It's a tricky one - Barcelona is the better zoo, but Zoo Madrid has more oddities and is located in the same city as the significantly better Faunia Madrid (so if you included that in your consideration, I'd definitely recommend a visit to Faunia). As a city, Madrid is also *very* well-placed for viewing native wildlife; not only is there a large area of natural woodland and Mediterranean heathland immediately surrounding the zoo, but there are several locations which are ridiculously good for wildlife watching within a half-hour of the city centre by bus.
Well for this zoo trip, I'll be limited to the main metros so it's a contest between those specific zoos.
I haven't visited Zoo Aquarium de Madrid, but both Faunia and BCN are great zoos. Faunia centers around more "rare" species and in "zooinmersion" in some exhibits, with animals like Eastern quolls, the only manatees in Spain, Steller's sea lions, Gray brocket (only ones in Europe), Aardvarks, a great collection of penguins,... Barcelona has also some really cool species, but exhibit cuality is in general way worse than in Faunia, since it's a old zoo now renovating. Barcelona has one of the (if not the best) best Reptile house in Spain, Black-faced impalas, Libyan barbary sheep, Mhorr gazelles, Monstey brook newts, a great bird collection,... Also, if you are not familiar with Iberian fauna, BCN has you covered! With Iberian wolf, Bearded vultures, Griffon vultures, Egyptian vultures, Mouflons, Local species like hedgehogs,... (If you came some years earlier, you could have seen Spanish ibex and Spanish red deer, no longer in the zoo tho). In conclusion, I recomend both zoos.
I totally disagree with kakapo. For me, Barcelona still hold the best zoo in Spain. The best primate, bird, and reptile collections are in Barcelona. Madrid don't have reptile house, or and aviary house it self. Best bear collection are in Madrid zoo by the way.
You'd be hard pushed to get them both done in a single day, due to the size of Faunia and how far apart the two collections are (and hence how long it takes to get between them).
I have not been to either area, I have only been to the south of Spain (Sevilla and Cordoba). So I cannot comment on the zoos there. However in regards to the cities in general, Madrid is more welcoming to foreign tourists than Barcelona. You have likely seen on the news the last couple of years there is a huge backlash in Barcelona against tourists who they feel are overrunning their city. One of my coworkers went to Lisbon (Portugal) and Madrid and Barcelona three months ago and confirms that people in Barcelona were rude to them whereas in the other locations people were quite friendly.
I wonder if Barcelonans are more tolerant in the off season (such as March) than in summer when the population swells with air b&b rentals?
There are definitely issues around the sustainability of mass tourism and its impact on cities like Barcelona but I’ve been there at peak tourist season and everyone was fine with me. I don’t think you can judge a city on one person’s limited experience.
No but I have seen Barcelona mentioned repeatedly in this regard in the media. Perhaps the reports are overblown?
As well as the issues with tourism another point to bear in mind is that one person’s rudeness is another’s brisk matter of factness or business-likeness if that makes sense. I don’t really care about friendly service and living in London and other parts of Northern Europe it’s not something I really expect or experience and when you do, it’s notable. People are often blunt or direct or not especially engaged in building a relationship which might be considered rude by people used to a more friendly or relational (and tip dependent) style of service. It could perhaps be argued that Barcelona has a reputation in Spain for being a place of industry and commerce where people get on with things and there is a faster pace than in other parts of the country. And if places are very busy there can be less particular focus on individual customers and this might come across as rude.
Of course, another possibility is that AD's friend made a faux-pas along the lines of repeatedly referring to the people he met in Barcelona as Spanish to their faces
Please guys -don't be offence- but no more Barça vs Madrid (football teams) here too. For that I only need to put on my tv. Thank you very much.
I have a question- what is the best zoo in Spain? Which one(s) is really worth going to? also where is the best place to see Spanish wildlife?
