Then Senckenberg museum in Frankfurt is world class. Among the exhibits are some recently extinct birds, fossils from Messel preserved with colors, and dinosaur Psittacosaurus preserved with hair.
You may also be interested in the mummified Edmontosaurus (SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Museums | Museum Frankfurt | The Museum | Highlights)
Any suggestions for a zoo that can be visited from Frankfurt on a day trip?...apart from Frankfurt zoo of course
Of course is there is one-Opel-Zoo Kronberg. If you would like to see the only Brown hyeanas in germany, as one of only two european zoos with that species,Mountain Reedbuck in a seperate exhibit, Wildebeest,Zebra, Impala and Giraffes in a large African Savannah exhibit, 1.2 African elephants in one of the best exhibits for them in germany, five rare species of deer(Forest reindeer, Phillipine Spotted deer,Persian Fallow deer,Vietnam Sika deer and Bactrian deer), cheetah,warthog( with recently born piglets),Geoffrey Cat, some smaller primates ( no apes, bears, seals or big cats-except cheetah), a visit to that Zoo is a very good option. They do not have large public animal houses like Frankfurt, it is defintely a good wheather zoo in a very nice landscape with an amazing view to Frankfurt. You can reach it by local train ( S-bahn Line S4) from Frankfurt City and connecting bus within 45 minutes. You don't need a full day for it-if you go early in the morning, you even can visit the Darmstadt Zoo Vivarium the same day. For that, you have to change from the S4 to S3 in Niederhöchstadt, what is going directly to Darmstadt Central Station. Another Option is Heidelberg Zoo, easy to reach from Frankfurt by local Train,too, and if you want, you even can reach Cologne within an hour by using the ICE...
Hi Goura. When exactly you've planed to visit Zoo Zurich (date and hour)? I'm a local and if you wish company and some special information, I'll try to be there (as long as it isn't during my family vacation between July, 15th and July, 23th).
Thank you so much for your advice - which one in your opinion is better to visit? I have visited Cologne zoo many times and like it very much so I wouldn't go there on this trip
I'm sorry but it's unlikely we could meet up as I'll be in Zurich on the 18th of July for only three days. Thank you for the offer all the same
So sad. Nonetheless I wish you a wonderful journey in Switzerland and Germany. Enjoy the opulence/diversity of exotic species we have in our zoos...(although you must - on the other hand - expect more rain and cold here then in OZ).
So do mean Kronberg or Darmstadt, or Heidelberg ? Kronberg's speciality are Hoofstock, Darmstadt is a very small place, 5 hectares,so they keep very few bigger aniamls like Common Zebras and Southamerican tapir. Their speciality are reptiles with many rare species and also birds. Its also very close to Frankfurt You can reach Heidelberg by train within an hour-its a medium size Zoo, and because its also close to Darmstadt, you can combine both Zoos at the same day, depending on how much time you spend at both places, but Heidelberg has also only 10 hectares without bigger animal houses.Normally, 3-4 houres are enough for it. The Indian grey mongoose is mostly active in the morning-depending on the wheather. If its too hot, its hiding and sleeping-if it is still alive. They keep a bachelor group of asian elephants in a very good exhibit, Lion,Tiger,syrian brown bear with corsac foxes,binturong with small claws otters, three species of ape(gorilla, chimp,orang)and a few other species of primates-Roloway Guenon, Hanuman langur,White-belted ruffed lemur and some marmosets and tamarins. Other Small carnivors are Fossa, Asian Golden cat,merkat,skunk,ringtailed mongosse and one very old Indian grey mongoossse in the exhibit with Rhesus Macaque. You can see also zebras, two species of antelope,Red Kangoroo and Southamerican Sealions-also some Birds, but the former famous Bird Inventory was decreased in the past years, but despite that, some very rare species are still there. So if you are more interested in birds, small carnivours and primates, then Heidelberg is defenitely the better option for you than Opel-Zoo Kronberg. By the way-the animal welfare at Heidelberg is better than in Kronberg, and not to forget, if you wasn't yet in this famus old city, you should defenitely visit Heidleberg, one of the most beautyful old cities in germany. From the train station, take the Bus Number 32 and get out at"Zoo"-just a ten minutes ride. From Heidelberg to Darmstadt it is a 36 Minutes train ride.
Actually I'll be leaving the rain behind here in Oz - we've been having very wet winters for a few years now (with flooding in the east). I'm hoping for pleasant weather in Europe.
Thank you so much for this advice. Both Kronberg and Heidelberg sound most interesting. I will have to make a decision I suppose
I do not know yet when I will be travelling back to Ethiopia, but it will be around that date, I will let you know when I know more...
Heidelberg is a fantastic zoo: in my opinion, it has improved more than any other zoo in the old West Germany over the past two decades, and now has very few dodgy corners (the old monkey house, maybe) and lots that is tremendous. The bird collection is still very impressive; there are a number of quirky mammals; and there is also a solid collection of popular classics (big cats, apes, sealions and so on). I'd certainly recommend it. That said, possibly the second most improved zoo in the old West Germany is Kronberg - the recent developments are very good indeed (even if the remaining old bits are fairly horrible). As someone who once spent a holiday staying in Darmstadt, I would say that the zoo there is probably not worth making any great effort to get to - fine, but no more than that.
Well I've decided to definitely visit Heidelberg - especially for the Asian Golden cat and other very interesting species in the collection. In addition the city itself looks very interesting indeed. Thanks for the advice
Just a quick question regarding Burger's zoo in the Netherlands - I would like to consider going there after Frankfurt and spending a couple of days. Could anyone advise what would be the best place to stay? Is it actually in Arnhem?...and is the zoo fairly easy to get to from the city?
Burgers Zoo lies directly on the border of Arnhem, which is a rather small compact city with 140.000 inhabitants. There are multiple busses per hour from the main railway station in the city centre to Burgers Zoo. I grew up in that area, but I would not know which hotel is best, though I would suggest looking at some options outside the city, or along the northern boundary (or in the village or Rozendaal), that is a very quiet area located next to the woods of the Veluwe.
Apenheul Can anyone tell me if it's feasible to get to Apenheul for a day trip from Arnhem - and how I would actually get there. Thanks in advance
A day trip is very feasible and the easiest option to get there is by bus, of which there are multiple per hour connecting the 2 cities. They leave Arnhem at the main station (centraal station) and arrive at the Apeldoorn train station, from which you get with another bus (line nr.2) to Apenheul. There is 3 bus lines between Apeldoorn and Arnhem and 2 take a direct route, bus number 91 and bus number 231 Total journey is about 1.5 hours one way. You can plan your journey on 9292 your travel partner You can enter your hotel adress as departure point and Apenheul as arrival point and he will give you all options, their travelling time and their costs.
You're welcome, Burgers Zoo and Apenheul were my home zoos when I lived in the Netherlands, so if you want any info just ask. It also seems that my next visit to Ethiopia will be postponed by about a week, so I will probably be in Switzerland and could meet you in Basel (though I would prefer a weekend day if possible....)
