Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Sweden
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 Sweden that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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On-site dining
Nordens Ark
Zoo in Hunnebostrand
The park is run by the Stiftelsen Nordens Ark foundation as a breeding facility for threatened animals, its name alluding to the story of Noah's ark in the Bible. Work covers some sixty threatened species, chiefly temperate mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles of the northern hemisphere, together with threatened Nordic domestic breeds. It is open to visitors year-round and receives around 100,000 visitors a year.
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Education program
Borås Djurpark
Zoo in Borås
Close to 600 animals of about 65 species are kept, and the park belongs to the Swedish zoo association SDF. It markets itself as the country's first Africa park, citing five decades of experience.
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Junsele Zoo
Zoo in Junsele
Around 25 animal species are kept. It is best known for its white Bengal tigers, and other stock includes brown bear, lynx, yak, camel, llama, red-necked wallaby, donkey and elk. A farm section serves as a children's zoo and zoo school, with mini Shetland ponies, dwarf goats, mini pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs.
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Overnight stay
Järvzoo
Zoo in Järvsö
The collection is restricted to Nordic species, with wolf, lynx and wolverine among the large carnivores on show.
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Universeum
Zoo in Gothenburg
Universeum is a zoo in Gothenburg, Västergötland, Västra Götaland County, Sweden.
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Behind-the-scenes tourOn-site dining
Ystad Djurpark
Zoo in Ystad
Opened in 1998 on undulating grassland, the park shows more than seventy species drawn from various parts of the world. Animals on show include Servalerna, kapybarorna, jak, bison and nubiska getter.
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Gotland animal park
Zoo in Gotlands Tofta
Gotland animal park is a zoo in Gotlands Tofta, Sweden. Animals on show include kameler, surikater, getter, zebror and kängurus.
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Guided tour
Kolmårdens Djurpark
Zoo in Kolmården
The park sits on the northern shore of Bråviken, about 100 metres above sea level, and at 1.75 km² is the largest zoo in the Nordic countries. Some 80 species are kept, several of them endangered and held in Swedish and international breeding programmes.
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Lycksele Zoo
Zoo in Lycksele
Founded in 1959 by Holger Lithner, it began as a small collection at Gammplatsen and moved to Brännberget in 1966. It is run by the municipality, covers 10 hectares and holds about 400 animals across 30 species. The collection specialises in Nordic fauna, including wolf, bear, wolverine, arctic fox, lynx, musk ox and grey seal.
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Skansen
Zoo in Stockholm
As of 2024 about 140 Scandinavian buildings stand on the site, the oldest of them Vastveitloftet, which dates from the 1300s. The name is taken from a redoubt that Karl XIV Johan had built as a playground for his son, Oscar I.
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Keeper talk or show
Slottsskogens Djurpark
Zoo in Göteborg
Counted among Sweden's oldest animal parks, it makes no charge for admission.
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Aspuddsparken
Zoo in Stockholm
The site stands on Blommensbergsvägen in the Hägersten-Älvsjö district and ranks among the largest staffed play parks with animals in the city.
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Petting zoo
Parken Zoo
Zoo in Eskilstuna
An EAZA member, it is owned by Kolmårdens Tropicarium, with Rickard Sjödén as managing director and Filip Sotton Heyn as chair of the board.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 13 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.