What makes London Zoo such a great tourist attraction?

London Zoo, located north of Regent’s Park, is the oldest scientific zoo in the world. Opened on April 27, 1828 by the Zoological Society of London, it was first thought to be used primarily as a place to keep animals from the local area for scientific study. However, it was opened to the public in 1847 and has been a popular attraction for tourists and Londoners alike ever since. Although they once had larger animals like rhinos and elephants, they have now moved to a more spacious zoo in Bedfordshire that is run by the same organisation. Instead, smaller species are the focus of London Zoo, which houses more than 5,000 representing around 650 species. Some of these stand out for the main exhibitions that are currently housed.

One of the largest is Gorilla Kingdom, which is a huge island on which a group of western lowland gorillas are kept. The area is built to resemble the natural environment of western lowland gorillas. Therefore, it contains plants and herbs that it can eat and other inhabitants that the gorilla would normally live in close proximity to, such as Nile monitors, Diana monkeys, mangabeys, and black and white colobus monkeys.

Another major exhibit is the Blackburn Pavilion, which is essentially an updated Bird House that recreates rainforest and cloud forest environments. It contains more than 50 different species of birds, some of them endangered or even extinct in the wild.

The Clore Rainforest Lookout is another iconic exhibit at London Zoo. It is built to recreate the South American jungle, in order to provide a suitable home for species such as the two-toed sloth, the southern tamandua, agoutis, the tame lemur and Goeldi’s monkey, among others. Both the canopy and the forest floor levels are accessible to the public. In addition, a darkened section is available. It allows a nocturnal view of the tropical forest and includes species such as the Rodrigues fruit bat, the emperor scorpion and the Malagasy giant jumping rat.

Other exhibits feature animals from around the world and are less notable for their smaller scale compared to the four mentioned above.

London Zoo is open every day of the year except Christmas Day between 10am and 4pm, with last admission one hour before closing. Given the size of the zoo and its limited opening hours, visitors are encouraged to arrive as early as possible so they don’t have to rush through the experience. It’s easily accessible from anywhere in the city by public transport, but in case you prefer to spend the night nearby, we’ve included a few tips on hotels near London Zoo in this article. The Brittania Hampstead London is less than a mile away and offers clean and comfortable bed and breakfasts at an affordable price. For a more luxurious option, we recommend Melia White House London, which is located a block from Regent’s Park and also less than a mile from the zoo.