants (to name a few) in large indoor and outdoor spaces. There is an aquarium area, with penguins, plus petting areas with goats and kid friendly zones. There is also a little train that you can ride around to see some of the exhibits. Definitely worth the trip, allow 3-4 hours minimum if you want to see most of the exhibits. read more

See all

Great place to spend a few hours on a nice day. I visited with my husband and three kids. We purchased the family pass for 73 CHF which admitted two adults and as many of your own kids, age 6-15, as you have. This worked out to be about 20 CHF cheaper than individual tickets. We purchased at the ticket booth but you can also save a little more by purchasing online. Prices are on par with any big city zoo I've ever been to. This zoo is large, clean and well thought out. There are childrens play areas spread throughout. The animal enclosures are, for the most part, large with spaces for the animals to get away from the crowds. There is plenty of shade throughout the zoo. We drove here and found paid street parking easily. There is public transportation nearby and also a place to park your bicycles. read more

See all

Was an amazing zoo. They do alot of conservation efforts to help wild animals which makes the price worth it. The enclosure designs where impressive and the emerssion was brilliant. Lots of health animals in the zoo. Plenty of enrichment given to those animals with alot of information in multiple languages. There also was plenty of play areas and resturants for familys to go to. read more

Zoo Zürich - Giraffe - Zoos Near Me - Zürich, ZH

See all

Our friends from Italy came to visit us during our stay. We had a toddler hanging around so we thought, what better way than to go visit the zoo! :) The Zurich Zoo is very large, and well maintained. There are children play areas throughout the zoo, so our toddler companion had some opportunities to play and explore! The animals were well taken care of it seems. Most of them were sleeping since we arrived late afternoon! We walked around, and by the late afternoon we got to explore about 65% of the zoo! You can get here by the tram (easiest way personally). Just follow the herd once you get off the tram. I'd advise to purchase your tickets online so you don't have to wait in line when you arrive to purchase tickets! read more

I've come to this Zoo for lots of times since I was a little boy...my first visit was probably more than 30 years ago. I remember it was always a hard choice between the Zurich Zoo and the Basel Zoo. Mostly we went to one this year and the other one the following year. But in the last several years the Zurich Zoo has improved a lot. It got bigger and better. Not just for the visitors. But more importantly for the animals as well. The animal compounds/grounds are getting a lot bigger with a lot more space for them to roam around and run. The whole Zoo starts to feel like a lot more like an open space for animals. Not all animals got lucky yet to get a new and improved compound, but they are constantly working on it. I think that's a very good thing. You can think about a Zoo what you want, but if you are interested in visiting one, then this is surely one of the more animal-friendly choices. A big new part - Australia - is currently being constructed and opens 2018. Another one - Africa - is also under contruction and opens 2020. And from what I've seen it's gonna be huge! There's a real good number of animals - the most interesting for me surely the Lions and Tigers. There's a petting Zoo and feeding shows during the day. And once or twice a day the penguins are going for a walk. Not to be missed! The zoo has a nice size...surely big enough to spend a whole day. It's the biggest in Switzerland. Another highlight is the Rainforest. Gets real hot in there...and then there's the humidity! But a great place to see all the animals really running and flying around freely. There's a bunch of Souvenir stores....the usual stuff though. And then there's a good number of restaurants. A Thai restaurant is quite new and located at the Elephant Compound. There's also a smaller Thai Take-Away in front, if you don't feel like sitting in a restaurant. Our choice though is always the Pantalal Restaurant right at the entrance. Always been our choice - always will be. A good number of outside tables. Easy food like Pasta, Burgers and Fast food. But really fairly priced. It's a tradition of us to dine here when visiting the Zoo. In the past years a lot more small stalls opened throughout the Zoo (like Bratwurst, Thai etc). A great thing I think. And you always could having a picnic as well. There are several picnic spots. One with a huge playground and possibilites to grill some meat. All in all always a great time here at the Zurich Zoo. Nice to see it still going strong...and getting improved constantly. read more

See all

This zoo ... has the BEST elephant enclosure; ITS MASSIVE!! Actually all of the animals are kept in very large areas which are built into the side of the the mountain which the zoo is on! It's a rather pricy zoo, (26 CHF) comparing CHF to USD But it was well worth it! We walked from the city center straight up the mountain to the zoo and it took us about 45 minutes since it's all inclined. There are a few lines which run up to the zoo the 5&6 which seem to run frequently. I would advice to not come here during a Sunday, since most tourist head to zoos and nature parks since most things in cities around Europe are closed on sundays. It was really crowded, we were pushed, shoved and etc just trying to examine the animals. read more

It took about four hours to traverse Zoo Zürich and we enjoyed every minute of it. It's a very interactive zoo, with many of the exhibits allowing the animals to roam freely among us guests. The newer, larger parts of the zoo were curated thoughtfully and had a lot of cool information regarding the regions of the world they were from. Even the food was different and themed more "locally". It helped going early as we were able to avoid the majority of children and families. The ticket price was reasonable and even food and beverages were affordable. The only negative was it felt the first part of the zoo, the original area felt crowded and not in line with how much space and theme like the expanded areas had. It is actually very easy to get to using the trams as they regularly drop you off within a ten minute walk. I would still recommend it if you're looking for an activity in Zürich! read more

I think I might be spoiled by the Columbus, Ohio zoo, this zoo is average. aside from being small and a limited number of reptiles, the elephant habitat was pretty cool. I will add that the elephants did look a bit stressed and kept pacing back and forth. the signage was a bit confusing, but it was a good experience. I would come back again. read more

An average zoo. Has all the greatest hits (lions, tigers, and bears), but the place is relatively small and it does not have any marquee exhibits that blew me away. My 1 year old boy enjoyed running around in the penguin statues that are situated at the entrance to the zoo. Admission is a bit pricey (as is everything in Zurich). After going to both the Zurich and Basel zoo, I would go back to the Basel zoo over the Zurich zoo in a second. read more

Very nice zoo continually improving the conditions for the animals. It's rather small but really very good. Must see, especially with children. A bit expensive if you go with the whole family but still worth the money. read more

Zoo Zürich - Zoos Near Me - Zürich, ZH

Really disappointed in this zoo. The animals were set apart from each other. Many animals looked sad and dejected. Way too many families on a Sunday. Is there really nothing else to do in Zürich on a Sunday. Expensive for what you see. Plenty of hills to climb, not enough signage. Gets confusing. It often looked like people wandered somewhere simply because others walked in there. Lemmings. It's truly a shame. Been to many big city zoos and they were great! My local zoo in NJ (Turtle Back Zoo) is 100% times better. read more

Zoo Zürich - Elephants looked bored. - Zoos Near Me - Zürich, ZH

See all

This is the best way to do something on a lazy, grey sunday. If you go on a sunday, you have to go early. It's very busy with all the families. This Zoo has a big parts outside and big parts inside. Things that i most like is the variety of animals that makes the Zoo special. For example the snowleopard and the rainforest from Madagascar. You don't have this in the Netherlands. Luckly i have a yearcard. So i can go whenever i want. This is really a must see place! read more

Well designed experience. They do a decent job not only recreating the environment for the animals, but also for the visitors.

Zurich Zoo is an exceptional zoo, especially since it's a small'ish zoo! The Madagascar exhibit is awesome! The zoo does a great job of providing privacy for the animals, and yet providing the public ways to peek at them without bothering them. read more

Zeit Gegensteuer zu geben, die Zeit der Zoo's ist vorbei. Zoo's definately are an amusement of the Past We were in Zurich Zoo our adult daughter my wife and myself on a beautiful yet cold sunday. Wir waren an einem wunderschönen aber kalten Sonntag im Zürcher Zoo the first shock was at the cashiers unfortunately for the Zoo the price we paid raised our expectations about the experience to come. Den ersten Schock erlitten wir bereits an der Kasse, die grotesk hohen Eintrittspreise erweckten in uns hohe Erwartungen in das kommende Erlebnis. As soon as we passed the entrance we were blocked in our way to the exhibits by families standing around on the pathway efficiently obstructing passage by putting their prams in everybody's way. Kaum war der Eingang passiert, wurden wir durch von diskutierenden Familien strategisch parkierten Kinderwagen an unserem Weg gehindert. My first exhibit was the so called Exotarium, there I decided that this would be my last visit to one of the worlds zoos, how come? In front of just about every exhibit families were placed, unruly kids knocking on the windows sometimes even encouraged by their fathers. A noise level close to a jungle of shrieking banshees caused by inpatient babies in their prams. Meine erste Ausstellung war das sogenannte Exotarium, wo ich mich alsbald entschloss, dass dies mein letzter Besuch in einem der Zoos dieser Welt gewesen sei, warum das? So ziemlich for jedem Fenster warren Eltern mit ihren Kindern, welche es nicht fertig brachten ihre Kinder vom Klopfen an die Fenster abzuhalten. Der Lärmpegel durch die ungeduldigen Babies in ihren Kinderwägen entsprach dem eines Dschungels bewohnt von Brüllaffen. And there was no Zoo staff anywhere to end this mess. Kein Zoopersonal war anwesend um die Ruhe und Ordnung wieder herzustellen. Auf dem Weg zum Ausgang bedauerte ich eine freiwillige Mitarbeiterin des Zoos welche versuchte die Kinder in eine Präsentation einzuladen , die Beklagenswerte wurde dabei immer wieder von Erwachsenen bedrängt, welche sich durch den benötigten Platz für diese kleine interaktive Demo eingeschränkt fühlten. On the way out I regretted a voluntary who tried to get kids attention for her presentation, however without much success, as adults were very unkind because she needed some space for her work. I quickly made my way to the exit being thoroughly disgusted with the Zoo and its visitors. Schnell durch den Ausgang erfüllt von Abscheu über Besucher und den Zoo.My ladies who managed to stand the experience somewhat longer complained that at some exhibits the troves of spectators were so thick that one was hardly able to see the animals. Meine Damen hielten die Erfahrung etwas länger aus, beklagten such aber darüber, dass bei einzelnen Tierarten quasi nichts zu sehen war, es seinen einfach zuviele Besucher der Aussicht im Wege gestanden. At least the Zoo should have sufficient staff on duty and limit the number of visitors ;this truly would be for the benefit of the animals and spectators alike. Zumindest sollte der Zoo genügend Personal im Einsatz haben und zum Wohl von Tieren und Zuschauern die Besucherzahl limitieren. And give prams a parking lot. Und parkiert die Kinderwägen ausserhalb des Zoos. read more

a really poor place. very small garden. the only nice to see place is the masoala hall.