Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in North Rhine-Westphalia
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 North Rhine-Westphalia that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
-
PlaygroundParking
Allwetterzoo Münster
Zoo in Münster
The name refers to the roofed walkways that let visitors reach many of the buildings under cover. A predecessor zoo opened in 1875 and closed at the end of 1973, and the current woodland site near the Aasee was built by 1974.
-
Keeper talk or showChild friendlyParking
Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum Düsseldorf
Zoo & Aquarium in Düsseldorf
The building has 6,800 m² of floor space and 25 themed rooms, holding roughly 560 animal species as of July 2018. The displays are rounded out by 1,400 natural history specimens, models and hands-on stations. Just under 500,000 visitors a year make it the city's best-attended cultural institution.
-
Keeper talk or showGuided tourOn-site dining
Naturzoo Rheine
Zoo in Rheine
The zoo covers 13 hectares and houses around 1,400 animals in more than a hundred species. It forms a recreation area together with the Saline Gottesgabe, Kloster Bentlage and the surrounding Bentlager Wald.
-
Keeper talk or showPetting zoo
Tiergarten Kleve
Zoo in Kleve
About 350 animals are kept on six hectares, mainly old and threatened domestic breeds, though maras and armadillos arrived in 2021 as the focus widened to endangered wild species. Pied tamarins and red pandas are kept under the European breeding programme. The park is run by a membership association, with the veterinarian Martin Polotzek as director since January 2021.
-
Animal encounterBehind-the-scenes tourParking
Tierpark Hamm
Zoo in Hamm
Tierpark Hamm is a zoo in Hamm, Germany.
-
Keeper talk or showPlaygroundGuided tour
Tierpark und Fossilium Bochum
Zoo in Bochum
The zoo covers 1.9 hectares inside the Stadtpark and holds about 3,900 animals in more than 330 species. A mining museum and a planetarium stand close by.
-
Keeper talk or showParkingDisability admission concession
Zoo Duisburg
Zoo in Duisburg
The zoo was founded in May 1934 by citizens of Duisburg. It held the first permanent koalas in Germany, and for a long time the only ones, having begun keeping them in 1994. Other rarities include giant otters, black colobus, Roloway monkeys, fossas, clouded leopards and wombats.
-
Keeper talk or showParkingImmersive media attraction
Zoologischer Garten Köln
Zoo & Aquarium in Köln
Cologne Zoo, opened in 1860, is a mixed in Germany. Its exhibits include Elefantenpark, Hippodom, Clemenshof, Aquarium and Terrarium.
-
On-site dining
Zoologischer Garten Wuppertal
Zoo in Wuppertal
Grüner Zoo Wuppertal, opened in 1881, is a zoo in Wuppertal, Germany.
-
PlaygroundGuided tourOn-site dining
ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen
Zoo in Gelsenkirchen
ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen, opened in 1949, is a zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Animals on show include Löwen, Kalifornischer Seelöwe, Waschbär and McCords Schlangenhals-Schildkröten.
-
Guided tourEducation programOn-site dining
Aachener Tierpark Euregiozoo
Zoo in Aachen
The stock runs to roughly 520 animals in about 70 species. The Beverbach flows through the grounds and is dammed into a pond of some two hectares in the north-western corner. In 2007 the zoo joined the Verband der Zoologischen Gärten, an association limited to scientifically run zoos with breeding programmes.
-
Petting zooPlaygroundGuided tour
Safariland Stukenbrock
Zoo in Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock
Operated by Senne Großwild Safariland GmbH & Co KG, the park pairs its animal enclosures with a rides area whose attractions have included Europe's first swinging boat and a 350 m coaster, Flying Tiger, since shut down.
-
Petting zooPlaygroundOn-site dining
Solinger Vogel- und Tierpark
Zoo in Solingen
The park lies north-west of the Ohligser Heide on Hermann-Löns-Weg and is constituted as a registered association. A nearby S-Bahn station takes its name from it.
-
TerraZoo Rheinberg
Zoo in Rheinberg
The collection occupies a purpose-built home in the Winterswick district, having moved there after five years in the basement of the Schacht IV colliery building at Moers. That first site, damp and wedged between a disco and a gym, was judged unfit for keeping animals. Later additions include Nile crocodiles transferred from Duisburg Zoo and an outdoor reptile enclosure.
-
On-site diningAccessible toiletsWheelchair accessible routes
Tierpark Fauna
Zoo in Solingen
The park states that it keeps about 300 animals of 80 species. Opened as a park for local fauna, it has since mixed native and exotic stock. It lies northeast of the centre of Gräfrath, on Lützowstraße.
-
Rides and attractionsOn-site dining
Tierpark Herford
Zoo in Herford
Tierpark Herford is a zoo in Herford, Germany.
-
PlaygroundOn-site diningParking
Tierpark Nadermann
Zoo in Delbrück
Tierpark Nadermann is a zoo in Delbrück, Germany.
-
Petting zooGuided tourEducation program
Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen
Zoo in Detmold
The birds are kept in large, partly walk-in aviaries and pens ringed by flower beds, and direct contact with the animals is put first.
-
Petting zooPlaygroundOn-site dining
Wildpark Gangelt
Zoo in Gangelt
The park occupies 50 hectares and holds brown bears, wild boar, wolves and other European wildlife. An on-site birds-of-prey station gives regular free-flight displays, and a bee house is run by local beekeepers.
-
Education programOn-site dining
Zoo Krefeld
Zoo in Krefeld
The zoo covers 14 hectares and holds roughly 820 animals of about 120 species. About 350,000 people visited in 2017.
-
PlaygroundOn-site diningParking
Heimat-Tierpark Olderdissen
Zoo in Bielefeld
The site covers about 16 hectares and holds some 80 species and over 450 individual animals. It is run by the municipal environmental agency, opens all year and charges no admission. The collection concentrates on showing and conserving native species.
-
Keeper talk or showAssistance animal policy
Tiergarten Mönchengladbach
Zoo in Mönchengladbach
Tiergarten Mönchengladbach is a zoo in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Animals on show include Gürteltier, Zwergotter and Zebramangusten.
-
On-site diningParkingWheelchair accessible routes
Tierpark Recklinghausen
Zoo in Recklinghausen
Founded around 1930, like many Ruhr-area zoos, it once had a sizeable animal collection; the city assumed control in 1960 and the collection has been reduced since. The same municipal garden holds the Ruhrfestspielhaus and the Westphalian public observatory. Space constraints on the inner-city plot rule out proper keeping of large wild animals such as lions.
-
Wildfreigehege Bend
Zoo in Grevenbroich
The enclosure is operated by the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald, with the town covering feed costs, and entry is free all year round. Visitors may feed the animals and stroke them at the fence, and there is a petting area and play equipment. The woodland paths are passable by wheelchair, and picnic tables and a bookable barbecue hut are available.
-
Wildpark Tannenbusch
Zoo in Dormagen
The 20-hectare site opened in 1958 and houses about 200 animals of 25 species. It is operated by the municipal baths and transport company.
-
Falknerei Bergisch Land
Zoo in Wuppertal
Falknerei Bergisch Land is a petting zoo in Wuppertal, Germany.
-
Animal feeding experienceChild friendlyParking
Tierpark Alsdorfer Weiher
Zoo in Alsdorf
Thirty hectares hold 300 animals of 30 species. The grounds were laid out during the 1960s between the Ofden district and the B57 road, opened in 1967 and enlarged since. The park was built at the urging of Helmut Eckert, town director from 1951 to 1975, who founded its support association in 1969 and was later made an honorary member.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 28 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.