paris zoo
paris zoo
PARC ZOOLOGIQUE DE PARIS
The Paris Zoo
The Parc Zoologique de Paris is located in the Bois de Vincennes, one of the city’s two big parks. Over 1000 animals call the zoo their home and many of the enclosures are shared by several of the 180 different species to reflect the animals’ natural habitats. The zoo is divided up into five biozones – Patagonia, Africa, Europe, Amazon-Guyana and Madagascar – each with its own ecosystem and unique combination of flora and fauna.
Opening hours:
Winter: daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m
Summer: Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., weekends 9:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m
My Rating:
The positives:
A nicely laid out space with plenty of greenery and huge enclosures, cages and pools for the residents. You can even get surprisingly close to the animals where it’s safe to do so. A brilliant experience for people of all ages!
The negatives:
The physical signs at the zoo are all in French. BUT... There is an app (Parc Zoologique de Paris) that’s available in English.
Tip:
The zoo is located in the sprawling Bois de Vincennes. If you’d like to explore the lakes, the Arboretum de Paris, the Parc Floral and everything else the park has to offer, it’s best to make a day of it!
Last Modified: 09.01.2025 | Céline & Anne
Paris Zoo
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Opening Hours
Summer season:
Monday–Friday, 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Weekends, 9.30 a.m. – 7.30 p.m.
Opening Hours
Summer season:
Monday–Friday, 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Weekends, 9.30 a.m. – 7.30 p.m.
Opening Hours
Summer season:
Monday–Friday, 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Weekends, school holidays and public holidays, 9.30 a.m. – 7.30 p.m.
Winter season:
Monday, Wednesday to Sunday,
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
Closed on Tuesdays (except during school holidays and public holidays)
Admission up to one hour before the park closes
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Activities
Depending on the time of day, various presentations and feedings take place.
These are partly free and open to all visitors, partly you have to register or book online in advance
(e.g. breakfast with the giraffes). Further information is available on the zoo’s website or directly on site.
Paris Zoo
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
The zoo is located in the sprawling Bois de Vincennes park in Paris. As you walk through the trees, you’ll be able to spot the zoo’s iconic Great Boulder which will guide you right to the entrance.
The zoo is divided up into five biozones – Patagonia, Africa, Europe, Amazon-Guyana and Madagascar – each with its own ecosystem and unique combination of flora and fauna. As you can imagine, this turns any day out at the zoo into an exciting adventure. And don’t forget to head to the sixth zone when you’re ready for your picnic lunch. There’s plenty of grass, a barefoot trail and an adventure playground there too.
Over 1000 animals call the zoo their home and many of the enclosures are shared by several of the 180 different species to reflect the animals’ natural habitats. So you might be able to spot a zebra watching two rhinos having a siesta and a young giraffe happily sharing its hay with a herd of ostriches. All in one enclosure!
You can read about all of the animals and exotic plants on little boards, which contain information aimed at adults and children. Definitely download the multilingual Parc Zoologique de Paris app before your visit. It’ll act as your tour guide, offering up all kinds of fun facts on the regions, climate conditions, vegetation and animals.
The enclosures, cages and pools have been designed to allow visitors to get nice and close to the animals. Just make sure you have your camera at the ready! Step onto the wooden bridge to cross the pond, which is home to lots of different water birds. And pop into the huge tropical house between the Amazon-Guyana and Madagascar biozones for a jungle adventure to remember. The snakes and lizards may be behind glass, but the exotic birds fly freely around the enclosure. The iconic Great Boulder you can see for miles is home to the vivarium in the Europe biozone.
I can imagine it would be pretty easy to get lost in the zoo, but you won’t have to worry about that if you pick up a map at the entrance (available in English and French), download the app and follow the signs carefully.
And there’s no chance of getting hungry or thirsty around here – you’re never far from a kiosk or restaurant.
The zoo
a bit of history
A temporary zoo was opened up in Paris as part of the city’s Colonial Exhibition in 1931. It was such a big hit that the decision was made to create a permanent version. In March 1932, the City of Paris gave the Museum of Natural History (which still owns the zoo to this day) 14 hectares of land in the Bois de Vincennes. That explains why the zoo was officially called Zoo de Vincennes until 2014.
The building work was entrusted to Charles Letrosne, who was commissioned to create a modern zoological garden inspired by nature. Replicating natural habitats may be common practice nowadays, but it was revolutionary at the time. The zoo officially opened its doors on 2 June 1934 and attracted five million visitors in its first year.
Between then and the year 2000, the addition of the Great Boulder was the only major change to the zoo. Unfortunately, the lack of maintenance work meant that the zoo was in such a state of disrepair that it had to be closed in November 2008. All of the animals were sent off to other zoos around the world, with only the giraffes and bamboo lemurs being left behind. After six years of renovation work, the zoo was finally open to visitors again in 2014.
That lengthy delay had been prolonged because it took so long to make a final decision on which animals would live at the zoo and how they’d be distributed. While it was obviously important to appeal to visitors, the science had to be taken into account too since the zoo is also a research facility that houses and breeds some endangered species. The criteria set out by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) were another major factor. Some species cannot be kept at zoos for ethical reasons or due to animal welfare considerations.
Official website of the zoo (FR, EN): www.parczoologiquedeparis.fr
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2020 – 2025
With the support of Anne Okolowitz
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