Though my favorite "sites" were actually the sight of friends and family while I was in Paris, the Parc Zoologique de Paris was my favorite attraction this trip.
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| Lioness with cubs |
During all my visits and even while living in Paris, I had never visited the previous version of the zoo, the Zoo de Vincennes. When we visited in 2012, it was on my list but still closed. Due to reopen in 2014, I anticipated visiting it during my last trip with a friend. But, it was still closed, due to opened a week after we left!
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| Majestic Giraffes |
The original Zoo, located in the large park just outside the city in the Bois de Vincennes, was created from a "Colonial Exposition" of animals in 1931. The exposition was so popular, the city of Paris and the city's natural history museum created a real zoo. It was designed by Charles Letrosne who drew inspiration from the Hamburg zoo, built in 1901. The concept was new: no cages and a more natural looking habitat for the animals. It opened in 1934.
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| Very Large Bird Stretching His Wings |
However, by the 1980s, the zoo became worn and between 2004 and 2006, the zoo was closed. During that time, all of the animals were transferred to other places in France and other countries. In 2006, a completely new zoo was begun! It is now the only zoo in the world to have been completely rebuilt. It was completed with a public/private partnership and 157,000,000 Euros.
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| Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Including mama & baby - watching a helicopter! |
The concept is to have the animals in habitats natural to their own homes. The zoo is designed around five natural zones in the 95,000 square meter (approx. 23 acres) park. See their website for more about the zones.
What I loved most was how easy it was to see the animals. There were often many vantage points around their vast outside areas. The animals were not afraid of people and in some cases, even wanted to interact with you - such teases! There were vast outdoor spaces and inside spaces as well. I loved the huge rain forest "green house and the huge aviary.
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| Guinea Baboons |
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| A Napping Puma (I think) |
Our visit was the first warm day in a while, so many animals were outside soaking up the sun. Being the beginning of March and the middle of the week, we had little competition to our viewing pleasure!
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| Black Jaguar |
The price is steep, but frankly, well worth it at 22 Euros for adults and 14 for children. I would rather pay good money to see a well maintained place. This zoo's mission is its animals health and it is heavily involved with biodiversity, conservation and research. There are approximately 1000 animals of 180 different species, including many animals facing extinction in the wild.
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| Jaguar |
I don't see much about this attraction in Paris travel guides. But for me, it's top of my list from this 2016 trip. It's exciting to see a zoo done right and see the conservation and teaching they are doing with it. While there might have been guides you could get that were in English, do bring your dictionary because most of the information around the zoo was in French. I love that they announce feeding times so you can watch (not for the squeamish.) Come early and try to avoid the weekend or school vacations. Click
here for more info about this great place.
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| The Amazon-Guyana Biozone From Outside |
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| The Amazon-Guyana Biozone From Inside |
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