Looking for ideas for memorable holidays with children? Zoos are places where nature, learning, and entertainment come together in one unforgettable experience. So, here is a great idea for your family’s summer holiday plan: visit the best zoos in Europe.
Top zoos in Europe: ideas for holidays with children. “Travel 4 kids” selected the most impressive and interesting zoos from the places we have visited and now recommend for your travels.
TOP zoos in Europe: ideas for holidays with children
Loro Parque in Tenerife
Loro Parque is one of the largest and most beautiful zoos in Europe. The park is famous not only for its enormous aquarium with an underwater tunnel, a separate penguinarium, and a bird zone where visitors can walk alongside the birds. In addition, we highly recommend attending all shows, as they are included in the ticket price. Visitors can enjoy sea lion and seal performances, dolphin shows, the spectacular orca show, and parrot performances. Do not miss any of them.
Moreover, the park offers a wide selection of dining options, playgrounds, and everything needed for a full day of activities with children. Therefore, you can confidently plan to spend the entire day here.
Find tickets at the best price. If you also plan to visit Siam Park, choose the TWIN ticket.
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Monkey Park in Tenerife
Monkey Park may not be large, yet it is truly exceptional. Originally, the park functioned as a rescue center. Today, it focuses on endangered animal species. Currently, the park highlights lemurs, various monkey species, and birds. The territory feels spacious and well maintained. Furthermore, ticket prices remain affordable, and children under 5 can enter free of charge.
Children especially enjoy direct interaction with animals. Visitors can feed guinea pigs, lemurs, turtles, and even iguanas. Additionally, the park runs educational programs and scheduled feeding sessions.
The park is located in southern Tenerife, very close to Los Cristianos and the main southern highway.
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Bioparc Valencia
Bioparc Valencia is a modern zoo where animals live in environments that closely resemble their natural habitats. As a result, visitors can explore African savannas and observe animals without cages or fences. This creates a remarkably authentic experience. Here you will see elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, and gorillas. Since we have visited many zoos across Europe, we confidently consider Bioparc Valencia one of the TOP5 zoos in Europe.
We admired the park’s territory, greatly enjoyed observing the hippos, and felt a strong impression after visiting the lemur area and attending the gorilla educational session. It is absolutely worth visiting.
In addition, the park offers rest areas, dining spots, and a playground. Bioparc Valencia is quite large. Shows and educational activities take place throughout the day. Therefore, plan to dedicate a full day to this park.
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Barcelona zoo
Barcelona Zoo is one of the most visited attractions in the city. It is located in the heart of Barcelona, inside Ciutadella Park. Although it is not the largest zoo, it feels cozy, well maintained, and home to many animals. Barcelona Zoo houses more than 400 animal species.
We purchased tickets in advance through our trusted partner system. Consequently, the process was both faster and more affordable.
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Safari Aitana in Alicante
Safari Aitana is located approximately one hour by car from popular resorts such as Benidorm and Alicante. The park sits at around 1000 meters above sea level in a mountainous region. Visitors explore the park by car along a special route surrounded by freely roaming animals. This creates a true safari experience. Furthermore, experienced guides allow visitors to step out of the vehicle while providing engaging information about the animals.
The park is home to more than 150 animals, including giraffes, elephants, hippos, zebras, antelopes, camels, goats, sheep, and many other friendly species. In separate safe zones, visitors can also observe lions and tigers. However, guests must remain inside the car in these areas.
Additionally, the park features a mini zoo, a restaurant serving traditional dishes, and a children’s playground.
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Oasis Park in Fuerteventura
Oasis Park combines a zoo and a botanical garden. The park spans more than 800,000 square meters and houses over 3,000 animals along with thousands of plant species.
Here visitors will see giraffes, elephants, and camels. In addition, guests can attend animal shows featuring parrots, sea lions, and reptiles. These performances are included in the ticket price. Children especially enjoy feeding giraffes. This activity left a lasting impression on our family. Even today, when visiting other zoos, our children ask whether giraffe feeding will be available. Visitors only pay for the giraffe food.
The parrot and reptile shows were among the most chaotic, yet also among the most memorable performances we have ever seen. Therefore, be sure to watch them.
Oasis Park remains one of the most beautiful zoos we have visited.
Purchase tickets in advance to avoid queues.
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Las Aguilas Jungle Park in Tenerife
Las Aguilas Jungle Park is both a zoological and botanical park. The territory covers 7.5 hectares of jungle and is home to more than 500 animals.
The park is located in southern Tenerife. Bird, sea lion, and seal shows are included in the ticket price. Additionally, visitors will find a small climbing park and a summer toboggan ride. Some enclosures allow visitors to enter and observe animals from close proximity.
Be sure to check the bird show schedule. Birds fly directly overhead, and the performance lasts quite a while. Therefore, choosing a shaded seat ensures a comfortable experience.
Purchase tickets in advance through a secure ticket system.
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Lodz zoo
Łódź Zoo is currently the largest zoo in Poland and one of the largest in Europe. After reconstruction works were completed in 2023, the zoo and its Orientarium became one of the most modern zoological complexes in Europe.
Łódź Zoo houses 3,350 animals representing 554 species. Visitors can observe elephants, sharks, bears, rays, rare lions, Sumatran orangutans, and crocodiles.
The main highlight is the Orientarium. Although we have visited many zoos worldwide, this space left a particularly strong impression. The Orientarium consists of four zones dedicated to elephants, aquatic animals, the Oceania area, and tropical species.
Visitors can observe animals at eye level, from above, and even underwater. For example, guests can watch crocodiles swimming or elephants bathing. This experience feels truly unique.
The Orientarium also features the longest underwater tunnel in Poland, measuring 26 meters. Here visitors will see sharks, rays, and more than 1,300 fish species. In addition, the space includes a massive panoramic aquarium window.
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Gdansk zoo
Gdańsk Zoo is one of the largest zoos in Poland, covering approximately 120 hectares.
The zoo is home to animals from all continents, including many rare species. Visitors can observe elephants, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, seals, pumas, penguins, zebras, kangaroos, flamingos, goats, deer, and many more animals.
For younger visitors, the zoo offers a dedicated “Small Zoo” area where children can feed and touch animals.
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Athens zoo
Athens Zoo covers more than 20 hectares and houses over 2,000 animals representing approximately 290 species.
Some animals may approach visitors very closely. Consequently, the experience often feels interactive and engaging. Animals enjoy spacious environments, which makes observing their natural behavior especially interesting. We spent considerable time near the elephants while waiting for them to move closer.
One of our favorite areas was the free-roaming lemur zone. Visitors should secure food and belongings, as curious lemurs may gather quickly. However, the animals behave gently and remain friendly.
Visitors who wish to gain deeper insights can choose a guided visit.
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Lithuanian zoo
After reconstruction, the Lithuanian Zoo in Kaunas also deserves attention. Visitors will encounter many exotic animals, including tigers, lions, leopards, giraffes, rhinos, and camels. In addition, the zoo houses white wolves, foxes, llamas, goats, and ponies.
We particularly enjoyed the education center and the exotarium. Children spent more time here than in other areas. Visitors will find shared spaces, educational films, and themed zones with animals. Moreover, guests can move through different climate zones and observe turtles, birds, and reptiles up close.
The renewed environment includes updated walking paths, playgrounds, and a panoramic lift.
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