CGSwans flies north for the winter
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3. Zoo Zurich. I gushed all over this zoo when I visited in April, a day so satisfying that even pushing through the snow didn't dampen my spirits. Up until that point of the trip I'd had some pleasant zoo trips but nothing as revelatory as my first visits to Singapore or San Diego. Zurich changed that with a series of exhibits that are either the best or very nearly the best in their class: for elephants, geladas, snow leopards, spectacled bears, the Exotarium with its work-of-art level reptile and aquatic tanks and most of all Masaola, an exhibit that I'm conscious I didn't do justice to but that stands alone as the greatest technical achievement by any zoo in the world, at least in modern times. I raved so much that I adventurously suggested that it's the best zoo I'd ever visited. It isn't, at least not anymore, with two zoos going past it whose absolute best is comparable enough with Zurich's that their consistency win out. The disappointing ape house, which is perhaps a relic from a time before Zurich decided to become the best zoo in the world, is what ultimately costs it the title. I'm more than open to reassessing that decision in a decade or so, when a new ape house is built.
2. Burgers' Zoo. I was a little jaded, I think, by the time I pitched up in the Netherlands. I'd been to some wonderful zoos in my four weeks in Germany, but I was tired, worn down by travel, and I wasn't sure I was getting quite as much out of my zoo visits as I'd like. Then I went to Burgers, which restored both my energy and appetite for the chase. I gather I'm somewhat unusual in that it was the outdoor exhibits - for big cats, bears, apes and the Savannah - that I most loved about this zoo, rather than the big houses it's famous for. The latter might have cost more, but for the most part they can't match the understated, minimalist perfection that is to be found outside, spun from little more than space and natural elements. The exception is Bush, which is without doubt the most accessible and engaging of the three great tropical houses of Europe. Burgers is a little smaller than most of the other elite European zoos (in scope, not in footprint), and so it's a measure of the sheer quality of what's there that it still makes my top two. I remember making the terrible pun in my post that a 'Burgers with the lot' might have been too much to digest. Well, I found it...
1. Chester Zoo. You have no idea how much this hurts. Australians enjoy humiliating the English more than just about anything, (how'd you guys enjoy the Ashes?) so I'd prefer to poke my own eye out with a stick than say this, but the conclusion is inescapable. England wins. The last zoo I visited in Europe is also the best. Prague and Berlin have enormous collections but variable exhibit quality. Zurich's outright best arguably tops Chester, but Chester has no hidden skeletons like Zurich's ape house. Burgers meets Chester head-on for quality, but it can't match Chester's breadth. Chester is big *and* it's brilliant. It's already won a swag of Golden Swans, and (spoiler alert) there's a couple more to come. The bat house stands out as the best value exhibit, dollar for dollar, that I saw. The jaguar exhibit and monkey house each exemplify something I think is critically important for cold climate zoos, where thought is put into making indoor exhibits as good as those outside. Even the field exhibits at this zoo sit comfortably within the landscape. It says a great deal that I took the giant otters to be not quite a blemish, but perhaps a reversion to the mean: instead it turns out I was just too late to catch the outdoor portion of the exhibit. Islands is a minor worry: they spent more on it than has perhaps ever been spent on a UK exhibit and all they got for it was a very good complex that fails to stand out in the triumphant ensemble around it. Chester is the Shakespeare's Folio or The Beatles catalogue of zoos - pick your category and I'll find the simile. I doubt anybody living in the UK fully appreciates what they have.
2. Burgers' Zoo. I was a little jaded, I think, by the time I pitched up in the Netherlands. I'd been to some wonderful zoos in my four weeks in Germany, but I was tired, worn down by travel, and I wasn't sure I was getting quite as much out of my zoo visits as I'd like. Then I went to Burgers, which restored both my energy and appetite for the chase. I gather I'm somewhat unusual in that it was the outdoor exhibits - for big cats, bears, apes and the Savannah - that I most loved about this zoo, rather than the big houses it's famous for. The latter might have cost more, but for the most part they can't match the understated, minimalist perfection that is to be found outside, spun from little more than space and natural elements. The exception is Bush, which is without doubt the most accessible and engaging of the three great tropical houses of Europe. Burgers is a little smaller than most of the other elite European zoos (in scope, not in footprint), and so it's a measure of the sheer quality of what's there that it still makes my top two. I remember making the terrible pun in my post that a 'Burgers with the lot' might have been too much to digest. Well, I found it...
1. Chester Zoo. You have no idea how much this hurts. Australians enjoy humiliating the English more than just about anything, (how'd you guys enjoy the Ashes?) so I'd prefer to poke my own eye out with a stick than say this, but the conclusion is inescapable. England wins. The last zoo I visited in Europe is also the best. Prague and Berlin have enormous collections but variable exhibit quality. Zurich's outright best arguably tops Chester, but Chester has no hidden skeletons like Zurich's ape house. Burgers meets Chester head-on for quality, but it can't match Chester's breadth. Chester is big *and* it's brilliant. It's already won a swag of Golden Swans, and (spoiler alert) there's a couple more to come. The bat house stands out as the best value exhibit, dollar for dollar, that I saw. The jaguar exhibit and monkey house each exemplify something I think is critically important for cold climate zoos, where thought is put into making indoor exhibits as good as those outside. Even the field exhibits at this zoo sit comfortably within the landscape. It says a great deal that I took the giant otters to be not quite a blemish, but perhaps a reversion to the mean: instead it turns out I was just too late to catch the outdoor portion of the exhibit. Islands is a minor worry: they spent more on it than has perhaps ever been spent on a UK exhibit and all they got for it was a very good complex that fails to stand out in the triumphant ensemble around it. Chester is the Shakespeare's Folio or The Beatles catalogue of zoos - pick your category and I'll find the simile. I doubt anybody living in the UK fully appreciates what they have.
Thank's for the wrap up, I eagerly look forward to the Golden Swans continuation! I have one question though, where do these three zoos fit in to your complete rankings? How does Chester compare to San Diego? Can Singapore beat Burgers?
Edit :- Just realised that's actually 3 questions so just answer the first one!
I'd agree with this. I think that because it's widely regarded as the best we have we don't really register the quality of it, we just accept it as "just Chester".
I thought I was being insightful, I obviously missed the mark...
Edit :- Just realised that's actually 3 questions so just answer the first one!
I'd agree with this. I think that because it's widely regarded as the best we have we don't really register the quality of it, we just accept it as "just Chester".
I thought I was being insightful, I obviously missed the mark...
Thank's for the wrap up, I eagerly look forward to the Golden Swans continuation! I have one question though, where do these three zoos fit in to your complete rankings? How does Chester compare to San Diego? Can Singapore beat Burgers?
Edit :- Just realised that's actually 3 questions so just answer the first one!
I'd agree with this. I think that because it's widely regarded as the best we have we don't really register the quality of it, we just accept it as "just Chester".
I thought I was being insightful, I obviously missed the mark...
Chester is more consistent than San Diego. I’d say it’s better for mammals but inferior for birds and reptiles. Singapore can’t match Burgers.
Golden Swans will be done in the fullness of time.
And you suck because you were *too* insightful!
Thank you @CGSwans for a fantastic report of your Top 10 European Zoos. I've copied and pasted the summaries of the 10 zoos to my email account so that I can easily refer to them in the future. It was a pleasure to vicariously tour Europe with you during the past year and I applaud you for not lacking the 'gumption' to produce such a fine list. Many others think that ranking zoos is silly nonsense when in fact it is vital to life itself. 
Maybe one day there will be a "Snowleopard's European Zoo Tour" and by then Zurich will surely have a brand-new Ape House, right?
Maybe one day there will be a "Snowleopard's European Zoo Tour" and by then Zurich will surely have a brand-new Ape House, right?
FunkyGibbon
Well-Known Member
I had a feeling Burgers was going to slip past Chester in a photo finish! Happy to be wrong. A lot of UK zoofans put Chester below the top German (and other continental) collections; I hope we get some defences of that opinion on here. Not from me though
Another of your top 15 which I will shortly be visiting for the first time - on Wednesday, in point of fact. Unfortunately it is forecast to be exceptionally cold over the course of the following week (with a noon temperature of something like -5°C) so I suspect I might not enjoy the outdoor exhibits as much as you did
but I do look forward to seeing how my opinions compare to yours!As one of the zoofans in question - I currently rank Chester in 5th place behind the two Berlin collections, Plzen and Prague - I reckon that Brum pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said that "because it's widely regarded as the best we have we don't really register the quality of it, we just accept it as "just Chester"."
I had a feeling Burgers was going to slip past Chester in a photo finish! Happy to be wrong. A lot of UK zoofans put Chester below the top German (and other continental) collections; I hope we get some defences of that opinion on here. Not from me though
As a continental who has Zurich and Burgers Zoo in his top-3, Chester is one of the zoos that is highest on my wishlist.
As I grew up next to Burgers Zoo, for me that has long been "just Burgers' Zoo", but having seen enough other zoos in Europe, I now know how lucky I am. It is interesting to see that for years there was the debate among Dutch zoolovers whether Diergaarde Blijdorp or Burgers' Zoo was the better of the two, but in recent years it seems that Burgers' Zoo is getting more votes, whereas this was the other way around 10 years ago...
Thank you @CGSwans for a fantastic report of your Top 10 European Zoos. I've copied and pasted the summaries of the 10 zoos to my email account so that I can easily refer to them in the future. It was a pleasure to vicariously tour Europe with you during the past year and I applaud you for not lacking the 'gumption' to produce such a fine list. Many others think that ranking zoos is silly nonsense when in fact it is vital to life itself.
Top 15, indeed! Whether it has a new ape house rather depends on when you bite the bullet and visit. One day.
Another of your top 15 which I will shortly be visiting for the first time - on Wednesday, in point of fact. Unfortunately it is forecast to be exceptionally cold over the course of the following week (with a noon temperature of something like -5°C) so I suspect I might not enjoy the outdoor exhibits as much as you did
As one of the zoofans in question - I currently rank Chester in 5th place behind the two Berlin collections, Plzen and Prague - I reckon that Brum pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said that "because it's widely regarded as the best we have we don't really register the quality of it, we just accept it as "just Chester"."
See, I consciously avoid making my first visit to a place - whether a zoo or the city itself - in the middle of winter. I want to know a place at its best.
The difference between our respective top fives hints that we have different criteria. You're more of a species hunter than I am: it can't be a coincidence that your top four zoos all have relatively encyclopaedic collections. That doesn't bode especially well for your Burgers visit, but we shall see.
You are - like so many who have commented or indeed voted for this thread - far too kind.
No disrespect intended to Rotterdam, but I think it's a fairly open and shut case.
The real test will be seeing how my rankings change once I have revisited the two Berlin collections - which I intend to do at some point before too much longer - having gotten a lot more continental collections under my belt since the last time; bearing in mind these two collections were my first non-UK zoological collections, it is possible this has had an effect on how I have compared them to others in retrospect
Although I do have a distinct liking for seeing new species, I reckon that this isn't the only thing I go for - thinking about my various favourite collections the real common denominator is that they all have a very distinct "feel" and character to them; whilst to my tastes places like Leipzig and Hannover lack soul and feel very much akin to one another.
My personal ranking pretty much changes constantly, but to give you a better idea this is my current "off the top of my head" top 10:
1) TP Berlin
2) Prague Zoo / Zoo Berlin
4) Plzen Zoo / Chester Zoo
6) Walsrode
7) Wilhelma
8) Cotswold Wildlife Park
9) Tierpark Hellabrunn
10) Bristol Zoo
I think nowadays it is. At the time of my first visit it was much closer. Rotterdam hit the start of its decline just as Burgers hit a new period of improvement with Rimba. I would certainly have picked Rotterdam as the leader 10 years ago but now I'd give the edge to Burgers.
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
While I have reservations about ranking, the spirit of @CGSwans’s list (very much one of personal opinion rather than a statement of somewhere being empirically “better”) is such that my hat is ready to be thrown into the ring. So, my top 15 in Europe, not The Best, but my best (and with the caveat that tomorrow the list would probably be different - although not too different!).
So, yes I’ve cheated - I couldn’t leave out London, although for what it now is it scarcely belongs on any such list.
From the @CGSwans i miss out Vienna, Rotterdam, Leipzig, Munich and Nuremberg. His top three are relatively low down for me - they’re great, of course, but not wholly my cup of tea. And I sneak in Artis, Antwerp, Wroclaw - all of which @CGSwans visited, and Zlin, which I think he missed, as well as Walsrode, which he excludes from his list.
- Berlin Zoo
- Prague Zoo
- Berlin Tierpark
- Plzen Zoo
- Walsrode Vogelpark
- Wroclaw Zoo
- Zoo Beauval, St Aignan
- Cologne Zoo
- Frankfurt Zoo
- Antwerp Zoo
- Zurich Zoo
- Burgers Zoo, Arnhem
- Chester Zoo
- Zlin Zoo
- Artis zoo, Amsterdam / London Zoo
So, yes I’ve cheated - I couldn’t leave out London, although for what it now is it scarcely belongs on any such list.
From the @CGSwans i miss out Vienna, Rotterdam, Leipzig, Munich and Nuremberg. His top three are relatively low down for me - they’re great, of course, but not wholly my cup of tea. And I sneak in Artis, Antwerp, Wroclaw - all of which @CGSwans visited, and Zlin, which I think he missed, as well as Walsrode, which he excludes from his list.
Oh, go on then...
1. Zurich Zoo
2. Prague Zoo
3. Diergaarde Blijdorp
4. Berlin Zoo
5. Tiergarten Schönbrunn
6. Leipzig Zoo
7. Chester Zoo
8. Tierpark Berlin
9. Tiergarten Nuremberg
10. Plzen Zoo
My own feeling is that Prague and Rotterdam pull off "consistent, comprehensive, but never truly outstanding*" better than Chester. That said, I love the place and it's always refreshing to hear an outside perspective. So thank you @CGSwans; this thread has been a joy to read.
*In my opinion
1. Zurich Zoo
2. Prague Zoo
3. Diergaarde Blijdorp
4. Berlin Zoo
5. Tiergarten Schönbrunn
6. Leipzig Zoo
7. Chester Zoo
8. Tierpark Berlin
9. Tiergarten Nuremberg
10. Plzen Zoo
My own feeling is that Prague and Rotterdam pull off "consistent, comprehensive, but never truly outstanding*" better than Chester. That said, I love the place and it's always refreshing to hear an outside perspective. So thank you @CGSwans; this thread has been a joy to read.
*In my opinion
The one here that surprises me the most is Beauval. Of the 15 I've visited (you're correct: Zlin is the omission), it has a very different character to most. Of our other points of disagreement Antwerp and Wroclaw would be strong chances to sneak into an expanded top 20, as would Basel and Stuttgart (a shock omission!).