Zürich Zoo and the Masoala rainforest hall

What makes Zürich Zoo different from a standard city zoo

Zürich Zoo, on the wooded slope of the Zürichberg above the city, opened in 1929 and has grown into one of the more ambitious zoos in Europe rather than a modest municipal collection. The two reasons to make the trip are the Masoala rainforest hall, a walk-through recreation of a Madagascar rainforest under one roof, and the Lewa savannah, a shared elephant, giraffe and zebra habitat that opened in 2018.

Both are genuinely well built, not just marketing labels on an ordinary enclosure, and both take real time to see properly. This guide covers what the visit actually costs, how to get there on the tram, how long to set aside, and where the zoo falls short so you can decide if it earns a place in your Zürich itinerary or a family day out.

Zürich is not a cheap city, and the zoo is priced accordingly. It is not a scam or a tourist trap, but it is not a bargain either, and this guide gives real figures rather than rounding them down to sound appealing.

Getting there by tram

Zürich Zoo sits about 4 kilometres northeast of the old town, up a hillside that makes walking impractical with children. The practical route is tram 6, which starts at Zürich Hauptbahnhof and terminates directly at the Zoo stop after roughly 25 minutes. Trams run every 6 to 8 minutes through most of the day, so there is no need to plan around a timetable. A standard ZVV ticket covers the ride, and it is included in a Zürich Card or any ZVV day pass, so there is no separate transport cost if you already hold one. For general orientation on tickets and zones, see the guide to getting around Zürich on the ZVV network.

There is a car park at the zoo, but it fills on sunny weekends and public holidays, and parking in Zürich is expensive on top of the entrance fee. Unless you are combining the visit with somewhere the tram does not reach, the tram is simpler and cheaper.

Ticket prices and opening hours

Treat the figures below as a planning guide rather than a guaranteed tariff; the zoo revises prices periodically and this guide was last checked on the date at the top of the page.

Ticket	Approximate price
Adult	CHF 29
Child (6–15)	CHF 15
Child under 6	Free
Family ticket (2 adults + children)	Discounted against individual tickets
Annual pass	Available, worth it only for repeat local visitors
Season	Zoo opening hours
Summer (roughly March to October)	09:00–18:00
Winter (roughly November to February)	09:00–17:00

The Masoala rainforest hall generally closes slightly earlier than the zoo’s outer gates, and its climate control has historically meant a short midday closure on some days to let humidity and temperature recover. This detail changes from season to season, so check the board at the hall’s entrance on the day rather than planning your whole visit around the last admission time you read online.

The Lewa savannah

The Lewa savannah, named after a conservancy in Kenya, is the newer of the zoo’s two headline exhibits. It replaced older, smaller enclosures with a single open landscape shared by African elephants, Grevy’s zebras, giraffes and several antelope species, crossed by a raised wooden walkway that puts visitors above the animals rather than looking through bars at eye level. It is the closest thing in the zoo to an actual safari feel, and it works: the animals have space to move and often do, rather than pacing a fixed enclosure.

The elephant house attached to the savannah is one of the few indoor viewing areas where you can watch the animals up close in poor weather, which matters given how often Zürich sees rain outside the summer months — see the month-by-month breakdown in the Zürich weather guide if you are planning around it. Give the Lewa savannah at least 30 minutes, longer at feeding times, which are posted at the entrance.

The Masoala rainforest hall

The Masoala Hall opened in 2003 and remains the zoo’s signature exhibit: a single glasshouse of roughly one hectare, built as a genuine rainforest, not a themed corridor. Plants were sourced with input from the Masoala National Park in Madagascar, and the zoo has funded conservation work there in return, which is a more direct link between a zoo exhibit and its namesake habitat than is usual.

Inside, lemurs, birds and reptiles move freely rather than being caged, which means sightings are not guaranteed on any single visit — you may see ring-tailed lemurs a few metres away, or you may need to walk the full loop twice to spot them in the canopy. The air is warm and heavily humid year-round, which is a genuine plus in a Zürich winter and a genuine minus if you are visiting in August wearing a coat you can no longer carry comfortably. Cameras and phones fog up on entry; give the lens a minute to adjust before taking photos.

Budget 30 to 45 minutes here as a minimum, and treat it as a wet-weather or cold-weather anchor for the visit rather than a five-minute add-on. It pairs naturally with a broader look at Zürich’s indoor attractions if the forecast is against you — see the Zürich museums guide for other rainy-day options.

What else is worth seeing

Beyond the two headline exhibits, the zoo covers a wide range of habitats: a Pantanal wetlands exhibit with giant otters and capybaras, an Ewaso enclosure for lions, a South American aviary, and a reptile house. None of these individually justifies the trip on its own, but together they fill out a half-day visit and stop the zoo feeling like two exhibits surrounded by padding.

The children’s zoo area, with domestic animals that can be petted and fed under supervision, is a reliable way to keep younger children engaged once the novelty of the bigger animals has worn off. If your trip includes children who tire of walking, it is worth knowing this area exists before you commit to the far side of the grounds.

How long to allow, and a suggested order

A full visit with both headline exhibits, the savannah walkway and a reasonable look at the rest of the grounds takes three to four hours. Families with young children should allow closer to five, factoring in the children’s zoo, food stops and the hillside paths, which are not flat.

A sensible order for a first visit: start with the Masoala Hall while you are fresh and it is less crowded early in the day, move on to the Lewa savannah before the late-morning tour groups arrive, then work through the remaining enclosures at a slower pace after lunch. Trying to do this in reverse on a hot afternoon means queuing for the rainforest hall’s humidity when you are already tired, which is the version of the day most visitors regret.

Best time to visit and avoiding the crowds

Weekday mornings are consistently quieter than weekends, and Swiss school holidays bring noticeably more families with children. If your schedule allows any flexibility, a Tuesday or Wednesday morning outside the main summer holiday weeks is the least crowded combination. For the wider picture of when to visit the region, see the best time to visit Zürich guide.

Winter is an underrated time to go: fewer visitors, and the Masoala Hall’s warmth is a genuine draw rather than an afterthought. If you are building a winter trip around Zürich more broadly, the Zürich in winter guide covers what else is realistic when daylight is short and some mountain excursions are affected by lift maintenance closures in spring and autumn.

Combining the zoo with the rest of your trip

The zoo works best as one component of a day rather than the entire day, particularly for visitors without young children who might otherwise find three to four hours in one place slow going. If you want to pair it with something more active on the same trip, a guided bike tour around Zürich covers ground the zoo visit does not, and works well the morning before or the afternoon after.

For visitors basing a full day around the lake rather than the zoo, a private guided boat tour on Lake Zürich is a low-effort way to see the shoreline from the water, and a walking and cable car route with panoramic lake views suits an afternoon once the zoo has closed. None of these substitute for the zoo itself, but they round out a trip that would otherwise be over by early afternoon.

Families building a longer stay around Zürich, rather than a single day, may find the four-day family itinerary a more useful starting point than trying to fit the zoo alongside everything else in one exhausting day. The Zürich with kids guide and the wider list of family day trips from Zürich cover what to do on the days that are not spent at the zoo, and the things to do with family category rounds up further options if the weather turns against your original plan.

Practical notes: food, prams and accessibility

On-site food is priced for a captive audience — a simple meal for a family of four at the main restaurant can easily run past CHF 60 — and picnicking is explicitly allowed, with tables and benches scattered around the grounds. Bringing your own food is the single easiest way to keep the cost of a zoo day down in a city where a coffee alone can run to CHF 5 or 6; see the Zürich travel costs guide for the wider picture of what things actually cost here.

Paths are paved and stroller-friendly throughout, but the site is built on a hillside, so expect gradients rather than a flat loop. Benches are frequent enough that visitors with limited mobility can manage the site in stages, though the far end of the grounds is a genuine walk from the entrance and there is no internal shuttle.

If bad weather or crowds put you off the zoo on a given day, the Uetliberg guide covers Zürich’s other well-known family outing, a short train ride up the hill on the city’s own doorstep, as a straightforward alternative that does not need a full day set aside.

Common questions about Zürich Zoo and the Masoala hall

How much are Zürich Zoo tickets?

Expect roughly CHF 29 for an adult and CHF 15 for a child aged 6 to 15, with children under 6 admitted free. Family tickets and season passes are also sold at a discount to the sum of individual tickets. Prices are reviewed periodically, so treat these as a planning figure and confirm the current tariff on the zoo’s website before you go.

How do I get to Zürich Zoo from the city centre?

Take tram 6 from Zürich Hauptbahnhof; it terminates at the Zoo stop after about 25 minutes and runs every few minutes through the day. There is no need for a car or a taxi, and the tram fare is covered by a standard ZVV ticket or day pass.

How long does a visit to the Masoala rainforest hall take?

Most visitors spend 30 to 45 minutes inside, longer if you linger for the free-flying birds and lemurs. The hall is warm and humid year-round, so it is also a sensible stop on a cold or wet day rather than only a highlight to rush through.

Is Zürich Zoo good for young children?

Yes, with reservations: paths are stroller-friendly but hilly in places, the site is large enough that toddlers tire before you reach the far enclosures, and the Lewa savannah and children’s zoo area tend to hold their attention longest. Budget extra time rather than trying to see everything.

Does the Zürich Card include zoo entry?

The Zürich Card has included discounted or free entry to a number of attractions in past editions, and the zoo has featured in some of them, but the list of partner attractions changes from year to year. Check the current terms before assuming zoo entry is covered.

Can I bring my own food into the zoo?

Yes, picnicking is allowed and there are seating areas scattered through the grounds. This matters in a city as expensive as Zürich: the on-site restaurants and kiosks are priced in line with a Swiss visitor attraction, so bringing your own lunch and snacks noticeably cuts the cost of a family day out.