Tiergarten Schönbrunn Visiting Schonbrunn Zoo – Questions and Species Highlights

[honeybadger]

Hi, we’re planning to visit Schonbrunn zoo this autumn. We have few questions as we’re trying to figure out how much time to spend in the zoo. I understand that some of the questions have been asked before but it was 10 years ago.

1. What are the main highlights and must-sees? To give some context, we are currently based in Singapore, and we love to see non-tropical animals or other animals that we will not be able to see in Singapore. Some of the animals/exhibits in Schonbrunn that we would love to see are the polar bears, lynx, as well as the birdhouse.

2. How many hours are needed to cover the whole zoo? Will 4 hours be sufficient? Or 6 hours is more realistic if we want to visit most of the exhibits?

3. Is there a way to get an English-language map of the zoo? Either online or during the visit itself? I’ve been trying to peruse the various maps that snowleopard had uploaded last year – but a hi-res English version will significantly help the planning.

4. In the 2022 Map, the spectacled bear enclosure was listed as being redesigned – are the bears back on display?

5. Can someone help me point out the location of the African House / “East-Afrika House” that houses Von Der Decken Hornbills and Dwarf Mongooses? Any other animals inhabit the exhibit?

6. Lastly, is the desert house worth the extra admission fee?

Thanks!

 

[amur leopard]

Hi, we’re planning to visit Schonbrunn zoo this autumn. We have few questions as we’re trying to figure out how much time to spend in the zoo. I understand that some of the questions have been asked before but it was 10 years ago.

1. What are the main highlights and must-sees? To give some context, we are currently based in Singapore, and we love to see non-tropical animals or other animals that we will not be able to see in Singapore. Some of the animals/exhibits in Schonbrunn that we would love to see are the polar bears, lynx, as well as the birdhouse.

2. How many hours are needed to cover the whole zoo? Will 4 hours be sufficient? Or 6 hours is more realistic if we want to visit most of the exhibits?

3. Is there a way to get an English-language map of the zoo? Either online or during the visit itself? I’ve been trying to peruse the various maps that snowleopard had uploaded last year – but a hi-res English version will significantly help the planning.

4. In the 2022 Map, the spectacled bear enclosure was listed as being redesigned – are the bears back on display?

5. Can someone help me point out the location of the African House / “East-Afrika House” that houses Von Der Decken Hornbills and Dwarf Mongooses? Any other animals inhabit the exhibit?

6. Lastly, is the desert house worth the extra admission fee?

Thanks!

1. Tough to say without knowing what you have and haven't seen - check Zootierliste for a full species list, although the reptile listings are not reliable currently as much of it is off-show. Bird-house for me was the highlight of the zoo.

2. I would say around 6, but again it depends on your speed when visiting and how long you spend for lunch.

3. Not in English but the following is useful to get an idea of what is where if you are comfortable IDing animals from photos: Wo im Zoo – Tiergarten Schönbrunn

4. The bears are back on show.

5. The house is located opposite the koalas.

6. I think it largely depends on time constraints and whether you like plants (in which case you should also visit the botanical garden next door).

 

[honeybadger]

3. Not in English but the following is useful to get an idea of what is where if you are comfortable IDing animals from photos: Wo im Zoo – Tiergarten Schönbrunn

Thanks for sharing this link! It's so helpful for my planning needs. I just realised now that the Deutsch version of the website has much more information and links as compared to the English version. I was so frustrated when perusing the English website as it really lacks the information about the animals and the layout. Will crosscheck the Zootierliste and the German version of the zoo webpage.

Apart from the bird-house, do you have any other highlights from your visit(s)?

 

[Dassie rat]

You may be interested in the Bavarian pine vole, rufous bettong and Spix's saddle-back tamarin at the Haus des Meeres.

 

[amur leopard]

Apart from the bird-house, do you have any other highlights from your visit(s)?

I actually really enjoyed the farm area and associated restaurant (as a side note this restaurant is accessible from the castle grounds too without entering the zoo so is a really nice spot for a meal when visiting the castle). The central rotunda restaurant was also great. However I think in generally Schoenbrunn is one of those zoos where it is hard to pick out a few singular exhibits as being outstanding but where the general aura and feel of the place is the main takeaway. As a result it is one of those zoos, in contrast to, say, Beauval, where it is far more than the sum of its parts.

 

[honeybadger]

You may be interested in the Bavarian pine vole, rufous bettong and Spix's saddle-back tamarin at the Haus des Meeres.

Thanks for the suggestion and I'd love to see them in person. Unfortunately, our current schedule don't really allow us to visit Haus des Meeres. Do you have a rough estimate how long does it take to visit Haus des Meeres? If it's a relatively short one, we might be able to squeeze it in as we'll be staying relatively close to the place.

 

[honeybadger]

I actually really enjoyed the farm area and associated restaurant (as a side note this restaurant is accessible from the castle grounds too without entering the zoo so is a really nice spot for a meal when visiting the castle). The central rotunda restaurant was also great. However I think in generally Schoenbrunn is one of those zoos where it is hard to pick out a few singular exhibits as being outstanding but where the general aura and feel of the place is the main takeaway. As a result it is one of those zoos, in contrast to, say, Beauval, where it is far more than the sum of its parts.

I'm assuming you're referring to the Tirelhof area right? I've shortlisted it and will check it out. Based on your suggestions, we are now leaning on taking more time to enjoy the zoo. We're open for any other suggestions and tips to enjoy the park.

Anyway, I can't say enough how much the website has been helpful for us. It turns from a frustrating planning experience to a very enjoyable one.

Thank you!

 

[remar]

1) The highlight is the ancient flair. Schönbrunn isn't the best place for European mammals but you can see a bunch of nice herps. A part of theme is located at a sideway whit access from the giraffe house, next to the Kea. Other terrariums with native herps is located on the way between the Tirolerhof and the barbary sheeps. The native fish tanks are located at a small sideway next to the tropical house. You can also find a few native birds at number 10 at the current zoo map. Both vulture species are located in the area around the bald ibis.

2) This one is difficult to answer. 4 hours are to less imo.

3) You can download an english map here at the website if you scroll trough
Visitor Information – Vienna Zoo

4) Already has been answered. The ground floor of the rainforest house is closed right now. Therefore the Batagur baska turtles won't be visible.

5) Number 65 at the current map. Within the East Afrika House are is the indoor area of the southern ground hornbills.

6) Depend on your interests. There are some nice reptile species there. The sousliks are also located there. Depending on what autumn means they may be already at hibernation

My personal tip, take your time and buy something at the "Kaiser Pavillion" restaurant, even if it's just a coffee. It is a magnificent place to stay.

Speaking about Haus des Meeres. The pine voles are more or less behind the scenes. You can take a view at their exhibit with some distance, but it's very unlikely to see a mouse there. The ruffous bettong is also a species, which is very hard to spot. Best chances are late, when it is already dark outside. Regarding time, i guess that you can see everything within 2-3 hours. The house is opened until 20:00 every day. And at the restaurant, which is located at the highest floor of the building you have nice view at Vienna.

If you have further questions feel free to ask!

 

[Dassie rat]

Thanks for the suggestion and I'd love to see them in person. Unfortunately, our current schedule don't really allow us to visit Haus des Meeres. Do you have a rough estimate how long does it take to visit Haus des Meeres? If it's a relatively short one, we might be able to squeeze it in as we'll be staying relatively close to the place.

Sorry honeybadger, I've never been to Vienna. I looked up the information on ZTL.

 

[honeybadger]

Thanks @remar for your insights!! I completely missed the English zoo map.

2) This one is difficult to answer. 4 hours are to less imo.

I will definitely put more time as you and amur leopard have suggested.

My personal tip, take your time and buy something at the "Kaiser Pavillion" restaurant, even if it's just a coffee. It is a magnificent place to stay.

We'll check this out. Thanks for the suggestion.

The house is opened until 20:00 every day

Thanks for pointing out the later closing time of Haus des Meeres. If that's the case, we might be able to do a quick visit since most of the planned activities are done during the day.

I noticed that the Himalayan Tahr exhibit is under renovation, are the Tahrs temporarily relocated somewhere or they are currently not on display?

 

[remar]

I haven't been at the zoo since the construction there has started, but as far as i know they are still visible. Maybe someone who has visited recently can tell more about this. But you don't have to worry about this problem anyway, the new Tahr and Takin mixed exhibit is expected to open at the end of the summer.

 

[honeybadger]

It's been long overdue but I would like to thank everyone who has provided some advice in visiting the zoo. We visited the zoo in mid Oct and spent close to 6.5 hours in the park.

After the visit, I can understand why it is hard to single out outstanding exhibits. We weren’t immediately impressed by the zoo and only when we started sorting through the photos that we appreciated the old-school, imperial zoo vibes.

Since we also visited Artis during our trip, a comparison between these 2 historical zoos was inevitable. Somehow, we prefer the more modern outlook of Artis and I'm wondering whether it's the fall foliage that makes most of Schonbrunn looked similar-ish during the visit. Which leads to the question, when is actually the best time of the year to visit this zoo?

Nonetheless, we really enjoy the visit and on hindsight, we should just skip the palace and spend more time at the zoo. The exhibits surrounding the rotunda was one of our highlights of the zoo visit. It was quite surreal to see (mostly) African mammals roaming around in the imperial-styled exhibits. The hippo was only 2-3 metres away from the fence!

It was also nice to see some animals that are new to me: African Elephants, Koala, glimpses of the Spectacled Bear, some bird species at the birdhouse, and another look of Polar Bears after more than a decade. We also enjoyed the woodland portion of the zoo but unfortunately, we couldn’t see the lynx.

I really appreciate @remar 's suggestion to spend time at Kaiserpavillon. We had lunch there and it was a really lovely place! I have no idea whether the ceiling murals were as old as the zoo but I’m very impressed how they’ve already known so much of the ‘exotic’ animals from across the globe, e.g.

Animal Mural inside Kaiserpavillon

• honeybadger
• 7 Jan 2025

One of 5-6 animal murals inside Kaiserpavillon | 18 Oct 2024

Animal Mural inside Kaiserpavillon

• honeybadger
• 7 Jan 2025

One of 5-6 animal murals inside Kaiserpavillon | 18 Oct 2024

Re: Haus de Meeres
We ended up not visiting the place. It was so tempting to squeeze it in as we were staying <500 metres away from Haus de Meeres. In spite of that, we really really enjoyed Vienna and we also glad that we visited the NHM. Having seen the animals presented side-by-side, my partner had a better appreciation of the different mammals and could finally understand why I was so eager to see the elephants in Vienna after seeing (Asian) elephants at Artis few days before.

 

[remar]

The pavilion only opened seven years after the zoos was founded. The ceiling murals were added a few years later after founder Franz Stephan von Lothringen passed away. His wife, empress Maria Thersia from Habsburg Lothringen was responsible for the redecorating of the pavilion with the ceiling murals (so they were painted somewhere between 1765 and 1780, the year of the empress death). They show animals, that were either part of Franz Stephans collection or animals that Franz Stephan wanted for the zoo, but never obtained.