If you’re visiting Prague with kids, there’s a fair chance that, at some point, you’ll be wondering how to visit Prague Zoo. It has been consistently ranked among the top 5 zoos in the world for many years, and from much experience, I can tell you that it is one of the best places to visit with kids in Prague, hands down.
Prague Zoo (Zoo Praha) is located in the north of the Czech capital, close to a bend in the River Vltava. It’s in the lovely district of Troja, which is also home to a gorgeous Baroque palace and the delightful Prague Botanical Garden.
The grounds of Prague Zoo are beautiful, and it is home to an impressive collection of over 700 species of animals. You can see some of the great African animals including elephants and giraffes, and two of the great apes – western lowland gorillas and Sumatran orangutans.
But what’s best about Prague Zoo is some of its smaller exhibits, from its awesome collection of Australian birds to marsupials such as the rare Tasmanian Devil, and its endangered Przewalski’s horses, which have been reared there and reintroduced to places in their native Central Asia where they had been extinct for well over a century.
In this guide I’ll show you some of the best animal exhibits in Prague Zoo, and also explain all the practicalities of getting there, buying tickets, how long you need to spend there, and so on. While living in the city I visited Prague Zoo 40-50 times with my son. It’s easily his favourite place to visit in Prague, and without a doubt a sentimental favourite of mine too.
Visiting Prague Zoo – Orientation
It’s worth knowing the lay of the land with Prague Zoo as it’s large and you can walk a fair few miles if you’re there all day.
The Zoo is next to the River Vltava, and the area next to it (the south side) is fairly flat. The steep Zakazanka Hill occupies the central part of the Zoo, and there are three quite steep paths up it and a chairlift (spring to autumn) to the summit.
Many of the larger animals – including the Asian elephants, giraffes and the new Dja Reserve for gorillas and various monkeys – are in the northern part of the Zoo. To reach these, you need to climb the hill and walk down the other side. The quickest way there from the main entrance is via the Indonesian Jungle exhibit, which includes the wonderful Sumatran orangutans.
You can also go the slower, longer way along the south side of the Zoo, passing the Darwin Crater and two large bird sections (including the stunning shoebills) before following the path uphill past the Fossil Shop and the Gočar Houses to the north side of the Zoo.
The quietest part of the Zoo tends to be the section along the top of the Zakazanka ridge. It requires quite an effort to get there on foot, but during the warmer months, weather permitting, the chairlift whisks you to the top in a couple of minutes.
Prague Zoo Highlights
Indonesian Jungle and Sumatran Orangutans
The Komodo Dragons on the lower level win my son’s Smelliest Poo in Prague Zoo award. The largest lizards in the world must also be among the planet’s stinkiest beasts, and four or five of them usually lurk in the heated domed section of the building.
Just after the Komodos you pass through a darkened tunnel with minimal lighting, where several nocturnal creatures live. This section has changed considerably since we first started visiting the Zoo, when bats used to fly freely here. Not any more. One of the creatures living there is a rare Chinese pangolin, a species which has become endangered as humans have used their scales for ’medicine’.
You then climb a flight of stairs or take a lift to the highlight of the Jungle, the family of Sumatran orangutans. Two babies were born there in the four years that we lived in Prague, so they numbered five when we returned to Australia in 2024.
During the colder months you’ll find them inside the dome, pottering around on their indoor island or climbing above it. In the summer months you’re just as likely to see them in their outdoor area, where they relax in the sun, climb up tree trunks to their netted nests. Alpha Dad Pagy can often be seen covering himself in hay. And the younger apes show their know-how and intelligence by using a machine to dispense small snacks. They’re an absolute joy to watch.
Darwin Crater Australian Wildlife Exhibits
My half-Aussie son and I have always had a great interest in Australian animals, and many European zoos have kangaroos or wallabies. But the Darwin Crater – based on a landscape in the Australian island of Tasmania – takes things to a new level, exploring some of the less-known, but just as fascinating, animals.
As you enter the exhibit, there is a large aviary on your right with several species of Australian birds. We didn’t hear the laughing kookaburra make its distinctive cackling call, but it was wonderful to see this fantastic creature, which is a relative of the kingfisher.
We also loved to see the Australian white ibis, a tall, graceful, exotic bird we had seen many times around the lake where we had previously lived in Australia. When we returned recently to Australia to live, the ibis was one of the first birds that we saw. It was picking its way through a bin at the back of the local Woolworths supermarket. It always amuses us that this beautiful, graceful bird is commonly called a ‘bin chicken’ in its native country.
These include four Tasmanian Devils, small black screecher creatures which scurry busily around their burrows and terrain. These little carnivores have an incredibly forceful bite, and we’ve seen (and heard) them grind and chew their way through bone in Australian zoo that we have visited.
There is also a wonderful male wombat called Cooper who sometimes puts in an appearance in his enclosure. He also spends a lot of time in his burrow, and loves to dig.
The Darwin Crater building also houses some smaller Australian fauna including a family of potoroos, small marsupials with long tails which are vulnerable in their home country due to introduced predators.
There is also an echidna – the nearest thing Australia has to a hedgehog – in the same building. But this creature proved particularly elusive in Prague Zoo – it’s the one animal in 40+ visits that we didn’t get to see.
Next door to the Darwin Crater there’s a small enclosure where you can walk past kangaroos and wallabies which happily graze away or sleep in the warm sunlight.
The Farm
The one place kids can get hands-on with animals in Prague Zoo is the farm. Here you can climb into the enclosure and hand-feed the sheep and goats.
There is a change machine on one side of the stables, which you’ll need to use if you don’t have the correct coins for the feed machine. and you can see the sheep and goats milling about inside. Head around the end of the stables past the pig basking in the mud, and continue until you reach the machines. Each portion of feed – a handful of cereal-like discs – costs 10 Kc, which doesn’t last long with the voracious creatures inside the pen.
We often brought a small plastic sandwich bag with us and filled it with several portions. Then we would venture inside, and as I was usually the bag holder, a few sheep and goats would jump up on me wanting more and more. It’s great fun. TIP: don’t go in there wearing your best frock, especially if it has been raining!
There is another farmyard close by where you can also feed the animals by hand. And there’s also a small enclosure with two wonderful Australian magpies – which are far friendlier than their European counterparts, except during nesting season!
Shoebills
An aviary section occupies a large part of the low-lying riverside ground on the south side of the Zakazanka hill. My son and I would usually have a deal whenever we visited – that he could see whatever animals he wanted, provided that I could see one of my two favourites – either the Sumatran orangutans or the shoebill.
I first came across this astonishing bird on a David Attenborough documentary on the BBC many years ago, and was delighted to have the opportunity to meet these creatures face to face. If you ever doubted that birds are descended from dinosaurs, this bird is Exhibit Number One in the case to convince you. It has an enormous bill around a foot long, and in the swamps of central and east Africa where it still lives in the wild, it will chomp large fish, and even baby crocodiles.
When we first started visiting in 2020, this bird was taller than my son – around 150 centimetres (5 feet tall to a Brit or American). We were able to stand face to face with one, sometimes two, of these birds at a time. We must have stopped to see them well over twenty times, and we would normally spend a few minutes photographing it, while it would stand stock still and just eyeball us. If you think the wonderful Paddington Bear is capable of a hard stare, you haven’t seen anything until you have gone face to face with these imperious birds.
In all of these visits, we only ever saw a shoebill do anything more than blink once. One time, one of them opened its beak and began to make a clacking sound – an amazing sight. But by the time I had adjusted my camera ISO it had stopped and I lost the chance to capture this incredible sight. My son once said that he thought the shoebill looks like Buckbeak the hippogriff in the Harry Potter films, but I’d say the shoebill is a whole lot scarier – and more magnificent.
Przewalski’s Horses
The Gobi Desert exhibit is at the top of the Zakazanka Hill, very close to the chairlift upper station. Prague Zoo has been successfully breeding Przewalski’s horses – the last surviving breed of wild horses in the world – for decades, And this recent article on the BBC website describes their recent reintroduction to the plains of Kazakhstan.
Until becoming a father in 2014, I only occasionally visited zoos, but that all changed having an animal lover for a son. Visiting Prague Zoo altered some of my long-held but not very well-informed perceptions. As wildlife habitats are being destroyed by humans, the conservation work of zoos worldwide has kept many species from going extinct.
One of Prague Zoo’s most noteworthy projects is the raising of its Przewalski’s horses. Also known as the takhi, takin or Mongolian wild horse, these magnificent animals once roamed across the steppes of Central Asia and Mongolia, but were extinct in the wild until late in the 20th century.
The Przewalski’s horses raised at Prague Zoo (and a nearby off-site location) were the first to be reintroduced to Kazakhstan in June 2024 (ironically the day we left Prague to return to Australia). In collaboration with Tierpark Berlin, they are planning to reintroduce around 40 more animals over the next five years. So the horses you see in Prague Zoo may well one day be roaming the plains of Central Asia. An inspiring thought indeed.
Australian Birds – Clifftop Level
There is another wonderful collection of Australian birds in a series of exhibits at the top of the hill, between the Indonesian Jungle and the Cernohouska café. Not to mention more kangaroos and wallabies!
This is the place to get the best idea of the sheer variety of birds in Australia. The largest Australian bird is the flightless emu, with a long pair of legs, a large feathery body, a long neck and a sharp beak. You’ll often see the Dad tending to the chicks – this is what happens naturally in their home environment, the mother presumably off elsewhere seeking a new mate!
The other large flightless Australian bird at Prague Zoo is the southern cassowary. This remarkable bird has its own enclosure, partly because if has a sharp claw that could maim or kill anything with which it comes into contact. It also has a casque or crest on the top of its head, and red, blue and purple skin around its neck. An incredible sight.
There’s also a netted aviary full of those most colourful and gregarious of birds, the rainbow lorikeet. These gorgeous birds are very common in Australia, and are quite likely to fly very close to you – or occasionally even land on you! They’re also highly energetic, so will be buzzing around close to you while you’re inside their enclosure.
Dja Reserve And Western Lowland Gorillas
The Dja Reserve (Rezervace Dja) is one of the newer exhibits in Prague Zoo, a large building housing a troop of western lowland gorillas and several other species that also live in the World Heritage-listed Dja Reserve in Cameroon, west Africa.
The gorilla population of Prague Zoo was split when the Dja Reserve opened, with long-standing silverback alpha male Richard and two of his sons remaining in the old gorilla section near the river, while the rest moved to Dja Reserve. Richard had already contributed greatly to the European zoo gorilla gene pool, and it was felt that any further fathering might mean that ,with too many of his genes, there was danger of in-breeding. So Richard was effectively put out to pasture, poor fellow.
The new gorilla home is superb, with the great apes having enormous space to move around, both indoors and outside. Guerezas and red river hogs also reside there, and there’s a recreated school classroom where the local Cameroonian kids would attend lessons each day.
Elephants
The Asian elephants have a very large enclosure on the northern side of the Zoo, and a large indoor area where they can – but don’t always – retreat in the depths of winter.
There are at least three generations of elephants at Prague Zoo, and the restaurant next to their enclosure, Gulab, is named after the venerable old matriarch, who has been in Prague Zoo since 1966 and recently turned 66 years old.
The areas around the elephants are also well worth seeing, with some elephant figures on one side which are popular with children who climb on them. On the other side of their living space, there is a small temple complex dedicated to Ganesha, the Hindu god which takes the form of an elephant.
The Big Cats
Several species of carnivorous big cat are spread around Prague Zoo, and even if you wander without a map you’re likely to encounter some of them at some point during your visit.
The Asiatic lions, Sumatran tigers and smaller species including the clouded leopard and Vietnamese fishing cat can all be found in the Feline and Reptile House. We once got to sit next to a lioness just the other side of a glass screen for around twenty minutes, an incredible experience.
The cheetahs can be found in an enclosure a few metres from the Feline and Reptile House. They often sit at the top of the grassy knoll there, and only once in a great many visits have they ventured close to the viewing platform at the bottom of the slope.
There are more big cats to be found along the path from the elephant enclosures to the Gocar Houses, including an Amur leopard and the magnificent Siberian tiger pictured above.
Eastern Bongos
The eastern bongo – also known as the mountain bongo – is one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet. This beautiful antelope has lost much of its habitat, and its numbers in the wild (in Kenya) have declined from a meagre 140 five years ago to little more than 100 in late 2025.
My son and I always enjoyed seeing these gentle creatures, and some new births at the Zoo in the last couple of years bring some hope.
Giraffes And Africa House
The giraffes have indoor quarters and a large outdoor area where they have several feeding stations, particularly in warmer weather.
They share the grazing area with other species, including zebra and antelope. There is a lot of space for them to wander,and there’s a platform at one end of their outdoor area where visitors feed the giraffes by hand. This is the only close-up extra experience with animals that we could find. It’s a great thing to do, and hopefully there will be other options in future.
The giraffes occupy most of the building that bears their name, but a few smaller creatures also call it home, including a tiny antelope, Kirk’s Dik-Dik, and the impossibly cute aardvarks, which are normally curled up asleep next to each other during the daytime.
There’s also a small meerkat enclosure outside the Africa House, where you can watch these adorable creatures busily scurrying about.
Hippo Pavilion
The hippo pavilion is at the northern end of the Zoo, a few metres to the right of the Zoo’s northern entrance as you enter.
This was one of the most improved exhibits in the Zoo over the four years that we lived in Prague. The two hippos have an outdoor pool and a small area where they can bask in the sun for a while.
But things got much better for them –[p and anyone wishing to see them – with the completion of their indoor pool.
The view through the glass screen of them swimming is unforgettable, and they always seemed very happy when we saw them in there. This is especially popular with kids and families.
Visiting Prague Zoo – The Best Of The Rest
Where Is Prague Zoo
Prague Zoo is in the village-like suburb of Troja, in the Prague 7 (Praha 7) district in the north of the city.
It’s across the street from the gorgeous Baroque Troja Castle and its address is U Trojskeho zamku 120/3, 17100 Praha 7.
It’s very close to the city centre, only around 3 miles from Old Town Prague.
Getting To Prague Zoo
The easiest way to get to Prague Zoo is by bus 112, which runs from Nádraží Holešovice station.
To get there, you can take Metro line C (the red line) to Nádraží Holešovice, then follow the sign to the Zoo Praha bus. The 112 service runs to the main entrance to the Zoo, opposite Troja Castle. The stop name on timetables is Zoo Praha – Troja.
Bus 234 to Podhoři also stops at the main entrance, and continues past two alternative entrances to the Zoo (the Botanicka zahrada / Botanical Gardens request stop is next to the gate near the Hippo House. And the next request stop, Zoo Praha – Sklenářka, is right outside the new gorilla enclosure, the Dja Reserve (Reservace Dja).
For the first few years that we lived in Prague we usually caught the Prague tram 17 (a fantastic city sightseeing route), alighting at Trojska. We then backtracked around the corner for 150 metres to the Povltavska bus stop, from where the 112 and 234 buses make the 5-minute journey to the Zoo’s main entrance.
If you’re travelling to Prague Zoo by car (you don’t need to with one of the best city public transport networks in the world), the main entrance is on the south side of the Zoo.
Prague Zoo Tickets
Most of you will probably be interested in one-time tickets.
They cost 300 CZK for adults, 200 CZK for children and 850 CZK for a family with two adults and up to four children.
You can book your Prague Zoo skip the line tickets here. Alternatively you can pay at the ticket desks at each of the Zoo’s entrances.
Prague Zoo Opening Hours
Prague Zoo is open year-round, with opening hours varying by season.
In the winter months (January, February, November and December) it is open daily from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.
In March it’s open from 9.00 am to 5.00pm.
In April, September and October it is open from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.
From May to the end of August, the Zoo is open daily from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. From June to August the snack bars and restaurants close at 7.00 pm, but you can walk around the grounds until 9.00 pm.
How Long Do You Need To Visit Prague Zoo
Many of you reading this will most likely visit Prague Zoo once. It’s worth a full day of your time, and if you’re travelling with kids they’ll probably love it.
Over our many visits we tended to average 4 to 5 hours per day there, and that’s plenty for most people. You might not cover the whole Zoo in this time, but you’d certainly cover a lot of ground and see a great many amazing animals.
I would suggest that you don’t try to see everything in a single visit. In over 40 visits I don’t think we ever saw everything in a single day. There is far too much, even if you’re spending six or seven hours there, as we sometimes did.
When To Visit Prague Zoo
As Prague residents we visited Prague Zoo in all seasons. Prague Zoo Gardens are beautiful throughout the year, especially in springtime. It’s also a wonderful place to be on a balmy summer’s day, with plenty of places to cool off in the shade.
We visited Prague Zoo a great many times during the winter months, arriving there around 11 am and leaving at closing time (4 pm). It was during these months that our bond with Prague Zoo was forged – especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when it was one of the few places in Prague that was open. There were very few other visitors – sometimes as few as 200 a day – but it was an amazing time to experience the Zoo and see many animals up close.
Places To Visit Near Prague Zoo
If you’re visiting Prague Zoo, it’s well worth setting aside a little time to see the beautiful Troja Castle (Trojsky zamek, also often called Troja Chateau). It’s just a few metres away across the street, and is home to a branch of the Prague City Gallery.
It also has a wondrous Baroque garden, with famous rows of cherry blossom trees. If you want to see them, late March or early April are the best times to do so. Flowering times vary from year to year. Late March is probably the best time to try your luck, based on my experience in recent years.
The other attraction in Troja is Prague Botanical Garden. Along with the Zoo and Troja Castle, it makes one of the easiest day trips from Prague. The easiest entrance to access is at the foot of the hill, next to the Kovarna bus stop, the one immediately before the Zoo stop.
Where to Stay In Prague
There are thousands of places to stay in Prague, but here are a few of the very best:
***** – Art Nouveau Palace Hotel – exceptional 5-star close to the Old Town, Wenceslas Square and the main train station
**** – Hotel Pod Věží – awesome hotel in the best location in the city – right at the end of the Charles Bridge
**** – Grand Hotel International – a former Socialist Realist palace, now one of the best luxury hotels in Prague, in the Prague 6 district
**** – Mama Shelter Prague – one of the best hotels near Prague Zoo, in the heart of Holesovice
Visiting Prague Zoo – Final Thoughts
Prague Zoo is one of the best zoos I’ve ever visited. It also holds a very special place in my heart as I’ve spent a huge amount of time there, visiting as a family but more frequently with my son. Animals are his great passion, and he has run through two unlimited and two 12-visit annual passes during the four years and more that we lived in Prague. So we must have visited 40-50 times over this period.
I rate it one of the very best zoos to visit in Europe. In Central Europe I’d say it’s up there with the outstanding Leipzig Zoo and Berlin Zoo.
Having lived in Prague for a few years, I’ve got to know every corner of the Czech capital, and written extensively about it. Here is a selection of my Prague articles for you to browse:
Top Sights In Prague
55 Amazing Things To Do In Prague – By A Former Local
Charles Bridge Prague – one of the most beautiful bridges in the world
Old Town Square Prague – one of the most beautiful squares in the world
Týn Church Prague – stunning Gothic church with fairytale spires
Landmarks of Prague – 22 unmissable sights in the city
Hidden Gems in Prague -27 off the beaten track sights to seek out
Prague by Area
Old Town Prague – one of the most captivating old towns in Europe
New Town Prague – the modern heart of the Czech capital – but a taste of the old is never far away
Malá Strana Prague – the enchanting Baroque ‘Lesser Quarter’ below Prague Castle
Kampa Island Prague– the most beautiful and intriguing of Prague’s islands
Vltava River in Prague– everything there is to see along the river in the Czech capital
Holešovice Prague– one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the city
Themed Articles On Prague
Churches in Prague – 20 wondrous churches from St Vitus Cathedral to a modernist masterpiece in Vinohrady
Communist Prague – 18 Fascinating Places To Explore
Sunsets In Prague – the 10 best places to see them
Prague Streets – the city’s most beautiful streets
Prague Parks – green escapes, riverside walks, beer gardens and more
Prague Gardens – the stunning formal gardens of Prague
Prague World War 2 Sites – including the Heydrich assassination site and more
When To Visit Prague
Prague in Springtime –the best time to explore the city’s stunning parks and gardens
Prague in Autumn – one of the best cities for fall colours in Europe
Prague in Winter – Christmas, cafes, cosy restaurants – and Czech beer!
Prague in Snow – one of Europe’s most beautiful cities is even more magical with a coating of the white stuff