Spend a day at Barcelona Zoo with your entrance ticket. Located in the heart of the “green lung” of Barcelona – Parc de la Ciutadella – Spain’s top zoo is home to more than 4,000 wild animals in spacious, leafy enclosures. See dolphins, lions, monkeys and more, and learn about Snowflake, the much-loved, rare white gorilla who once lived in this beautiful zoo.
Enjoy an fun an educational day at Barcelona Zoo, in Parc de la Ciutadella. Besides having the accolade of being Spain’s most modern zoo, it’s also Spain’s oldest – having been open to members of the public since 1882. Covering a space of nearly 32 acres (13 hectares), the zoo really requires a full day to see it all, and luckily, there’s a mini-train to help you get around. Alternatively, you can hire an electric car at your own expense.
Reproducing the natural habitat of the animals that live in it, Barcelona Zoo is split into different spacious sections with open enclosures for mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Additional areas include the ‘infants’ zoo’ where kids can get up close to tamer animals, and the dolphinarium, where friendly dolphins perform in front of large viewing windows.
Until recently, Barcelona Zoo was particularly well known for being the home of a rare white gorilla called Snowflake (Floquet de Neu), who sadly died in 2003. To keep the memory of Snowflake alive, the zoo is passionate about helping endangered gorillas – participating in numerous endangered species awareness and conservation programs.
See all the big-name animals that you’d expect to see in a top zoo, like hippos, lions, tigers and monkeys, as well as animals that are native to Spain, like the Iberian wolf. As you explore, learn all about these fascinating creatures from information signs and interactive zones around the zoo.
With plenty of leafy picnic areas, cafés and restaurants on site, you can eat lunch at the zoo (own expense), or simply sit down and relax in between seeing Barcelona’s impressive collection of animals!
A very rainy day when we visited so it was not busy. Also because of the bad weather not all the animals were seen as they did not like the rain either!! We were the only people on the train that circuited the zoo and so we got a personal tour with plenty of stop time for photos. The sea lion show was also cancelled because of the weather. Staff were ok. Food was dreadful- do not eat here, everything was cold although supposed to be hot including the drinks. Lots of animals were seen Elephant, Rhino, Hippo, Wolf , Giraffe etc. An enjoyable day and easy to get to on the metro.
Review by: Letitia P, April 2017
Queued for our ticket and got it with no problems. Zoo was lovely
Review by: SALEM M, August 2016
It's a nice zoo , nothing special. We rented a golf cart to see the zoo faster and avoid the hot sun.
Review by: Clifford M, August 2016
Excellent zoo. The majority of cages are quite spacious giving the animals plenty of room to move around although there are still a few small ones particularly for some of the monkeys.
Review by: M.bleese, May 2016
All a bit sad._br/_ Small enclosures, not very clean and too much closed to the public.
Review by: lisaau82, March 2016
Me and my sons had a fantastic day at the zoo. The weather was beautiful and lots of fun and laughs were had. Would recommend a visit to anyone especially as the zoo is set in a beautiful park with lots of additional fun to be had.
Review by: simon r, January 2016
Excellent day out: lovely zoo - animals seem well cared for. Zoo very clean staff friendly and helpful. Lots to do.
Review by: Lee, November 2015
Dolphin show was great , kids loved it
Review by: carlyhazell, October 2015
Brilliant Zoo, so many animals the dolphin and sea lion shows were brilliant.
Review by: shahamima_khan, August 2015
The animals looked very sad cooped up in their tiny enclosures.
Review by: Rhian H, August 2015
Well worth the money, thoroughly enjoyed.
Review by: Emma L, August 2015
Huge zoo full of so many different species. It's one of the best zoos I've ever visited.
Review by: William F, June 2015
We had a fantastic time, there was nine adults in our party and all really enjoyed the zoo. Well worth the entrance fee!
Review by: Karen B, May 2015
The zoo was a nice departure from seeing architecture, artists and local history. It is a fairly large zoo to walk around so be prepared for that. There were large parts of the zoo under construction while we were there. The dolphin show is a pre set schedule so make sure o get there in advance if you are intending go see it. Going too late in the day will not allow you to see a show and walk the zoo. Zoo staff were very friendly. There was no line at the zoo so we did not really need to skip any line. Viator purchase needs to be brought to ticket window and exchanged for a zoo ticket.
Review by: Adam R, December 2014
We went in early December which meant we didn't see it at its best. For example, we didn't see the Savannah area (elephants, giraffes) because of building work. Also, there was only one cafe open.
Review by: MESHARI, October 2014
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Jeannine D, October 2014
great selection of animals, one of the best dolphin shows in Europe if not the world. Easy to navigate, so much to see and do. Well worth a second visit. So many rare breeds of animals too not seen anywhere else...lots of places to eat and drink and good entrance ticket value made for an unforgettable day trip
Review by: Samina R, April 2014
I'm sure on a sunny day it would have been nice
Review by: jolene c, March 2014
Animal enclosures were too small and the food was gross and expensive.
Review by: Giuseppe D, January 2014
Beautiful day out, zoo itself is nice but does need a bit of investment - not quite the level of London. Kids where happy, that's the main point.
Review by: Romain T, December 2013
Wonderful, so beautiful
Review by: Victoria L, September 2013
Great zoo with lots of different animals. It is huge much bigger than London zoo. Definitely worth a visit when in Barcelona. We didn't pay the extra for the aquarium but we still watched the dolphin show free of charge. The only bad point is that there weren't many ramps for prams which is a pity as we have twins so there wee a few animals they couldn't see.
Review by: graeme_83, August 2013
A good time was had by all
Review by: graeme_83, August 2013
A good time was had by all
Review by: laura, June 2013
Great day
Review by: Sheila D, June 2013
Altogether there were too many "missing" animals and empty spots. I believe the entire zoo showed its age and the state of the Spanish economy probably has something to do with it. It would have been better for us if the entrance employees mentioned the lack of refreshment options. There were limited places to sit and observe areas. Perhaps our problem was comparing it to Portland, Oregon's zoo which was phenomenal.
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