Is Schönbrunn Zoo Worth It? What Vienna's Famous Zoo Is Really Like

Yes, and it is easiest to justify if you are already going to Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, calls itself the oldest zoo in the world, founded in 1752, and today it keeps 6,239 animals of 502 species, giant pandas and diving polar bears among them. An adult ticket costs €29 as of September 2026, and the palace is a few minutes' walk from every zoo entrance, so the two fit into one trip.

What not to miss

Featured location Tiergarten Schönbrunn Wien, Austria WAZAWAZA-WP Founded in 1752 by the Habsburgs within the grounds of Schönbrunn palace, the zoo occupies 17 hectares and holds about 7,800 animals of 700 species. Attendance has topped two million every year since 2006. The zoologist Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck has been director since 2020.

The zoo began in 1752 as the menagerie of Emperor Franz I Stephan, Maria Theresa's husband, and from 1778 it opened on Sundays to all "decently dressed persons". It is part of the Schönbrunn UNESCO World Heritage site, and Wikipedia describes it as the world's oldest zoo still in operation. It is not coasting on its history, though: Anthony Sheridan's zoo rankings named it the best zoo in Europe in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2021, and it drew 2 million visitors in 2025.

Start with the giant pandas. Lan Yun, a female, and He Feng, a male, were both born in 2020 at stations of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, and they arrived from Sichuan on 23 April 2025 for a stay of a decade. You can watch them directly from the Emperor's Pavilion, the centre of the zoo since 1752.

Then head for Polar Bear World, where you can watch the bears diving underwater, and the Polarium with its seals and penguins. In the South America Park, capybaras, anteaters, rheas and vicuñas share one mixed-species exhibit, and the Tirolerhof keeps rare Austrian livestock breeds.

Newcomers in 2025-26

The zoo's young bull elephant turned one on 20 August 2026, and that month the zoo put his weight at about 400 kilograms. Two South American sea lion pups followed in early and mid July 2026; you can see them with their mothers in the mother-and-pup area of the seal enclosure. There is a sea lion feeding at 10:30 a.m. every day except Tuesday, and the koalas are fed daily at 4 p.m.

What you will not see yet

Set your expectations before you go. The Rainforest House has been closed for renovation since 2022. In February 2026 the zoo said it would reopen during the year with a completely new concept, and Chinese pangolins, which the zoo calls threatened with extinction and which were then shown in only two European zoos, are among the new species planned for it. The zoo's new species-conservation aquarium, which will be Austria's largest, is not due to open until 2029.

The Desert House is a separate attraction, not part of the main zoo. It stands opposite the Palm House beside the Hietzing entrance, with its own hours and prices, and one of its highlights is a 70-metre maze of glass tubes holding a colony of naked mole rats.

Tickets and saving money

As of September 2026, a day ticket costs €29 for adults and €17 for children and teenagers aged 6-18, and children under 6 go free. There are no reduced prices for students or senior citizens. With the Vienna City Card you pay €25, at the zoo's ticket offices on showing the card.

Families should look at the family block: five day tickets, two adult and three child, for €96. That is €13 less than the same five tickets bought singly, and because they are valid for a year and can be used one at a time, a family of four can keep the fifth for a return visit.

If you also want the palace, do the sums before buying the Classic Pass Plus. It costs €81 for adults and €58 for ages 6-18, and covers the palace ticket with audio guide, the zoo, the Privy Garden, the Maze & Labyrinth, the Orangery Garden, the Gloriette, the Desert House and the Palm House. The palace visit is fixed to a date and time, but you can use the other attractions once each until the end of the season; the palace reckons the full set takes one to two days. For the palace and the zoo alone, separate adult tickets come to €71 (€42 plus €29), so the pass costs €10 more than those two, and is worth it only if you also want some of the other attractions it covers.

Best time to visit

From April to September the zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In October it closes at 5:30 p.m. until the clocks change, then at 4:30 p.m. through December; in January it also closes at 4:30 p.m., and in February at 5 p.m. The ticket offices shut 30 minutes before closing, and that is also the last entry. Plan the indoor houses early in the afternoon: the Bird House closes an hour before the zoo, and most other animal houses half an hour before.

Come early, too. The zoo is candid about what that buys you:

There is no guarantee that you will see all the animals during your visit. The best time is in the morning, as many species are early risers and more active in the mornings.

That advice counts double in summer. Vienna's summers are warm to hot, with average highs of 27-32 °C. Vienna's school holidays are worth checking against your dates too: the autumn holidays run from 27 to 31 October 2026, and the summer holidays in 2027 from 3 July to 5 September.

Getting there

The zoo's main entrance, Hietzing, is served by the U4 to Hietzing and by trams 10, 49, 52 and 60. The palace is a few minutes' walk from all three zoo entrances, quickest via the Neptun exit; its own stops are Schönbrunn on the U4 and Schloss Schönbrunn on trams 10 and 60. Since 25 August 2026 a new entrance, the historic Engelstor near the Kennedy Bridge, has led directly into the palace park.

Book the palace before you set off. Admission runs on fixed entry times, and the palace advises securing a time slot online in advance. Its audio-guide Palace Ticket tour takes about 75 minutes and costs €42 for adults and €30 for children from age 6, as of September 2026.

Wild boar one bus ride away

If you want to see animals outside a zoo, the 56B bus links Hietzing on the U4 with the Lainzer Tor, the main gate of the Lainzer Tiergarten. The preserve is home to 800 to 1,000 wild boar, along with fallow deer, about 700 mouflons and red deer. Entry is free, and until 13 September 2026 it is open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

With kids and accessibility

The petting zoo next to the large adventure playground lets children stroke miniature goats and sheep. Hand carts can be hired for €5, plus a €10 deposit.

Wheelchairs can be borrowed free at all three entrances. Avoid the Tirolergarten entrance by the car park if you use one: the path from there down to the main part of the zoo is very steep and unsuitable for wheelchair users. From mid-March to the end of October, the panorama railway takes the climb from the historic area up to the Tirolerhof for you.