What Is the Biggest Zoo in Poland?

It depends on what you measure. By area, the biggest zoo in Poland is Gdańsk Zoo, at about 125 hectares, with Poznań's New Zoo close behind; by number of species and by visitors, it is Wrocław Zoo, with more than 12,000 animals of over 1,100 species. If you have time for one big zoo, make it Wrocław: it has the most species in the country, and its Afrykarium is Poland's largest oceanarium.

Which zoo to choose

The answer depends on the yardstick:

• By area: Gdańsk Zoo covers about 125 ha by its own figure, and Poznań's New Zoo 120.68 ha of hilly woodland with six large ponds. Warsaw Zoo covers about 40 ha, Wrocław 32 ha, Kraków Zoo nearly 17 ha and Łódź Zoo 16.64 ha.
• By species: Wrocław leads with over 1,100, against 554 at Łódź, about 500 at Warsaw, 260 at Kraków and 164 at Gdańsk.
• By visitors: Wrocław is the most visited zoo in Poland and the fifth most visited in Europe, with 1.8 million visitors a year by its own count. Warsaw gets over 700,000, Kraków about 500,000, and Gdańsk recorded 432,508 in 2017.

So choose Gdańsk or Poznań for space, and Wrocław for the most kinds of animal on a site in the city centre.

Wrocław Zoo: the most animals, and the Afrykarium

Wrocław Zoo opened in 1865, which makes it the oldest zoo in Poland, and it calls itself Poland's largest zoo. Its headline is the Afrykarium, opened on 26 October 2014: Poland's largest oceanarium, and the only one in the world devoted to African animals. It has no separate ticket, because every zoo ticket includes it, and 15 million litres of water circulate through it, as much as six Olympic pools.

The route starts with Red Sea tortoises and coral reef fish, then moves to East Africa's Nile hippos, aardvarks, naked mole-rats and fish found only in Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. In the Mozambique Channel tunnel, sharks, rays and a green turtle swim around you. After that come African penguins and fur seals on the Skeleton Coast, and finally a Congo jungle with Nile crocodiles and manatees.

Outside the Afrykarium, look for the rarer species: okapi, bear cuscus, red hartebeest, Philippine mouse-deer and L'Hoest's monkey. One change to know about: since 20 August 2026 the great ape pavilion has been closed to visitors for modernisation, and the first stage is due to take about two months. The chimpanzees can still use the building and their outdoor enclosure, so you may still see them outside.

Featured location Wrocław Zoo Wrocław, Poland WAZA-WP The oldest zoological garden on present-day Polish territory, at Wróblewskiego 1–5, it covers 33 hectares. By the end of 2015 it showed over 10,500 animals of 1,132 species, excluding invertebrates, the third largest total in the world on that measure.

Poznań Zoo: the most space

Poznań has two zoos. The small Old Zoo near the city centre, with reptiles, amphibians and fish, is free to enter; you only need a ticket for its cold-blooded animals pavilion. The New Zoo, opened in 1974, is the second-largest zoo in Poland by area and the one to plan around. The zoo says a visit can take several hours, and it is where the mammals and birds are.

Go for the birds of prey and owls, a collection among the richest in Europe, and for the African elephants, which have a 2.5-hectare outdoor enclosure next to an elephant house opened in 2008. There is also a 3-hectare bear sanctuary built with the Four Paws foundation.

Featured location Poznań Zoo Poznań, Poland WAZAWAZA-WP Zoo Poznan is a zoo in Poznań, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland.

Warsaw Zoo: the capital's all-rounder

Warsaw Zoo opened in 1928 and keeps more than 12,000 animals of about 500 species, nearly 50 of them in European Endangered Species Programmes. It is the only zoo in Poland with polar bears, the twin brothers Aleut and Gregor. On 9 June 2026 it opened a new penguin enclosure and pavilion, where you watch the African penguins underwater through a glass pool wall.

The zoo's history is part of the visit. During the Second World War its director, Jan Żabiński, with his wife Antonina and their son Ryszard, saved more than 300 Jews from the Holocaust. Their villa can only be seen on a guided tour, which includes the cellars where Jews were hidden and costs an extra 10 zł per person; without booking, tours start at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month. Volunteers also lead guided walks in English, included in the admission price, but you have to sign up.

Featured location Warsaw Zoological Garden Warszawa, Poland WAZAWAZA-WP Warsaw Zoological Garden, opened in 1928, is a zoo in Poland. Animals on show include Hipopotam, Ara hiacyntowa, Leniwiec, Słonie afrykańskie and Surykatki.

Łódź Zoo: the newest big draw

Łódź Zoo is small by area, but its Orientarium, opened on 29 April 2022, is billed as Europe's most modern pavilion for the wildlife of South East Asia. It claims Europe's largest elephant enclosure, a 26-metre underwater tunnel through tanks holding more than 3 million litres of water, and Poland's only Sumatran orangutans. On 24 April 2026 the zoo added Poland's largest butterfly house, included in the zoo ticket. Most visitors spend about three hours here.

Tickets and saving money

Prices below are in Polish złoty (zł) and were checked in September 2026.

• Wrocław Zoo: regular tickets from 69 zł online or 99 zł at the box office; concession tickets, which cover children aged 3 to 7, pupils under 21 and students under 26, from 59 zł online or 89 zł at the box office; a family ticket for two adults and up to two dependants from 225 zł online. Under-3s and over-75s enter on a control coupon from the ticket office.
• Poznań's New Zoo: from March to October, 45 zł regular, 30 zł reduced and 80 zł for a family on weekdays, rising to 55 zł, 35 zł and 115 zł on Saturdays. From November to February everyone pays 20 zł. Children go free until their third birthday.
• Warsaw Zoo: from April to September, 45 zł regular and 35 zł reduced (children from 3 and students up to 26); from October to March, 35 zł and 30 zł. Children under 3 and people over 75 pay 1 zł.

A few ways to pay less. In Poznań, go on a weekday rather than a Saturday; the family ticket covers two adults and up to four children, and holders of the Poznań Tourist Card get the reduced price. In Warsaw, a family of at least three pays 35 zł each from April to September, and your zoo ticket gives you free parking at the Galeria Wileńska shopping centre. In Wrocław, a Zoo+Hydropolis family ticket costs 380 zł and gives one all-day entry to each within 30 days of purchase.

Best time to visit

Wrocław, Poznań and Warsaw all open every day of the year, holidays included, so what changes through the year is the opening hours. Come between April and September for the longest visits. Wrocław's outdoor exhibits and the Afrykarium stay open until 18:00 from Monday to Thursday and until 19:00 from Friday to Sunday, Poznań's New Zoo is open 9:00-19:00, and Warsaw stays open until 6 p.m., or 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays from May to August. Summer also brings extras: Poznań's free train around the New Zoo runs from April to the end of September, and Warsaw's hippo, baboon, lemur and rhino feedings take place daily only from 15 June to 30 August.

In winter the hours shrink. In November and December, Wrocław stops admitting visitors at 15:00 and closes at 16:00, Poznań's New Zoo is open 9:00-16:00, and Warsaw closes at 4 p.m. Prices drop, though: 20 zł at Poznań and 35 zł at Warsaw.

Polish school summer holidays in 2027 run from 26 June to 31 August. Winter school holidays are staggered by region: 18-31 January 2027 in Lower Silesia (Wrocław) and the Łódź region, 1-14 February in Mazovia (Warsaw) and Pomerania, and 15-28 February in Greater Poland (Poznań) and Lesser Poland. Whatever the season, arrive early: Łódź Zoo says it is most crowded in the afternoon and recommends the morning or early afternoon.

Getting there

• Wrocław Zoo: buses 145 and 146 run straight from Wrocław Główny station to the Hala Stulecia stop, and trams 1, 2, 4, 10, 13 and 19 stop at Hala Stulecia or ZOO. From the airport, take bus 106 to Wrocław Główny and change. The main entrance has only a drop-off bay; drivers use the paid 24-hour car park at Hala Stulecia, with more than 800 spaces and a footbridge to the zoo.
• Poznań's New Zoo: bus 184 stops about 100 metres from the entrance, and in summer the Maltanka park railway runs along Lake Malta to Zwierzyniec station by the entrance. Parking is paid from 1 April to 31 October, at 5 zł an hour on weekdays and 7 zł at weekends for cars, and free the rest of the year.
• Warsaw Zoo: Warszawa ZOO railway station is a few steps from the gate on Starzyńskiego Street, and the Ratuszowa-ZOO tram stop is at the Jagiellońska Street entrance, where your route starts at the great ape enclosure.
• Łódź Zoo: Łódź Kaliska station is about a 20-minute walk away.

With kids and accessibility

Wrocław lends wheelchairs free against a 50 zł deposit, and the Afrykarium is fully accessible, with lifts and ramps along the whole route. The historic Terrarium has no lifts, so wheelchair users cannot reach its upstairs butterfly house. Poznań's New Zoo lends wheelchairs free at the entrance, but not all its paths are paved and some are steep; visitors with disabilities can book a free one-hour electric-cart ride with two companions from April to the end of September. Warsaw lends wheelchairs free from May to mid-October, and people with a disability certificate enter free with one adult guardian.

For children, Warsaw has a modern playground next to a large picnic clearing, and Wrocław has the Zoolandia ropes course and a children's zoo.