Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Austria
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every zoo in Austria that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Keeper talk or showGuided tourOn-site dining
Haus des Meeres – Aqua Terra Zoo
Zoo & Aquarium in Wien
It occupies a Second World War flak tower in the Esterházypark, in the sixth district, Mariahilf, and is made up chiefly of marine tanks and terraria. Things to do include Guided tours and Feedings.
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Behind-the-scenes tourParkingSensory and cognitive support
Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Zoo in Wien
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.
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Keeper talk or showOn-site diningParking
Tierwelt Herberstein
Zoo in Feistritztal
Tierwelt Herberstein – Steirischer Landestiergarten GmbH is a zoo in Stubenberg, Austria. Animals on show include Afrikanischer Löwe, Gepard, Mandrill, Streifengnu and Brillenbär.
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Petting zooEducation programNight and evening opening
Zoo Linz
Zoo in Linz
The zoo opened in 1980 under the theme "European animals, domestic animals and their wild forms". It keeps about 650 exotic and native animals of around 100 species on some 5.5 hectares, among them red pandas, ostriches, rheas, emus, coatis and meerkats. The site sits at the foot of the Pöstlingberg, with a view over the city.
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Night and evening openingMobility equipment loanParking
Zoo Salzburg
Zoo in Salzburg
Fourteen hectares lie within the Hellbrunn palace park, bordering Anif to the south. About 1,500 animals of 150 species are kept by a staff of roughly 50, and yearly attendance is around 400,000. The layout follows geographic-zoo lines and the zoo is treated as an educational institution, with mixed-species enclosures used to increase contact between species.
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Alpenzoo Innsbruck
Zoo in Innsbruck
The site covers about 10 hectares, of which only five are developed, and an expansion took place in 2022. Around 2,000 animals of some 150 species are kept, all of them from the Alpine region.
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Child friendlyGuided tourEducation program
Cumberland Wildpark
Zoo in Grünau im Almtal
The park sits among cliffs on the northern rim of the Totes Gebirge, beside the Almsee, and covers 60 hectares crossed by walking paths. Seventy animal species are kept, including threatened animals such as wild horses. It is known through the work Konrad Lorenz carried out there.
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Keeper talk or showOn-site dining
Kameltheater Kernhof
Zoo in Sankt Aegyd am Neuwalde
The performers are mostly two-humped Bactrian camels, a breed that copes with winters in the alpine foothills, and other animals also appear in simple stage pieces. The programme is aimed chiefly at children. The venue seats about 250 and plays only in the summer half of the year.
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PlaygroundOn-site diningParking
Tierpark Altenfelden
Zoo in Altenfelden
Tierpark Altenfelden is a zoo in Altenfelden, Austria. Animals on show include Steinkauz, Wolf, Zebra, Polarfüchse and Gepard.
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PlaygroundOn-site diningParking
Tierpark Rosegg
Zoo in Rosegg
Tierpark Rosegg is a zoo in Rosegg, Austria. Animals on show include Ziegen, Eseln, Lamas, Steinböcke and Pfaue.
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On-site diningDisability admission concessionImmersive media attraction
Zoo Schmiding
Zoo in Krenglbach
The zoo grew out of Vogelpark Schmiding, Austria's largest bird park, which opened in 1982, and now covers 14 hectares arranged by region of the world. A circuit of four kilometres passes giraffes, white rhinos, red pandas, Siberian tigers and Austria's only gorillas. The zoo, an aqua zoo and an arthropod zoo stand on the grounds of Schmiding castle, first documented in 1100.
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Petting zooWheelchair accessible routes
Happ's Reptilienzoo
Zoo in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Happ's Reptilienzoo, opened in 1976, is a zoo in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria.
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On-site diningAccessible toiletsWheelchair accessible routes
Raritätenzoo Ebbs
Zoo in Ebbs
Raritätenzoo Ebbs is a zoo in Ebbs, Austria.
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Reptilienzoo Nockalm
Zoo in Reichenau
Open all year, it has been accessible to the public since 1995 under Peter Zürcher, who turned his hobby into his job, with Carina Zechmann helping to run it since 2020. It has been enlarged repeatedly since opening and holds roughly 400 animals in about 135 terrariums, 120 of them indoors. It is reckoned among the most species-rich displays of live venomous snakes in Europe.
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PlaygroundPicnic area
Steppentierpark Pamhagen
Zoo in Pamhagen
Around 50 species live on 13 hectares, some of them roaming loose. The stock is mostly native steppe breeds of the Pannonian plain — mangalitsa pigs, baroque donkeys, Hungarian grey cattle and water buffalo, along with goats, sheep and deer — while lynx, wolves and golden jackals are also kept. It opens only for the summer half-year, from March to October.
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Tiergarten Walding
Zoo in Walding
The collection was started in 1967 by the Mair family at a farm and inn in Pasching near Linz, and the family relocated in 1977 with almost all of the animals, a construction permit following in 1979. Karl Mair died in 1988 and Maria Mair in 1992. Angela Mair has run it since her parents' deaths.
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Petting zooPlayground
Vogelpark Turnersee
Zoo in St. Primus
Vogelpark Turnersee, opened in 1982, is a zoo in St. Primus, Austria. Things to do include Petting zoo and Children's playground.
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Tiergarten Wels
Zoo in Wels
The oldest such park in Upper Austria, it holds 650 animals on 28,000 m², bounded by the trade fair grounds, the Almtalbahn line and Maria-Theresia-Straße.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 18 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.