Hello. I am visiting Berlin in July and plan on visiting the zoo aquarium and Tierpark. I would like advice on to what degree the zoo+ aquarium and tierpark are 1, 1.5 or 2 day facilities. It is my intention to see every habitat that is available to see. If there is a good route or Order and time to visit certain parts please let me know. I understand there are many hidden areas in the zoo, please inform me of what they are. I am generally efficient in zoos. Have never been to a European zoo. I have been to both the zoo and safari park San Diego a few times and completed those on my first visits in less than a day with hours to spare. Also, seeing as the zoo and tierpark each have more than one entrance/exit is there a better one to use? In addition I follow a plant based diet should I pack my own food? I would also like to know what the terrain is like flat some hills a lot of hills. Detailed information would be much appreciated. I also am an English speaker with minimal knowledge of german.
Berlin advice request
- Thread starter Jeremy vacca
- Start date
When I was last in Berlin, I managed the Zoo in a day (arriving at about 11 and staying until close) and the Tierpark in a day as well (arriving at opening and staying until half 3ish). That said, I have visited both zoos a few times before, so was really targeting species (and the amphibian floor of the Aquarium was closed into the bargain).
The Zoo (simply because it is a more compact site) is probably doable in a day even for a first time visitor. I am relatively fit and a fast walker, but even so, I found it tiring to backtrack to no-shows and get round the Tierpark in that time. Depending on how you visit zoos, I would perhaps recommend a day at the Zoo and then a day and a subsequent morning to tick off anything missing at the Tierpark.
Others on here know both collections better than I do - but I find the Zoo relatively easy and intuitive to navigate, the Tierpark has more backtracking (and more hills).
As @Cat-Man says above, you'll be fine speaking English (though do learn please/thank you/good morning etc) and there is a good range of food in both zoos - the quality is also surprisingly high. Berlin generally is a great place to eat vegetarian food.
A note, if you are interested in birds, the paddocks in the Himalaya zone in the Tierpark are good for red-backed shrikes and there are easy urban goshawks in the Tiergarten park surrounding the Zoo.
I typed up very long reviews of both Berlin Zoo and Berlin Tierpark on my Snowleopard's 2019 Road Trip thread and I spent a day at each zoo. However, it was 8 hours at the zoo and that was when the Empire of Cats house (including the nocturnal zone in the basement) was closed for renovation. The Tierpark was another 8 hours and that was at a time when the Rainforest House was also closed for renovations.
Those were two enormously long days, with a mountain of walking, and with a major carnivore house temporarily closed at each zoo! Being a fast, fit walker allows an individual like myself to see everything at each zoo in a single day, but the Tierpark is tricky as there's a lot of back-tracking and some slightly elevated terrain in certain sections. As a first-time visitor, I would perhaps pace yourself a little more and do the zoos over 3 days combined. The Berlin Zoo's Aquarium takes a minimum of two hours on its own to properly see each of the 170 animal exhibits inside that building.
This is what some zoo nerds have done in the past:
Day 1: Berlin Zoo
Day 2: Berlin Zoo's Aquarium (in the morning when it's not busy) and Berlin Tierpark
Day 3: Berlin Tierpark
Those were two enormously long days, with a mountain of walking, and with a major carnivore house temporarily closed at each zoo! Being a fast, fit walker allows an individual like myself to see everything at each zoo in a single day, but the Tierpark is tricky as there's a lot of back-tracking and some slightly elevated terrain in certain sections. As a first-time visitor, I would perhaps pace yourself a little more and do the zoos over 3 days combined. The Berlin Zoo's Aquarium takes a minimum of two hours on its own to properly see each of the 170 animal exhibits inside that building.
This is what some zoo nerds have done in the past:
Day 1: Berlin Zoo
Day 2: Berlin Zoo's Aquarium (in the morning when it's not busy) and Berlin Tierpark
Day 3: Berlin Tierpark
Thank you very much @Cat-Man,@oflory, and @snowleopard. @oflory I really appreciate the unexpected birdwatching advice. Are there any habitats in any of the facilities that are very easy to miss and/or not clearly shown on the map? Also is there an order of what to do first to either that any would be recommended especially the tierpark given the general advice seems to split that over two days? As both have two entrances, is there one that is preferable? I should note I am not generally much of a photographer. Also is the avian demonstration worth seeing at the tierpark even if I know only basic German?
My help on this is limited. The entrance depends on how you arrive. Both entrances to Zoo Berlin are a short walk from the station, but I’ve always found the signs and google maps seem to direct you to the entrance by the rhino pagoda as opposed to the iconic red gate.
Tierpark depends more on how you arrive. The easiest way would be via the U-Bahn station outside the bear entrance. It’s decent walk from here to the other entrance. If you arrive via S-Bahn, walking to the Schloss gate is the logical way to arrive from Friedrichsfelde Ost, although you can also catch a tram from there to both entrances, I believe.
I was in the Tierpark in september and spend full opening hours (9:00-18:00) and wasn't able to see everything: Philippine eagle spotted above Poland and Eastern Germany.
That said, I took my time in the Pheasantry, and did visit the ABH and Himalaya twice. I usually visit zoos at a brisk pace and it was no different here. But you'll need some time to find the animals and to enjoy all those fantastic enclosures. I only took 1 break to eat something. The Tierpak has only a few buildings, but the ABH is very large, count on at least 1 hour.
The Tierpark is large, 395 acres, that's 4 times San Diego Zoo, so you'll need good shoes. It's mostly flat unless of the Himalaya exhibits, which are situated on a rather steep hill. Sore feet and much satisfaction will be your portion at the end of the day.
Berlin Zoo is flat and more compact. But many of the accessible buildings have very large collections and are therefor time consuming. Unless you are not interested in birds, fish, herps, insects, you'll need several hours to watch most species. You could easily spend 3-4 hours in the Aquarium building if you like herps, fish and insects. The Birdhouse and the Pheasantry both have very large collections of parrots, songbirds and others, while Empire of the Cats / Creatures of the Night, and the Primate House are 2 other large exhibits.
Both have at least 1 restaurant with a good variety of vegetables, fruits and vegan deserts.
Neither zoos have detailed maps, but they are very good for plotting routes and figuring out roughly where you are during your visit. Do your homework in advance: pick up a route, check ZTL and ask here where to find a particular species. Both zoos have English maps available at the ticket office, and all species labels are in German and English, so don't mind about that. .
Every entrance is ok, but you should see at least Berlin Zoo's famous Elefantentor
Thank you @Philipine eagle. My current plan is to spend one day at the zoo and aquarium if needed I might do the aquarium on a different day. With regards to the Tierpark, I think I will spend at least a day and a half there. Given that does anyone have any suggestions for how to divide the tierpark across a day and a half? Are there any parts of either facility that are either not clear on the map or kind of hidden?
I visited Tierpark Berlin for the first time last week. I was there from 09:00-18:30 and got around it all. It was quite heavy going, I had to rush the pheasants and deer as I left them until last. The only no-shows were the golden cat, masked palm civet and flying squirrels. The first two I've seen at other collections so missing the squirrels was the biggest disappointment. That said there were so many highlights, I can't complain.
Heavy rain showers had been forecast so I saved the animal houses for when the rain came.
I saw a wild grass snake too.
The next day I visited the zoo which I have been to before. I was there 10:00-17:00. It wasn't really enough time but I was focusing on birds, reptiles and the nocturnal house. I went straight to the nocturnal house and every single animal was active. I don't know if that is normal or if I just hit it right.
Heavy rain showers had been forecast so I saved the animal houses for when the rain came.
I saw a wild grass snake too.
The next day I visited the zoo which I have been to before. I was there 10:00-17:00. It wasn't really enough time but I was focusing on birds, reptiles and the nocturnal house. I went straight to the nocturnal house and every single animal was active. I don't know if that is normal or if I just hit it right.
I would try to see everything the first day, it could be done as I stayed for almost 2 hours in the Pheasantry. And on the second day you can focus on the things you missed the first day and take more time for the species you're really interested in.
Maybe easy to miss: aquarium in the Patagonia restaurant, the dead-end near the Polar bears, the southern part of the Karl Förstergarden (with Brown ear-pheasants and Red-and-White Giant Squirrels), the Birds-of-Prey dead-end and the path between the Kamelenwiese and the Deer.
I really appreciate all the help from everyone. Are there any easy to miss spots in the zoo? Additionally, as I have never been to any zoo in Europe let alone Germany, are there any key differences between American and European zoos that I should be aware of.
I can't think of any major differences that you need to be aware of.
When it comes to easy-to-miss spots at Berlin Zoo, there probably are some, I found the layout got confusing around the 'Eagle Canyon' area. I'd say just study the map and you should see everything. 'Creatures of the Night' is in the basement of the cat house so don't miss that.
The Pheasantry, and certainly the path behind it, could perhaps easily be missed and I agree with @Ned about the Eagle Canyon: the main paths in that area go in all directions to important exhibits such as the Giant Panda, the Antelope House, the bears, the Rhino Pagoda and the Hippo House. So most visitors rush to one of those attractions and may miss the side paths in Eagle Canyon.
Otherwise, the main areas marked on the map have a fairly clear layout and walking routes. You just have to remember to systematically walk down all sides both inside and outside.the buildings.
How up to date are the maps on the websites as the path behind the Pheasantry iso shown to be partially closed? In addition, on the website it says that the street entrance to the aquarium is closed and therefore the aquarium is only open from within the zoo but on the map it seems to show the aquarium entrance from within the zoo blocked off, is that just me misreading the map, or is there something more to it or is the map just out of date?
Joker22Hero
Well-Known Member
I hope any potential locals in this thread don’t mind me asking an additional question about these collections but I’d be quite interested to hear what you think about visiting around Christmas, mainly between the 25th and 31st? Is it going to be miserable due to the weather and really crowded or a fairly chill time to go?
Nothing big or important that comes to mind.
This is not an issue but a curiosity that might surprise you. Tierpark Berlin allows visitors to bring up-to 2 dogs per person at no additional cost. They are generaly very well behaved and on short leash, but there can be quite of bit of them occasionaly.
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Don't forget the smoking! Smoking is permitted in all outdoor areas of both Berlin Zoos, including on the restaurant terraces, which may come as a shock to an American. Of course, you might even find yourself in a bar or restaurant that permits it inside, too! Berlin is a very bohemian city, part of the reason it is so charming.