Is Tallinn Zoo Worth Visiting? What to Expect Before You Go

Yes, if you can give it half a day rather than an hour between sights. Tallinn Zoo is the only zoo in Estonia, and it has been the most-visited zoo in the Baltic states since 2009, with more than 350 species spread across 89 hectares of forest in the Veskimetsa district. It sits well outside the Old Town, so it rewards a deliberate trip rather than a quick detour, and its Pachyderm House, Tiger Valley and tropical aquarium give you plenty to see even on a cold day.

What not to miss

Featured location Tallinn Zoological Gardens – Tallinna Loomaaed Tallinn, Estonia WAZAWAZA-WP Tallinn Zoo, opened in 1939, is a zoo in Estonia.

Tallinn Zoo opened on 25 August 1939 with a young lynx named Illu as its first exhibit, and moved from its original site by Kadriorg Park to its current 89-hectare home in Veskimetsa in 1983. It belongs to WAZA, EAZA, the German zoo directors' association VDZ and the Eurasian regional association EARAZA, and it holds the world's largest collection of mountain goats and sheep. Behind the exhibits, its Species Conservation Research Center runs a DNA laboratory and biobank alongside breeding and reintroduction programmes.

The Pachyderm House, built in 1989 for the zoo's fiftieth anniversary, is the place to start: African savannah elephants, an Eastern black rhinoceros and a pygmy hippopotamus share the building with caracals, meerkats and a reptile collection that runs from Burmese pythons to leopard tortoises. From there, Tiger Valley, which opened in June 2024, gives its Amur tigers about 2.5 hectares of space alongside an Amur leopard, a dhole, a red-crowned crane and a black stork. The Tropical Houses close out the indoor route: chimpanzees, pygmy marmosets, saltwater and dwarf crocodiles, anacondas and parrots live at a constant 24-28°C and 80-90% humidity, with a marine aquarium of corals and reef fish, a night exposition for the nocturnal species you would otherwise miss, and a separate summer outdoor area.

By visiting the Tallinn Zoo, you support the preservation of the world's animal kingdom.

Tickets and saving money

As of September 2026, a regular adult ticket costs about €19 from May to September and €13 from October to April, each including a voluntary €1 donation. Students and children pay about €11 in summer and €8 the rest of the year, and a family ticket for up to two adults and children under 19 costs €38 in summer or €28 in winter. If you expect to come back, an annual pass costs €65 for an adult or €130 for a family, which pays for itself after three or four summer visits.

Pre-school children get in free when they come with the adult who bought the ticket. Children with disabilities under 16 and people with severe disabilities aged 16 or over also go free with valid documentation, as do teachers accompanying educational groups with the required documentation.

Getting there

The zoo has two entrances. Buses 21, 21B, 42 and 54 from Freedom Square, plus bus 8 from the railway station, stop at the North Gate, where parking is free. The West Gate is served by buses 42 and 46, bus 16 from Freedom Square, and buses 10, 12, 27, 28, 37, 45 and 61; parking here is free for the first 30 minutes, then €3 for a car or €5 for a bus per visit, with free parking for visitors with a disability certificate.

With kids and accessibility

The zoo has six accessible toilets, including two at the Environmental Education Centre, one at the Pachyderm House, one at the Polarium and one near the seals. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge if you arrange it in advance, and a lift with a 400 kg capacity reaches the Pachyderm House's observation tower. Visitors with a visual disability may bring a guide dog, the only exception to the zoo's no-pets rule.

Children under 115cm may still ride a bicycle or scooter with a parent, while everyone else leaves theirs outside.

Best time to visit

Estonian summer days can reach 30-35°C but usually sit closer to 20°C, and the zoo's outdoor grounds stay open until 8pm from May to August to make the most of it. Winter is the opposite extreme: January and February, the coldest months, can bring nights as cold as -35°C, and the first snow typically arrives in late October or November. The zoo stays open every day regardless, but from November to February its grounds close at 5pm and its indoor houses, tropical aquarium included, close at 4pm, so a winter visit needs an earlier start than a summer one.