Is Zurich Zoo Worth Visiting?

Yes, if you give it most of a day rather than an hour between sights. Zurich Zoo covers 27 hectares on the lower slopes of the Zürichberg, and it puts a rainforest hall kept at 20 to 30 °C, a savanna with rhinos and giraffes and a new big-cat habitat one tram ride from the main station. It is open every day of the year, and an adult ticket costs CHF 32 as of September 2026.

What not to miss

Featured location Zoo Zürich Zürich, Switzerland WAZAWAZA-WP The zoo opened in 1929 above the city on the Zürichberg, in the Fluntern district. It is the third-oldest zoological garden in Switzerland, after those at Basel and Goldau, and its official supporters' society has more than 40,000 members.

Zurich Zoo opened in 1929, which makes it the third oldest zoo in Switzerland, after Basel and Arth-Goldau. It is not resting on its age: about 1.33 million people visited in 2025.

Masoala Rainforest

This is the reason to go. The Masoala Rainforest, opened in 2003, is a hall 120 metres long, 90 metres wide and 30 metres high, kept at 20 to 30 °C with about 80% humidity. Around 40 vertebrate species, roughly 500 animals, live in it together, and the mammals are red ruffed lemurs, Goodman's mouse lemurs and Rodrigues fruit bats. Since 2013 a treetop walkway has let you look down on the forest from above.

Lewa Savanna and the elephants

The Lewa Savanna is the zoo's most spacious exhibit, and its focus species are the white rhino, the reticulated giraffe and Grevy's zebra. It lies below Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park, home to the zoo's Asian elephants, where the underwater view is the part to wait for. The distances add up: even the Masoala Express train takes 12 minutes from the main entrance to the Lewa Savanna.

Panthera

Panthera, open since the end of March 2025, houses Asiatic lions, Siberian tigers, snow leopards and red pandas. Look up as well as in: a catwalk, a walkway with a thick tree trunk, carries the big cats over visitors' heads. The red pandas are worth a detour of their own, since Zurich keeps Switzerland's only breeding pair.

New arrivals and building work

On 27 July 2026 the gorilla Mayumi gave birth to her first baby, Amata, the first born in the zoo's new gorilla group. A koala, Zoey, was born at the zoo on 11 May 2025. You can also walk into the outdoor enclosure for Bennett's wallabies and emus, and into the Lori Aviary close by. Wikipedia also credits the zoo with being the first and only European institution to breed Galápagos tortoises successfully.

Set expectations on two things. The new Pantanal Aviary is being built from 11 March 2024 until 2028, and the area around it is closed while the work goes on. The Ndoki Forest, where western lowland gorillas, drills, okapis and pygmy hippos will live, is not due to open until 2031.

Best time to visit

From March to October the zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; from November to February it closes at 5 p.m. The Masoala Rainforest opens an hour later than the rest of the zoo, at 10 a.m., so spend your first hour on the elephants or Panthera and walk into the rainforest once it opens.

Winter is a better time to come than you might think. The city's weather station at Zurich-Fluntern stands on the slope of the Zürichberg, 150 metres above the level of the city centre, and there the mean daily minimum in January is -1.4 °C; in July the mean daily maximum is 24.3 °C. On a cold day, the Masoala hall stays at 20 to 30 °C.

Cold weather also brings the Penguin Parade. It is on its seasonal break now, and the next season starts in mid-November 2026. When it is below 10 °C, the king penguins take a walk through the zoo every day at 1.30 p.m., and from 9 a.m. the zoo's event calendar says whether the walk will happen. It is voluntary for the birds, so even on a cold day they may stay in their enclosure. In the aquarium's indoor penguin enclosure, king penguins live in summer and Humboldt penguins in winter.

Tickets and saving money

As of September 2026, a single ticket costs CHF 32 for adults aged 18 and over, CHF 27 for young people aged 13-17 and CHF 18 for children aged 6-12, and children under 6 go free. A family day pass for two adults with their own children aged 6-17 costs CHF 85, which is less than two adults and two teenagers pay separately. Children up to 12 get in free on their birthday if you show a valid ID.

If you only want an evening look, the Sunset ticket gives 40% off non-discounted single tickets from 90 minutes before closing. Coming by train from elsewhere in Switzerland, check the SBB RailAway offer: 10% off single admission and 20% off the journey to Zurich and back. Zürich Card holders also get 10% off single admission.

Getting there

Take the tram. Tram 6 runs from Zurich main station to its final stop, Zoo, and from Stettbach train station bus 751 runs to the Zoo/Forrenweid stop. The zoo recommends public transport: the metered parking nearby belongs to the City of Zurich, spaces are limited, and when they are full you are sent on to external car parks.

When you arrive

Leave the dog at home: pets are not allowed, although certified assistance dogs are. Picnic spots and playgrounds are marked on the zoo map, and in the Zoolino children can stroke pygmy goats, pigs and other domestic animals. Most paths suit wheelchairs and are marked on the zoo map, and the main paths through the Masoala Rainforest are paved and wheelchair accessible.

Other wildlife nearby

For a second, free animal outing, go to Tierpark Langenberg in Wildnispark Zürich, about 30 minutes from Zurich by public transport. Entry to Langenberg and the Sihlwald costs nothing, and European brown bears are among its animals.

For a day trip with trains, Natur- und Tierpark Goldau is about a five-minute walk from Arth-Goldau station and is home to about 100 native and European wild animal species. It opens at 9 a.m. daily and closes at 6 p.m. from April to October and at 5 p.m. from November to March. As of September 2026, adults from 20 pay CHF 26, young people aged 16-19 CHF 21 and children aged 4-15 CHF 13.