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When
you get to a new city, visiting the local zoo might not be the first thing on
your list, unless you've got kiddos in tow, and then it's almost guaranteed to
be a top priority. But
in some cities across the globe, the zoos are truly spectacular, and visiting
them is a must no matter your age. The following 7 zoos on our list are world-famous, so make sure not to pass on visiting your favorite furry friends
in these locales because they may just turn out to be the highlight of your
trip.
San Diego Zoo
The San
Diego Zoo almost always tops the Best of the U.S. list, and its renown
spreads internationally. So what makes this zoo so special? For starters, it's
located in Balboa Park,
San Diego's beautiful urban cultural park that spans a whopping 1,200 acres and
houses gorgeous museums, gardens, and walking paths, along with the zoo, of
course. Secondly, the zoo is huge and teeming with impressive plant and animal
life. There are over 650 different animal species living at the zoo and over
3,700 animals. The zoo is actually so big that you might even want to visit its
attractions over two days. We recommend a guided tour if you really want to
soak up some facts, but you can also have a great time exploring San Diego's
little animal kingdom on your own as well.
Taronga Zoo
Taronga
Zoo in Sydney has
unrivaled views not only of its beautiful animals, but also of the gorgeous
Sydney Harbor. The zoo is one of Sydney's most famous attractions, and for good
reason; it has about 4,000 animals, including many native Australian species
and also exotic foreign ones. The zoo can be reached by a quick ferry from Circular Quay
near the Sydney Opera House and is equipped with a cable car that can brings
you to the entrance from the ferry pier. Highlights at Taronga are some of our
Aussie favorites -- koalas, kangaroos, crocodiles, wombats, and tasmanian
devils can all be found here.
Singapore Zoo
The
Singapore Zoo boasts 2,800 animals living in a beautiful 64-acre nature
park in the Mandai rainforest. We especially love the Singapore Zoo because it
doesn't have cages. Instead it has carefully crafted animal habitats -- making
for a a better life for its furry residents, and a great interactive experience
for the zoo's visitors. With the entire zoo enjoying this open-air layout, a
visit here will really feel like you're just roaming the jungle with all these
beautiful animals. Take out word for it: Even the non-zoo lovers out there will
appreciate this beautiful wildlife park.
Loro
Parque in Puerto de la
Cruz topped TripAdvisor's traveler's choice awards for best
zoos in 2015, so it has to be good! The zoo, located on the island of Tenerife
in the Canary Islands, is famous for its thousands of parrots and aquatic shows
-- specifically its orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows. The lines can get really
long for these famed events, so try to arrive early. The beautiful vegetation
all around the park and numerous places to grab a bite make it a really
pleasant place to spend a day. The park does a lot of conservation work through
the Loro Parque Foundation, too, so you can rest assured that the animals you
love are well taken care of and healthy.
Tiergarten
Schönbrunn in Vienna is
not your average zoo. Located on the grounds of the famous Schönbrunn palace,
it's actually the oldest zoo in the world. Tiergarten began as an imperial
menagerie in 1752, and today the zoo is a beautiful conservation nature center
with well-preserved baroque buildings and an elegant atmosphere. Among the most
popular attractions are the giant pandas, a rainforest house, an aquarium, and
a polarium. You may not think of going to the zoo when you think of Vienna, but
Tiergarten is unique and we definitely recommend it.
Chester
Zoo in Upton by
Chester, England is the largest zoo in the UK. With a large focus on conservation, the zoo houses about 400 species
of animals, half of which are endangered. In fact, the zoo participates in the
captive breeding programs of over 130 threatened species and has succeeded in
breeding everything from Asian elephants to black rhinoceros. There is
also a very exciting $30 million project going on at Chester called Islands,
which takes visitors on their own conservation adventure through the Philippines, Bali,
Sulawesi, Papua, Sumba and Sumatra, in a nod to the journeys of the great
explorers.
The National
Geological Gardens of South Africa in Pretoria is the largest zoo in the
country, and boasts about 700 species. Half of the zoo is located on a steep
slope, providing nice views from the top, and there's a cool cable car linking
the top point with the entrance at the bottom, which always gains extra points
in our book because, who doesn't love cable cars? The zoo is also appointed
with a large aquarium, reptile park, and sizable collection of exotic trees.
The highlight of the place, though, is the savannah vibe -- there's even
overnight camping and moonlight tours that you can take advantage of to get the
full South African experience.
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