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Top 10 European Zoos you want to visit

Discussion in 'Europe - General' started by ShonenJake13, 28 Sep 2017.

  1. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    Are we going to see your list lintworm?
     
  2. Giant Panda

    Giant Panda Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    1. Beauval
    2. Valencia
    3. Moscow
    4. Wroclaw
    5. Apenheul
    6. Cabarceno
    7. Madrid
    8. Magdeburg
    9. Doué-la-Fontaine
    10. Walsrode
     
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  3. lintworm

    lintworm Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Well if you are asking for it ;) I actually have a list of almost 60 zoos that I still want to visit in Europe....

    Beauval
    Doue la Fontaine
    Chester Zoo
    Zlin-Lesna
    Wroclaw
    Budapest
    The Nordic Ark
    Villars-lesDombes birdpark
    Zoo Besancon
    L'Oceanografic
    Hamburg

    Revisits high on the list are Walsrode, Magdeburg, Vienna and the both Berlins...
     
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  4. littleRedPanda

    littleRedPanda Well-Known Member

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    Wicksteed is not a zoo
    Pairi Daiza, as I only had half a day there - in fact, I think it's worth buying the annual ticket for the price of two visits, if I do another mini tour in that area.
    Antwerp, Berlin Tierpark and Prague are 3 I want to go to that I have looked at, but I'll need to research some more on your lists.

    @migdog I wonder if going to Tenerife might be a warmer experience, but staying in the cheaper north?
     
  5. Sneeuwpanter

    Sneeuwpanter Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    1. Bioparc Doue de la Fontaine
    2. Zoo Basel ( after completion Ozeaneum)
    3. Tiergarten Schonbrunn
    4. Chester Zoo
    5. Zoo Zürich
    6. Zoo Budapest
    7. Zoo Beauval (after completion masterplan)
    8. Zoo Madrid & Faunia
    9. Zoo Karlsruhe (my last of the german " big" zoos)
    10. Zoo Lodz (after completion orientarium)

    With exception of Beauval these are all zoos i haven't visited before. Next years vacation will go to Italy so i won't be crossing of any names from this list. Maybe Chester Zoo if I can do or as a day trip from London (with public transport)
     
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  6. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I know it's a late reply but I wouldn't recommend doing London to Chester by train for a day trip, by the end of the day you would be dead on your feet. Best off doing it as an overnight trip.
     
  7. FBBird

    FBBird Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    IMHO you need two days to do Chester properly anyway.
     
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  8. Zia

    Zia Well-Known Member

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    We have successfully done Kings Cross to Yorkshire Wildlife park as a day trip with a 10min taxi to the zoo at the other end rather than a bus - which is a similar journey as Euston to Chester by train + taxi. I'd also prefer to do Chester as an over-nighter and give the zoo at least a day and a half - but it is doable as a day trip - long day, but doable. Especially if you book in advance and get a reasonable first class fare.
     
  9. CGSwans

    CGSwans Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Munich and Nuremberg are pretty easy to tack onto a Vienna trip.
     
  10. CGSwans

    CGSwans Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    In alphabetical order, the ten zoos I most particularly regret not getting to this year would be:
    Bristol
    Cabercino
    Cotswold
    Doue-la-Fontaine
    Highland
    Loro Parque
    Odense
    Vallee des Singes
    Munster
    Wuppertal

    There's about 25 more that are on future hit lists, but we're talking about a 15 year horizon to see them all.
     
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  11. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Thanks for posting your list and now that you've seen so many great European zoos I was honestly surprised that there are still some big ones that will need a second "CGSwans Epic Euro Tour" in order to be visited. Do you really not have much of a desire to visit Pairi Daiza in Belgium? Attendance is through the roof at that facility and I know of several zoo nerds that consider Pairi Daiza to be one of the top 10-15 zoos on the continent. Your favourite animals (black-and-white blobs) are there now. :)
     
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  12. TheGerenuk

    TheGerenuk Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    My list:
    1. Berlin Zoo
    2. Tierpark Berlin
    3. Walsrode
    4. Chester
    5. Beauval
    6. London
    7. Wroclaw
    8. Rotterdam
    9. Duisburg
    10. Leipzig
     
  13. CGSwans

    CGSwans Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Hey, I quite like blob bears. The rare moment when you see one roll over in its sleep is very exciting. :p

    Pairi Daiza is in that expanded list of 25 or do, but you'll note that most of the zoos on my list are ones that I either discarded from my trip due to logistics/zoo fatigue or that have singular characteristics that make them interesting, and Pairi Daiza doesn't have that, blob bears notwithstanding.
     
  14. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    No concrete plans but if I would have the possibility I would visit :
    -Zoo Berlin
    -Tierpark Berlin
    -Frankfurt
    -Leipzig
    -Chester
    -one of the Aspinall-parks ( or both :) )
    -Plzn
    -Zürich
    -Vienna
    -Beauval

    Revisits which I would like to do in the near future would be to 2 of my old working-places - Walsrode and Pairi Daiza :).
     
  15. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    And still no Pairi Daiza? What is your problem with this collection? :p

    Its omission is made worse by the inclusion of Vallee des Singes which is pretty much the Apenheul approach but in France rather than The Netherlands; basically the same park but with potentially better weather! :p ;)

    EDIT:- Just seen your reply to snowleopard, doesn't matter any more! ;)
     
  16. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Chester is doable in a day if you don't really want to relax at any point. On my own I can hit everything I want to see in a day and double back but I wouldn't do it as a first time visitor or with other people.

    Check you out, first class! Some people can't afford to take out a loan whilst on holiday! :p ;)
     
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  17. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Not having to travel with the plebs is what makes it all worthwhile, then? :p ;)

    All three UK collections in that list are among my top ten - potentially in my top five, depending on the day I was asked :p of the others you cite, I would like to reach the final two next year, and Loro Parque is on my "someday" list.
     
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  18. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Who are you calling a Pleb? Some of us with standard tickets have knuckles that don't drag on the floor! :p
     
  19. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    To be fair, judging from the evidence of the Bristol Zoohistorica weekend, your knuckles only drag on the floor because you can't stand up straight by the end of the night ;) :p
     
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  20. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    If it has been a good night then I expect my forehead to drag on the floor, not my knuckles! :p

    Other than that, if you can afford first class from London to YWP + a taxi then never give advice on this thread... UK Collections By Public Transport: A Guide