Hi I have a short trip to Switzerland with my zoo-mad 9 year son in August. We are flying into Basel will definitely visit the famous zoo there but which other zoo is worth visiting? We will be using public transport so would prefer ones that are easy and quick to get to. Zurich looks a little far outside the city centre and we have also had a look at Dählhölzli but again not sure how close it is to the centre of Berne. Any advice is appreciated. Best Regards
This is an easy one - Mulhouse! The airport is equidistant between the two zoos, and Mulhouse has loads to commend it - some very interesting primates, some very odd 1960s architecture, some classic old zoo enclosures, and a brand new polar bear thing. It's very different to Basle - while the Swiss zoo is packed with things, over in France there is much more space between exhibits. It'd be a short taxi journey from the train station, a slightly longer one from the airport (I'm sure a bus is possible too). If Zurich could be reached - and I'm not sure how long it would take by train, but I can't believe it'd be that long - it is one of the great zoos. Certainly worth making the effort to see.
Zurich Zoo can be easily reached via direct tram from the city centre, doesn't take very long - maybe 15-20 minutes. It is a stunning zoo.
Thanks both. Combining Basel and Zurich was my first inclination but I can now also see how close Mulhouse is. A friend from the region even mentioned that there is a free zoo in Lorrach which counts as Germany, has anybody been there?
The "zoo" at Lörrach is actually a little addition to the local Rosenfelspark garden with a few goats, sheep, ducks, pheasants and parakeets/parrots; maybe not too impressive for a 9-year old zoo aficionado after visiting major zoos, but hey, it's for free...
If you have time to kill in Basel then there's also Tierpark Lange Erlen. It's certainly not worth missing Zurich or Mulhouse for, but it's free to enter and rather pleasant.
Ok sounds like a great corner of the country for a multitude of zoos. While I am tempted to try to fit in as many as possible I do understand the sentiment that there is no point rushing the better zoos to fit in some of the free ones. I am now really looking forward to the trip and will report back ; )