Report and picspam: Nuremberg Zoo, 29 January 2016
So yesterday I decided to make good use of the lovely weather (sunny, dry, temperatures in the lower to mid 40s) and went on my first zoo visit of the year. The zoo of my choice of course was the zoo closest to where I live: Nuremberg Zoo. Compared with Leipzig, Hamburg and Stuttgart it's on the smaller side but that does not mean that it's not a truly wonderful place, because it is just that.
Nuremberg Zoo is a little over an hour's ride by train and tram away from where I live. By car it takes about the same time to get there but the parking situation at the zoo is catastrophic to put it nicely, so I can only recommend anyone who wants to visit to leave the car behind and take public transport. The tram to the zoo leaves from the big square in front of the train station and takes about 15 mins. As you get out of the tram, you only have to cross the road, and you're at the main entrance to the zoo.
Admission is €12,50 for adults, with a €1 discount for holders of the Nuremberg Card or also the Mobi Card (a special public transport ticket that I can only recommend to anyone who visits the region for a week). I spent 6 hours at the zoo yesterday, so that means that you pay a little over €2 (or a little under €2 if you're entitled to the discount) per hour. In my opinion, that's more than decent. As you enter the zoo you will get a map of the zoo so that you can make sure not to miss any enclosure.
Something that might be interesting for families is the possibility of renting handcarts at €4 for the duration of your visit. There are various playgrounds all over the zoo in case the kids get bored with looking at owls, lions and rhinos sleeping, and also various informative plaques explaining particularities of the local nature and geology, so your kids won't be bored. Also, there are various picnic tables around the zoo so that you can bring your own food and do not have to rely on the catering at the zoo. During the winter months only two restaurants are open: The one by the Dolphin Laguna and the second one at the summit of the hill on which the zoo is situated. I haven't eaten at the restaurant by the Dolphin Laguna yet, but the one at the hill's summit provides really good food (most of it organic) and at I would say reasonable prices. When I stopped there for a tea and warming up break yesterday staff were incredibly nice and helpful. In summer more catering options are open, but unfortunately the one at the big children's playground was a huge letdown when I ate there about a year or two ago. A fresh crêpe from one of the food stalls around the zoo, however, was most delicious. Overall the prices are okay for a zoo, but as I said before, bringing your own food with you and picnicking is welcome at the zoo. As long as you eat the food you brought and don't feed it to the animals, that is.
A word of warning: Nuremberg Zoo is situated in a very hilly area of the city. Some paths taking you around the zoo will be very steep accordingly, but there are almost always other ways to get to where you want to go without having to take the really steep paths. It will take you longer to make your way around the zoo that way, yes, but it is possible. Still, even when avoiding the particularly steep paths, expect your muscles to be sore the next day ;) The zoo has a very park-y, foresty feeling to it, because it is in large parts situated in a wood. This comes in handy on very sunny days because it will allow you to walk long distances in the shade.
Right behind the entrance area a path leads left to the Bionicum and the Natural Science House, which is also home to some lizards, snakes and other crawlies. It's a bit of a pity it's not advertised any better, because even though there's only a few display cases, it's still an interesting and fascinating part of the exhibition that I wouldn't want to miss - and because I now know it's there, I make sure to go there every time. While Nuremberg Zoo does not have everyone's favourite elephants, they do have other animals on display that you rarely find at other zoos: Polar bears, dolphins and manatees. All three of these have gotten new and bigger enclosures in recent years that provide plenty of space to roam about. As with every zoo almost anywhere else in the world, the zoo keeps working and building new enclosures or rebuilding the ones they have to provide more space and more species-appropriate accommodation for their animals.
The animals on display are a nice mix of local/regional animals (lynxes, storks, ibexes, owls...) and also more exotic animals such as the aforementioned polar bears, dolphins, manatees, but also cheetahs, lions, tigers and my personal favourite (apart from the owls), red pandas. The red panda enclosure is particularly lovely as it is situated between two paths, the upper of which is passing at treetop height so even if the pandas retreat all the way to the top of the tree you can still see it relatively close. When I passed yesterday however the pandas chose to stay indoors and only came out for a short peek - gladly long enough to snap a gorgeous photo.
The stars of the zoo are of course the dolphins - in the summer months they even put on a small show with them for the visitors, free of charge - and at the moment the tiger and polar bear cubs. When I was at the zoo yesterday the tiger cubs were out with their mum and play fighting in the most adorable way, so expect a lot of photos of that in a minute. Charlotte, the polar bear cub, is as adorable as she is dirty, at least yesterday.
Anyway, enough rambling, let's get on with the photos. As is always the case, let me set a few rules first:
- All photos were taken by me, little___hobbit aka Lepsy aka Kat Eichner
- You may share the images, and/or use them for artistic means, but please ALWAYS credit me, that is little___hobbit
- When you share, please do not hotlink
Nuremberg Zoo is a little over an hour's ride by train and tram away from where I live. By car it takes about the same time to get there but the parking situation at the zoo is catastrophic to put it nicely, so I can only recommend anyone who wants to visit to leave the car behind and take public transport. The tram to the zoo leaves from the big square in front of the train station and takes about 15 mins. As you get out of the tram, you only have to cross the road, and you're at the main entrance to the zoo.
Admission is €12,50 for adults, with a €1 discount for holders of the Nuremberg Card or also the Mobi Card (a special public transport ticket that I can only recommend to anyone who visits the region for a week). I spent 6 hours at the zoo yesterday, so that means that you pay a little over €2 (or a little under €2 if you're entitled to the discount) per hour. In my opinion, that's more than decent. As you enter the zoo you will get a map of the zoo so that you can make sure not to miss any enclosure.
Something that might be interesting for families is the possibility of renting handcarts at €4 for the duration of your visit. There are various playgrounds all over the zoo in case the kids get bored with looking at owls, lions and rhinos sleeping, and also various informative plaques explaining particularities of the local nature and geology, so your kids won't be bored. Also, there are various picnic tables around the zoo so that you can bring your own food and do not have to rely on the catering at the zoo. During the winter months only two restaurants are open: The one by the Dolphin Laguna and the second one at the summit of the hill on which the zoo is situated. I haven't eaten at the restaurant by the Dolphin Laguna yet, but the one at the hill's summit provides really good food (most of it organic) and at I would say reasonable prices. When I stopped there for a tea and warming up break yesterday staff were incredibly nice and helpful. In summer more catering options are open, but unfortunately the one at the big children's playground was a huge letdown when I ate there about a year or two ago. A fresh crêpe from one of the food stalls around the zoo, however, was most delicious. Overall the prices are okay for a zoo, but as I said before, bringing your own food with you and picnicking is welcome at the zoo. As long as you eat the food you brought and don't feed it to the animals, that is.
A word of warning: Nuremberg Zoo is situated in a very hilly area of the city. Some paths taking you around the zoo will be very steep accordingly, but there are almost always other ways to get to where you want to go without having to take the really steep paths. It will take you longer to make your way around the zoo that way, yes, but it is possible. Still, even when avoiding the particularly steep paths, expect your muscles to be sore the next day ;) The zoo has a very park-y, foresty feeling to it, because it is in large parts situated in a wood. This comes in handy on very sunny days because it will allow you to walk long distances in the shade.
Right behind the entrance area a path leads left to the Bionicum and the Natural Science House, which is also home to some lizards, snakes and other crawlies. It's a bit of a pity it's not advertised any better, because even though there's only a few display cases, it's still an interesting and fascinating part of the exhibition that I wouldn't want to miss - and because I now know it's there, I make sure to go there every time. While Nuremberg Zoo does not have everyone's favourite elephants, they do have other animals on display that you rarely find at other zoos: Polar bears, dolphins and manatees. All three of these have gotten new and bigger enclosures in recent years that provide plenty of space to roam about. As with every zoo almost anywhere else in the world, the zoo keeps working and building new enclosures or rebuilding the ones they have to provide more space and more species-appropriate accommodation for their animals.
The animals on display are a nice mix of local/regional animals (lynxes, storks, ibexes, owls...) and also more exotic animals such as the aforementioned polar bears, dolphins, manatees, but also cheetahs, lions, tigers and my personal favourite (apart from the owls), red pandas. The red panda enclosure is particularly lovely as it is situated between two paths, the upper of which is passing at treetop height so even if the pandas retreat all the way to the top of the tree you can still see it relatively close. When I passed yesterday however the pandas chose to stay indoors and only came out for a short peek - gladly long enough to snap a gorgeous photo.
The stars of the zoo are of course the dolphins - in the summer months they even put on a small show with them for the visitors, free of charge - and at the moment the tiger and polar bear cubs. When I was at the zoo yesterday the tiger cubs were out with their mum and play fighting in the most adorable way, so expect a lot of photos of that in a minute. Charlotte, the polar bear cub, is as adorable as she is dirty, at least yesterday.
Anyway, enough rambling, let's get on with the photos. As is always the case, let me set a few rules first:
- All photos were taken by me, little___hobbit aka Lepsy aka Kat Eichner
- You may share the images, and/or use them for artistic means, but please ALWAYS credit me, that is little___hobbit
- When you share, please do not hotlink