Planning a Tentative European Zoo Trip - Fall 2024/Spring 2025

Kudu21

Kudu21

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
TL; DR: If you were an American travelling through Europe for the first time, what are the top six or seven facilities you put on a a "must see" list, and what are any other tips and tricks that you would suggest for someone wanting to get the most out of two weeks on the continent?

Hello everyone! My partner and I have faced a lot of changes in our lives over the past couple of years, and as such, we have not been able to go on a genuine vacation without any other obligations or motives beyond just enjoying ourselves in three whole years. We are both in a position now where we finally have a little bit of extra money and more flexibility in our schedules that will allow us to actually plan for a proper vacation. My partner just got their passport for the first time, and I have not left the United States since I returned from my three month stay in South Africa in 2017, so we have decided to go big and tentatively plan a trip to Europe for either this fall or next spring.

We are very early in the planning stages of this trip, and I know that so many of our European ZooChat friends (and some North Americans as well ;) ) are very well traveled on their home continent, so I wanted to reach out and seek out recommendations from those who have likely done similar trips before. I am very lucky in that my partner shares my passion for animals and interest in visiting zoos and aquaria; however, as this will be our first time in Europe, zoos will not be the only focus of the trip -- we would like to experience more of what the countries and cities we visit have to offer as well, as we are both interested in architecture, food, beer and breweries, and visiting natural areas too, so I am very open to suggestions on other things to do and experience as well!

We are currently looking at having the trip span a total of (hopefully) 10 to 14 days. Right now, it is looking like our cheapest options will be flying direct between Los Angeles and either London or Paris and then traveling on to/throughout the continent from there. With that, other starting and ending in one of these cities, the middle portion of our trip is entirely open to possibility at this time. As someone with an interest in seeing new species, architecture, zoo history, and zoo design and already has a difficult time making decisions :P, trying to narrow down facilities to center the trip around has been quite the daunting task for me, haha. With all of the above interests (and especially as a hoofstock enthusiast), the two Berlin parks are a must, but beyond them, I am having trouble narrowing down my list. If you all could only pick six or seven facilities across the continent to visit, what would they be? If I could visit all of @lintworm's Top 50, I would, but that is slightly unrealistic :P

Beyond facility recommendations and ideas on other things to do and experience, I would also greatly appreciate and all advice on general travel through Europe, transportation recommendations, accommodations, etc. This will all be new for us, so I am all ears!

Thank you all in advance for any advice and recommendations! It is greatly appreciated. I am very much looking forward to getting to experience your continent and at least a handful of its great zoological facilities! :)
 
So nice that you are planning to cross the Atlantic @Kudu21! Hopefully you can have the best out of those 14 days !

My first thought Is that is best if you arrive at London, visit the city and continue east and than south. There is very intresting European trains that were launched this year.

London
Amsterdam
Rotherdam or Arnhem
Antwerpen/Planckendael
Pairi Daiza
Cologne
Krefeld /Duisburg
Berlin
Tierpark Berlin
Leipzig
Prague
Plzen or Dvur Kralove or Wroclaw?
Wien or West to Paris and fly home :)

Few intresting Ungulates that you probably can consider are the Red Duiker- London, Mountain Anoa at Krefeld, Dorcas gazelle at Planckendael, Persian gazelle - possibly at Nuremberg (great zoo for hoofstock), East Caucasian Tur - possibly at Decin ( between Leipzig and Prague), Abruzzi Chamois- only at Munich. Long shot, but Madrid has Pyrenean Ibex and Iberian lynx.
 
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Kudu21 said:
TL; DR: If you were an American travelling through Europe for the first time, what are the top six or seven facilities you put on a a "must see" list, and what are any other tips and tricks that you would suggest for someone wanting to get the most out of two weeks on the continent?

Hello everyone! My partner and I have faced a lot of changes in our lives over the past couple of years, and as such, we have not been able to go on a genuine vacation without any other obligations or motives beyond just enjoying ourselves in three whole years. We are both in a position now where we finally have a little bit of extra money and more flexibility in our schedules that will allow us to actually plan for a proper vacation. My partner just got their passport for the first time, and I have not left the United States since I returned from my three month stay in South Africa in 2017, so we have decided to go big and tentatively plan a trip to Europe for either this fall or next spring.

We are very early in the planning stages of this trip, and I know that so many of our European ZooChat friends (and some North Americans as well ;) ) are very well traveled on their home continent, so I wanted to reach out and seek out recommendations from those who have likely done similar trips before. I am very lucky in that my partner shares my passion for animals and interest in visiting zoos and aquaria; however, as this will be our first time in Europe, zoos will not be the only focus of the trip -- we would like to experience more of what the countries and cities we visit have to offer as well, as we are both interested in architecture, food, beer and breweries, and visiting natural areas too, so I am very open to suggestions on other things to do and experience as well!

We are currently looking at having the trip span a total of (hopefully) 10 to 14 days. Right now, it is looking like our cheapest options will be flying direct between Los Angeles and either London or Paris and then traveling on to/throughout the continent from there. With that, other starting and ending in one of these cities, the middle portion of our trip is entirely open to possibility at this time. As someone with an interest in seeing new species, architecture, zoo history, and zoo design and already has a difficult time making decisions :p, trying to narrow down facilities to center the trip around has been quite the daunting task for me, haha. With all of the above interests (and especially as a hoofstock enthusiast), the two Berlin parks are a must, but beyond them, I am having trouble narrowing down my list. If you all could only pick six or seven facilities across the continent to visit, what would they be? If I could visit all of @lintworm's Top 50, I would, but that is slightly unrealistic :p

Beyond facility recommendations and ideas on other things to do and experience, I would also greatly appreciate and all advice on general travel through Europe, transportation recommendations, accommodations, etc. This will all be new for us, so I am all ears!

Thank you all in advance for any advice and recommendations! It is greatly appreciated. I am very much looking forward to getting to experience your continent and at least a handful of its great zoological facilities! :)
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It is an impossible question, but first things first: explore options of flying into Frankfurt, that puts you a lot closer to the action than either Paris or London (though Paris is only a 3 hour train ride away).

If you make it to Frankfurt, a route like this would be possible:

Stuttgart
Nuremberg
(Leipzig)
Berlin
Prague
(Plzen)
Vienna
(Budapest)

All these places are max 3-4 hours away from each other. It would still involve an insane amount of kms, so you could also do a German and near German highlight tour, with probably almost as many travel :p

Berlin
Leipzig
Nuremberg
Stuttgart
Zurich
Basel
Frankfurt
Cologne
Burgers'

I personally would try not to rush it, so 5 days Berlin - 3 days Prague and then 4 days Vienna would be ideal. You get 4 absolute top zoos, some possible zoo side excursions (Plzen, Zlin, Leipzig, even Budapest). For all of Central Europe Zootierliste is usually very up to date when it comes to mammals and birds.

I would not fly into London, it puts you even further from the action and you are outside of the Schengen area, so you need another visa.

As for accomodations, I find airbnb to be the best in finding affordable, but nice, accomodations in European cities.
 
lintworm said:
It is an impossible question, but first things first: explore options of flying into Frankfurt, that puts you a lot closer to the action than either Paris or London (though Paris is only a 3 hour train ride away).

If you make it to Frankfurt, a route like this would be possible:

Stuttgart
Nuremberg
(Leipzig)
Berlin
Prague
(Plzen)
Vienna
(Budapest)

All these places are max 3-4 hours away from each other. It would still involve an insane amount of kms, so you could also do a German and near German highlight tour, with probably almost as many travel :p

Berlin
Leipzig
Nuremberg
Stuttgart
Zurich
Basel
Frankfurt
Cologne
Burgers'

I personally would try not to rush it, so 5 days Berlin - 3 days Prague and then 4 days Vienna would be ideal. You get 4 absolute top zoos, some possible zoo side excursions (Plzen, Zlin, Leipzig, even Budapest). For all of Central Europe Zootierliste is usually very up to date when it comes to mammals and birds.

I would not fly into London, it puts you even further from the action and you are outside of the Schengen area, so you need another visa.

As for accomodations, I find airbnb to be the best in finding affordable, but nice, accomodations in European cities.
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Would generally agree, particularly with the sentiment to not rush, but add that maybe flying into Schiphol would be the most ideal option of them all? That way you could visit Antwerp (Eastern gorilla), maybe even Pairi (Spix macaw), plus Burgers (some the best exhibitry Europe has to offer) before moving East through Cologne?

So something like:
Day 1 - arrive at Schiphol, visit some of Amsterdam?
Day 2 - Antwerp
Day 3 - Burgers
Day 4 - Cologne
Day 5, 6, 7, 8: Berlin
Day 9, 10, 11: Prague and Plzen
Day 12, 13: Vienna, and back to Schiphol for return flight?

Really enjoyed Cologne when I visited last summer, and felt as if Berlin definitely warrants at least four days - even if you're happy with the two big zoos after day 2 there's so much to see in the city and day trips to Leipzig, even Magdeburg/Walsrode are (a bit of a stretch but) a possibility.
I feel as if that's quite a solid cross-section of European zoos.

And agreed on the London and Paris thing, aside from being far-ish from much of Europe's best, they relatively-speaking don't have as much to offer zoo-wise and (on the flip side) have far too much to offer city-wise for your schedule. Obviously if flights are greatly more expensive to Amsterdam/Frankfurt it might just be unavoidable though.
 
With only 2 weeks and an interest in other things then zoos, you absolutely have some tough choices ahead.

My advice is not trying to squeeze in too many cities.
Berlin/ Dresden/Prague/ Vienna would be great options that are not too far from each other, with very interesting zoos either right there or close (Leipzig), and great cities that are top tourist attractions (and rightly so).

Other cities that are among Europe‘s best and most interesting tourist destinations are Barcelona and Rome, and combining Berlin/Prague/Vienna with Barcelona or Rome is something I‘d consider. Zoo-wise there are better options then Barcelona and Rome, though. But top zoos like Pairi Daiza, Beauval or Beekse Bergen (yes I do think Beekse Bergen is among the best zoos in Europe, and have seen most of then) are not that close to such interesting cities as Rome, Vienna, Barcelona or Berlin.
 
I would agree with everything said above - especially that London and Paris would feel rushed, simply because they are such 'sight-seeing' cities (aside from zoos).

I think you could make a pretty good itinerary as per @amur leopard 's list above - Cologne, train to Berlin, train to Prague, maybe Vienna. Opportunities for several day trip side options to places like Wuppertal, Krefeld, Duisberg, Magdeburg, Plzen etc.

You would also get some world-class art, beautiful culture, delicious food, great beer etc.
 
Man, all the extensive European travelers beat me to it. Of the 19 European zoos (plus the two Berlins) I visited I would suggest Prague and Vienna the most. Depending on your pace you might need multiple days for the Berlins and Prague, which would take time away from sightseeing so I don’t even know if seven (plus the two Berlins) is a good idea.

amur leopard said:
So something like:
Day 1 - arrive at Schiphol, visit some of Amsterdam?
Day 2 - Antwerp
Day 3 - Burgers
Day 4 - Cologne
Day 5, 6, 7, 8: Berlin
Day 9, 10, 11: Prague and Plzen
Day 12, 13: Vienna, and back to Schiphol for return flight?
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My tour in Europe was basically similar to this except I had 17 days and I spent only a single day in each Berlin zoo.
 
I can say that, having just visited, many zoochatters tend to under value London Zoo. If you are flying into London it is conceivable that you could see the zoo the same day you arrive and train out the next day unless you wish to see more of London. That said....London has a lot to see by itself , I just did 8 days in the greater London area and still did not have enough time to see everything I wanted to see. Although we only had time to see London Zoo and the Natural History Museum as far as animal attractions go.
 
SwampDonkey said:
I can say that, having just visited, many zoochatters tend to under value London Zoo. If you are flying into London it is conceivable that you could see the zoo the same day you arrive and train out the next day unless you wish to see more of London. That said....London has a lot to see by itself , I just did 8 days in the greater London area and still did not have enough time to see everything I wanted to see. Although we only had time to see London Zoo and the Natural History Museum as far as animal attractions go.
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Broadly speaking I'd agree, and of course much of it is of great historical value, but relative to the Berlins, Prague, Koeln, Vienna etc., it isn't really comparable to be honest, and that's coming from a Londoner born and bred :P.

I do absolutely agree that London (and indeed Paris) has too much to see even for a week, on the other hand. Glad you enjoyed the city (and the zoo) :).
 
Paris has the Menagerie with a lot of historical architecture and the Vincennes Zoo, which has been altered relatively recently.
The Menagerie has the Reeve's muntjac, Kirk's dik-dik, Sichean takin, Central Chinese goral, rocky mountain goat, Himalayan blue sheep, West Caucasian tur, Tajik markhor, lowland anoa, Indian gaur, Arabian oryx, red river hog, Negros warty pig, vicuna, Przewalski's horse and Malayan tapir
The Zoo has the southern pudu, giraffe (including the Kordofan giraffe), Addra gazelle, greater kudu, red lechwe, roan antelope, addax, Chacoan peccary, guanaco, vicuna, Grevy's zebra, lowland tapir and southern white rhinoceros
 
8 answers already and nobody mentioned Alpine Zoo Innsbruck? Imo this is the place to go for non european zoonerds. No other zoo comes close to the amount of european fauna kept at Innsbruck. Vienna is indeed a formidable recommendation as it has two interesting zoos and an interesting city with much history (including food and beer)
 
amur leopard said:
Broadly speaking I'd agree, and of course much of it is of great historical value, but relative to the Berlins, Prague, Koeln, Vienna etc., it isn't really comparable to be honest, and that's coming from a Londoner born and bred :p.

I do absolutely agree that London (and indeed Paris) has too much to see even for a week, on the other hand. Glad you enjoyed the city (and the zoo) :).
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Yeah, Paris is certainly another week city. I saw the menagerie when I was in Paris in 2015 for a week, it's a one of a kind city to be sure. I plan on getting back there in the next 5-10 years.

IMO the Menagerie is of more interest as it has architecture and history I am interested in as well as more species not seen in the states as often in comparison to the zoo.
 
remar said:
8 answers already and nobody mentioned Alpine Zoo Innsbruck? Imo this is the place to go for non european zoonerds. No other zoo comes close to the amount of european fauna kept at Innsbruck. Vienna is indeed a formidable recommendation as it has two interesting zoos and an interesting city with much history (including food and beer)
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This is a very good reminder, but if rare from US stand point Eurapean Carnivores and Ungulates are on the table, I would recommend the British Wildlife Centre not far away from London.

P.S. Munich lost their Chamois unfortunately..
 
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Although Innsbruck has the ABC mammals of Europe, the strength of their collection is the incredible amount of birds and fish kept. Accompanied by selected herps and invertebrates.
 
I'd agree with comments about avoiding London/the UK, given the tight timelines here unless there is a real draw to the UK I would avoid including it on such a tour, as sad as that makes me to say it!

Jetlag, travel and language barriers are all going to take their toll on you so I would recommend a few bases so you can enjoy the cities you're in rather than trying to see everything.

Cities and zoo combos I would recommend:

Plzen, Czechia. Great zoo which packs a lot in with an overwhelming collection displayed well. The city is much more chilled than Prague, with beautiful architecture, great bars, and crucially, an excellent brewery a short walk from the center. There's not a huge amount to do in the city but you could easily spend 2-3 days there.

Pairi Daiza, Belgium. It's in the middle of nowhere but you can stay nearby or in the hotel in the zoo. The hotel rooms are extremely expensive, but you'll need two days in the zoo anyway and the room cost includes tickets to the zoo for both days, breakfast and dinner plus early entrance to the zoo on the second day it's slightly more affordable, though still dear. The zoo itself is bonkers and happens to have a brewery on site, though I'm not aware you can tour it.

Burgers zoo, Netherlands, offers a unique experience with the walkthrough exhibits and I'd thoroughly recommend it. The city itself is perfectly nice but nothing exceptional though it does have some historic importance, especially if you're interested in the second world war.

Leipzig, Germany, is doable in a day on the train from Berlin and is an interesting blend of old and new with a superb glasshouse exhibit even with the flaws.

If you are hiring a car you can be much more flexible when it comes to visiting some more out of the way attractions. Happy to give extra recommendations based on that.
 
Having seen Pairi Daiza suggested three times I feel like I have to say this: Frankly I don’t think suggesting Pairi Daiza to someone who is visiting Europe for the first time is the best idea. I’d argue that it’s like suggesting Disney’s Animal Kingdom to a European. Sure DAK is a more corporate theme park in a country where big cities and top zoos while PD has more rare species to offer and is in a continent that is more dense in cities and zoos compared to North America. However as @Yassa said PD isn’t too close to many significant cities. Therefore a visit to PD (let alone a two day visit) is not something I would suggest someone who only has ten to fourteen days and already has the Berlins, two zoos known to take multiple days, planned.

On another note to @Kudu21 if you plan on using trans then I would advise you to be on the lookout for strikes.
 
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Pairi Daiza is close to Brussels which is an interesting city but definately not among the top sights in Europe. Beauval however is in the Loire valley with lots of beautiful castles around, which might be very interesting for Americans. And I like Beauval way more then Pairi Daiza because the standard of animal welfare is better compared to so many new but mediocre enclosures in Pairi Daiza.

Chester Zoo is also among the very best in Europe and the city of Chester is very nice (although very small compared to Prague and Berlin or Vienna). But Chester is far from Berlin, Vienna and Prague and in just 2 weeks I would not sacrifice so much time to travel to Chester (unless the UK/Ireland shall be the center of the trip - there are very interesting zoos and cities and sights there!).
 
I, the tenth dentist
I don't mind missing out on a bit of architecture if I am in a 'significant city' for a certain zoo.
On my trip to Berlin in the summer of '22 I saw some notable things but not all of them. And I'm okay with that. The area I stayed in was pleasant, not the most touristy part of Berlin but still a nice one.
And one thing to keep in mind... if you want to see the touristy attraction, most other people want to see the touristy attraction. I went to Vincennes in summer of last year ... a short walk from the zoo and also the Eiffel. And what I found.... many, many, people crowded around the Eiffel and people queueing as if the queen were lying in state [ahem]... plenty of scam artists. The area surrounding was a bit dull. Nice to see it reminding me where I was, but I think seeing it once is enough for myself for now.
The Big Rock on the other hand is much less crowded around. Was much more exciting to look at. You can easily see it from outside streets!
And there are some areas of the United Kingdom which I do find rather beautiful... but am scared to mention in the case that now everyone and their five dogs wants a visit.
 
Seeing as you mention loving zoo history, I'm surprised Hagenbeck Tierpark hasn't come up in this conversation yet. While I've never been to Europe, I know one zoo professional who just came back from a zoo trip in Germany, who is similarly a zoo history enthusiast, and talked about how incredible and surreal it was to see Hagenbeck's panorama. I know as a fact there are at least 200 Zoo Chatters who know Europe's zoos better than me, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think this zoo at least belongs in the conversation.
 
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