Today I finally went to the Schönbrunn Tiergarten. Tiergarten means zoo. Supposedly it is the oldest zoo in the world. I haven’t gone until now because I am spoiled from having grown up so close to San Diego. The San Diego Zoo is one of the greatest in the world. The Berlin Zoo, considered the best in Europe, is child’s play in comparison to the San Diego Zoo. So thinking about the Schönbrunn Tiergarten, I wasn’t that excited at the idea of going. Today, however, was a mild day temperature-wise and it was sunny with a blue sky. Working in an office during the week makes me eager to be outside on the weekends when the weather is nice.
So off I went to the Schönbrunn Tiergarten. I have to admit I was very impressed with it. It is by no means a competitor to either the Berlin or San Diego zoo in size, but it definitely has a charm to it. The layout is great. Most places where the animals are kept allow you to walk completely around to get different angles of the animals. This means that you usually saw the animals, instead of the normal disappointment of going to an area and not seeing a critter.
There was also a rainforest area that was really a lot of fun. You had to enter a two story building that had the warmth and dampness of a rainforest. It was set up like a huge tree house, allowing you to cross wooden rope bridges and see the animals hanging out right next to you.
What was also impressive was the arrangement of the large cats. There were sections where only glass stood between you and the cats. I stood about a foot away and watched as a leopard and a panther strolled by. To get such an up close encounter was exciting.
Overall I would recommend the Schönbrunn Tiergarten to anyone. It was definitely worth the visit.
Schonbrunn Tiergarten
Schoenbrunn was our favourite place when we last visited Vienna. We thought the whole place was amazing. We’ve even written a page about it in our free Vienna City Guide…
http://www.free-city-guides.com/vienna/schonbrunn/