This is the spirit airlines of zoos. It's free to get in, but then you have to pay to pee. The toilets are horrendous - no toilet paper and puke on the floor. We visited around 2:30 pm and none of the animals were out. We saw a glimpse of the pandas in a very dark room. It was also very crowded and dirty. read more

This zoo is big and pretty busy! We visited on a Saturday afternoon but we were short on time. We made it a priority to stop by the panda exhibit first and so we did. The panda was lonely and inside a dark room. It was hard to look into the dark glass and we could faintly see her silhouette. A lot of exhibits were already closed for the day so we didn't get too see much. The zoo was free so it was a nicely walk of fresh air for us. Worth checking out! read more

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This is pretty awesome for a free zoo on the middle of a large city! I also love this large park that houses a lot of cool museums, but they seemed to be pretty spread out throughout the park so we didn't get to do another one this day. Although maps of the zoo are not complimentary and we didn't opt to buy one it would've been helpful as I believe we missed a lot of the animals without it. Also wondering if a lot of these animals were rescued? Some look to be in their retirement era. I also opted to pay about $13 to do the "extra exhibits" to get out of the heat and it was neat but not sure I would do those without little kids. The shark exhibit was my favorite bc you can color your own shark and they put it up on the big screen "aquarium" and it swims around for a bit! We didn't plan to spend as much time as we did there so we grabbed lunch at the food court. Pro tip: if you do all the exhibits you get a 10% discount at the food court but only if you get them all stamped (which didn't make total sense to me bc you pay for it either way.) The tacos and chicken quesadilla was not bad for zoo food, would get it again in a pinch. You can also rent a little car for kids outside the zoo or if you walk a little past the entrance there's a stand to rent the cars as well. The entrance and exit aren't in the same spot, so we got a little lost on the way out down a row of vendor stands which was a little overwhelming when we wanted to head home from a long day. If I could do it again I would bring a stroller or wagon, buy a map- do all the exhibits first thing, grab lunch, walk around to see the rest of the animals and go early! read more

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I'm not generally a fan of zoos. I'd much rather non domesticated animals to live in their natural habitat. We left the anthropological museum and took an amazing walk towards the zoo. Hundreds of street vendors lined a rather lengthy walk. It was so much fun. We arrived at the zoo around 12:30. This important because most of the animals were sleeping or out of sight in cooler environs. This zoo is huge and has every type of animal available. It's also totally free. We walked around for a couple of hours and only saw half the exhibits. It was awesome to see so many families out enjoying themselves at the zoo. I would like to return earlier in the day when the animals are more active. read more

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Yes it's free and great for kids. But honestly I wish there was an entrance fee so that they can rebuild the animals enclosures. It's really sad how small the space they have , how dirty their water and walls are. You can clearly see the animals are depressed and miserable. I felt the worse for the lioness and tiger. My son obviously enjoyed it but the reality is , it's very sad to see the animals in that way. Really wish there was something I could do. read more

Chapultepec park is already huge !! The fact that there's a zoo inside too is amazing this zoo was freaking awesome !! First time coming and I seriously thought free entrance ?? Must be lame, But I was wrong !! There was serval sections of what animals they had it was a lot of walking so bring comfy shoes! I believe in certain entrances they have for the little ones they charge, I didn't go into those since I wasn't interested, but I'm sure it wasn't expensive. The zoo is very clean and they have serval food inside which is pretty cool. Remember to bring some pesos for the restrooms as anyone that visits Mexico should know already Highly recommend!! My bf and I were so amazed ! ¡El parque de Chapultepec ya es enorme! ¡El hecho de que también haya un zoológico dentro es increíble, este zoológico era increíble! ¿Primera vez que vengo y en serio pensé que la entrada era gratuita? Debe ser patético, ¡Pero me equivoqué! Había secciones de los animales que tenían, era mucho caminar, ¡así que trae zapatos cómodos! Creo en ciertas entradas que tienen para los pequeños que cobran, no entré en ellas porque no estaba interesado, pero estoy seguro de que no era caro. El zoológico está muy limpio y tienen comida en su interior, lo cual es bastante guay. Recuerda traer algunos pesos para los baños, ya que cualquiera que visite México ya debería saberlo ¡¡Muy recomendable!! ¡Mi novio y yo estábamos tan sorprendidos! read more

The line to get into the entrance was at least a quarter mile long, but things started to move at around 12:30. We followed the group which went in one direction. There were several exhibits, but from the mossy part the animals were not out. Who could blame them? We saw two foxes, two turtles, two monkeys, and one lonely old donkey inside of a shoebox sized enclosure. We saw other animals also, none of whom appeared to be healthy or happy. In fact, all of the enclosures were very small, and I would almost call it inhumane. These animals looked sad, and there was very little space at all for them to run around. There was plenty of open space available for the 20+ restaurants and gift shops. I had already seen and been to plenty of those all over the city. Yes the zoo was clean, but it appeared to me that very little consideration was given to the animal exhibits or their enclosures. I have to be honest, we were not impressed at all with this city's representation of a zoo. read more

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I showed up at 9 am on a Saturday in February. I had the place almost to myself. It was a remarkable stroll with lots of active animals including lions, bengal tigers, lemurs and several kinds of monkeys. The pandas were there, but sleeping. Naturalistic habitat and everybody looked healthy. Confusing layout and they often have the same animals in different parts of the zoo -- like bengal tigers and lemurs. Very enjoyable 90 minute visit. read more

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The Chapultapec zoo is wonderful. I love free zoos in cities, I think they are usually great zoos and they have a great mix of people representing that City. Free City zoos are a good representation of that City. This one is no exception. It was cool to see so many people of all ages. The zoo has large nice outdoor enclosures. My son loves alligators and crocodiles. We saw 1 crocodile outside and 4 small caiman in the reptile house. He was happy with the reptile house! (We paid extra to go to the butterfly house and the reptile house. We enjoyed both!) The butterfly house has so many butterflies! So many different colors, and they're everywhere. There were lots of great animals. We were excited to see the Burmese Python moving around, the Siamang swinging around, and some other monkeys moving all around. (We went to the reptile house at the end of the day about 4:30 and a lot of the animals there were active too!) I also saw the panda, and it looked happy. I love zoos that put the giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, ostriches, and some other birds all together in the same large enclosure, which this zoo did. It's more interesting for the animals, more space for them to all have, and more interesting for the human guests to see their interactions! Plus the zoo had so many giraffes!!! Only dislike is that there's only 1 entrance and 1 exit read more

I love how cheap the entry was and how much variety of animals there was just that the zoo is packed and the animals living conditions are not that good read more

This is such a beautiful FREE zoo in the middle of Mexico City! We were very impressed by the huge variety of animals and the enclosures were beautifully landscaped. My kids loved it and we felt up close to the animals. We paid a little extra to go into the butterfly garden and it was worth it. read more

In Mexico City's largest park, Bosque de Chapultepec, is a FREE zoo. Once you're inside, there's a fee for food, of course, and for certain exhibits like the butterfly room, etc. But most of the zoo is free. My five-year-old daughter and I went on a Thursday afternoon and it wasn't too crowded. My daughter LOVED it. The zoo is organized by regions so we started in Africa and ended in the tropics. Our favorite part was the monkey area. The monkeys were very interactive and even came up to the glass wanting my daughter's bags of popcorn. As you exit the zoo, there's a path of vendors where you can get $60 peso face painting, toys, etc. One thing to note is that bathrooms cost $6 pesos so bring coins! read more

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Excellent Zoo. Highly recommended. The entrance is Completely free but, in some areas there is a charge to get in which is 99.00 MX pesos (butterflies, sharks, snakes) Zoo keepers and security personnel were very friendly and answered questions. Be ready to walk but worth it. Zoo was kept cleaned. Food court and restrooms are available inside as well. read more

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What a great zoo along the parks in Mexico City. And the best part was it was free. The zoo was huge so plenty to walk around and get lost seeing all the great animals. read more

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The variety of animals in this zoo is very impressive. The zoo and its enclosures are clean and neat. There are areas to grab lunch or a snack. There are so many great things about this zoo. I would have to say that some of the animal enclosures are quite small and it feels as if they do not have the space they deserve. This is an older zoo so perhaps as time goes on this condition will get better. read more

The best known Mexican zoo, it is located in Chapultepec Park; so beautiful and full of trees, it is so fresh and the animals look happy, not like other zoos. You will spend around 2-3 hours, the zoo is kind of big. Bring water and a sun hat, we brought water and a small snack and ate under some shade. A variation of animals but, my favorite was the Pandas, OMG how cute!!! The zoo was FREE, imagine that! It was a wonderful day, a nice walk, we went early morning so it was really fresh and the animals were happy and out. Enjoy! read more

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When I book vacations anywhere, I look for Zoos, museums and cultural places. I enjoy these things more than trying the local food, or shopping. One of the places I had to come to was the zoo. It is located in Polanco, surrounded by museums and a big botanical park. From where out uber dropped us, it was actually quite a long walk to the Zoo's entrance. I was pleasantly surprised that it is actually free. You would think it would be small, with not as many exotic animals. This cannot be further from the truth, they even have Pandas! It is so well taken care of. We saw quite a few zoologists and were able to pick their brains about the animals they take care of. They were very exited to talk about their charges. The park it is kept clean, a little noisy, there were many field trips going on, and naturally children will be children, but I enjoyed every minute of it one of the species that impressed me the most was the great big black leopard. Never seen one before, and believe you me, I have been to many different zoos. Also, I saw baby Lemurs for the first time. TOO CUTE!! please visit this place if you come to Mexico City!! It is a must. read more

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It's a free zoo! How many zoos are free nowadays? It's 55 pesos if you wish to include the insect and butterfly exhibition. It's a decent size zoo. It's not large enough that you will be tired from walking and it's not small enough that you will get bored. They were many exhibitions that were closed, but that's not a big deal. They still have a good variety of animals. I noticed they had a lot of monkeys, all different kinds of monkeys. The animals are divided by continent. My favorite were the giraffes. There are no food or drink vendors inside the zoo. Bathrooms cost 5 pesos (around 25 cents). In Mexico City you pay to use many of the restrooms. I found that the zoo needs a bit more of maintenance. But I'll still give it 4 stars for all their beautiful animals. read more

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I didn't have high expectations for this zoo as we live in Puerto Vallarta and frankly just know better. At least this zoo in Bosque de Chapultepec is free. We wandered in, checked out the map and started on the first pathway to the right. The zoo is laid out in a functional way where you follow a direction and get to see everything in a loop without missing any exhibits before you exit into a different section. Mostly there are a lot of different kinds of monkeys and horned creatures. It always cracks me up how different countries showcase animals that are somewhat normalized in the US that aren't actually in zoos, like wolves and deer. The zoo is relatively small. We were able to complete it in about an hour and it's not so much walking that it'll kill your feet and legs. There are various food stalls to grab your typical grab and go food like burgers, hotdogs, popcorn, pizza, etc for a decent price. Lots of seating areas if you need to take a break as well. read more

This free, medium-sized zoo has a ton of fun and exotic animals to learn about and enjoy. The zoo is organized into six main regions, mostly based on biome: desert, prairie, tropical forest, temperate forest, coastal line, and aviary. They're all fun, but my favorites were the aviary (amazing birds) and the prairie. There are normally giant pandas in the temperate forest, but they unfortunately weren't on display when I visited. The zoo needs a bit of maintenance, and some of the exhibits are hard to see because of dirty glass with a lot of glare. Also, the bathrooms cost money (5 pesos). Lastly, all the information is in Spanish, so if you're not proficient, you won't be able to read much about the animals. Despite all these caveats, though, it's still a fun experience - and given the free admission, the value is hard to beat! Whether you're a CDMX native or a tourist, check out this delightful zoo in Chapultepec Park. You won't be disappointed! read more

Wow, the zoo is free!!! That is worth a lot of stars just there. Add to that, they have giant pandas. How cool is that? We visited on a Wednesday early around noon. Not crowded. Made a beeline for the pandas. There are 2 and they were each asleep with their backs to us. We took a seat on a bench in case they moved but no luck. We toured some of the other exhibits and they were done really well. Did I mention that it's free? Yay for free! read more

Zoológico de Chapultepec - Sleepy panda - Zoos Near Me - México, D.F., DIF

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In visiting the sprawling Chapultepec Park in 1986, I wanted to see Chapultepec Castle. But it was closed for renovations. What to do, what to do..... I know - I'll go to the zoo! (Zoológico Alfonso L. Herrera AKA as the Place of the Cheap Dates). BTW the zoo has free admission. No-one ever called me a dummy. I found the cutest girl walking by and asked her where the zoo was. She was so sweet, she SHOWED me where the zoo was with a personal tour that lasted for hours. Pretty good zoo as I recall. I'm sorry I can't tell you the rest of the story, but I assure you it ended very well. read more

It's free and big! I'd give it five stars if they cleaned the glass on the exhibits - looks like they haven't been cleaned in weeks (but this aside the zoo is clean). If you're nearby definitely go! Remember the people are supposed to walk in one direction (doesn't encourage back tracking). You enter on one side of the zoo and exit on the other side. Crowds pick up in the afternoon. No need to go at opening time but you may want to go before lunch instead of after. Very crowded late afternoon. read more

It's free. Don't expect much. Emaciated animals and animals in the wrong areas. No food or drink is allowed inside but there's also nothing to buy in the zoo. Also $5mx just to use the bathroom. This zoo should probably be closed. read more

It's a free place for cheap dates or family visits. But there's really nothing to see inside. All the animals you can imagine live there. There's nothing that surprises you. read more