A fine treat for young and old. One of the world’s most popular zoos lives in the grounds of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. Here’s what you need to know…
- See also: Zoo visitor tips & ticket info | Animal highlights
Basic zoo information
Tiergarten Schönbrunn, to give it its proper name, is the world’s oldest working public zoo and dates back to the mid-18th century.
A few decade’s ago, the zoo became a rather rundown affair saddled with old buildings and an uninspiring reputation.
An extensive renovation and renewal program turned it into one of the world’s more renowned institutions – a paragon of modern zookeeping that combines entertainment with conservation and education. Over 2 million people tend to visit each year.
For opening hours, tickets, facilities, and advice on how to get the most out of your visit, see these visitor tips.
Incidentally, the zoo is one of the few tourist attractions where you get to meet a lot of locals. Parents of young kids, in particular, often take out an annual pass and visit often (we did). Talking of which…
What to do with kids
It’s a zoo. So, pretty much everything suits kids. All the classics are there: elephants, giraffes, lions, etc.
For a few extra ideas on how best to keep the children entertained, fed, watered, scared or tired (delete as appropriate), see these zoo tips for parents.
Animals
You’ll be relieved to hear there are one or two animals in the zoo. All your usual favourites, as well as the bright jewel in the zoological crown: the Giant Panda.
See the animal highlights article for my overview of the best enclosures and beasties to see.
P.S. If you like animals, you should also take a look at the Haus des Meeres (a large aquarium and vivarium located in an old WWII flak tower).
The Tirolerhof
Part of the zoo is turned over to an authentic Tyrolean farmhouse, now used for breeding rare domestic animals and feeding not-so-rare visitors with organic delights and traditional Austrian meals. Discover more here.
Zoo history
Back in 1752, the city had fewer smartphones and not a lot of Netflix. But it had a zoo in Schönbrunn.
If you’d like to learn a little more about Vienna zoo’s origins and its current standing in the zoological world, take a look at the history of Tiergarten Schönbrunn.
Latest animal news
- January 2021: the Squirrel monkeys are doing their best to keep the average animal age down in the zoo. The newest family addition arrived early January and three babies now provide juvenile entertainment in the enclosure (trivia: the German name translates as “skull monkey” – bit of a different vibe)
- January 2021: the Emperor Tamarin pair, Tamaya and Purple, enjoyed a late visit from the stork in 2020. Tamaya gave birth to triplets in early December. Unusually for the animal world, the father bears most of the responsibility for managing the babies
- November 2020: the Orang-Utan enclosure now has two new females. Surya moved in back in October and now Sari has joined from a zoo in Ireland. The new additions contribute to an improvement in the age structure of the group
- September 2020: another rare sight in European zoos – a baby koala bear. Mother Bunji likely gave birth back in April but the young koala spends its first few months hidden away in the pouch. So the only sign of a successful birth is a moving bump. Zoo staff hope to see the youngster peering out soon
- August 2020: although born in June, four cheetah cubs are only now beginning to present themselves in public
- July 2020: we have a baby sea lion to report, born on July 2nd and already entertaining the public
- May, 2020: everybody loves the birth of a kitten, particular when that kitten is a Eurasian lynx (only a handful of animals survive in the wild in Austria)
- May, 2020: Santa will be pleased. Two reindeer calves were born in early May. Snorre and Sippo are already up and about in the enclosure
- April, 2020: more joy in times of unpleasantness. What’s better than a jolly fine-looking flamingo? A fluffy flamingo chick of course, despite a notable lack of pinkness about them. Quite a few have popped out of their eggs already
- April, 2020: a little glimmer of light in dark times with the birth of a baby ring-tailed lemur weighing something around 70g
- February, 2020: baby polar bear alert! Nora gave birth on the 9th of November. The cub is now old enough to face the zoo-going public and free to wander around the outdoor enclosure
How to get to Vienna zoo
The zoo has three entrances:
Main entrance
The zoo’s main entrance is on the west side of the Schönbrunn complex and easily reached from Hietzing station, which is one stop on the U4 subway after Schönbrunn station and also a stop on the tram lines 10 and 60.
After you exit Hietzing, follow the wall of the park around to the right until you come to the large park entrance next to the Lindt chocolate shop. Go inside and keep to the path around to the right, walking past the Desert House and Palm House to reach the zoo.
That main park entrance also has its own bus stop (Am Platz), served by the 56A, 56B, 58A, and 58B buses.
Palace entrance
If you’ve visiting Schönbrunn Palace, head toward the Gloriette on the hill along the right edge of the landscaped gardens.
At the bottom of the hill, after passing the entrance to the maze and to the right of the large Neptune Fountain complex, is a zoo entrance. Te banners and signs mean you can’t miss it.
Tirolerhof entrance
This zoo entrance is at the very back of the Schönbrunn park area on top of the hill.
There are two bus stops nearby:
- Montecuccoliplatz: served by the 8A, 56A, 56B, 58A and 58B bus lines
- Klimtgasse: also served by the 8A
The 56 and 58 buses all leave from Hietzing subway station.
Parking
A large paid car park sits on Schönbrunner Schloßstraße, opposite the Orangerie part of the palace.
If you want to enter the zoo from the Tirolerhof side, there’s a free car park at the top of Schönbrunn along Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg. It can fill up quickly, mind you.
Address: Maxingstraße 13, 1130 Vienna | Website