10 Things to Do at London Zoo

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We recently went to London Zoo for the first time in years and had such a great day out. Despite visiting in winter, we saw so many animals and enjoyed quality time together. It’s such a nice day out and one that we’ll be doing again before too long.

Where is London Zoo?

London Zoo is situated in Regents Park, on the outskirts of central London and right next to the Regents Canal. It was built all the way back in 1828, making it the world’s oldest scientific zoo, and it has grown and adapted since then, becoming a much loved part of London, a great tourist attraction but also a hub for wildlife research and conservation.

Getting to London Zoo

London Zoo is easily accessible by public transport but also has a car park on site. The zoo isn’t within the congestion charging zoo but it is within the Ultra Low Emissions Zone so you would have to pay a ULEZ charge if your car isn’t ULEZ compliant.

London Zoo tickets

You can buy tickets to London Zoo direct on the London Zoo website as well as annual membership if you’re going to visit more than once. This comes with lots of extra benefits. If you’re on Universal Credit or other benefits, London Zoo offers greatly discounted tickets for you and your family. You can find out more here.

Plus, you can buy tickets from third party retailers, often with extra discounts. Here are some examples:

• London Zoo tickets from Virgin Experience Days
• London Zoo tickets from Buyagift

London Zoo is also part of the London Pass. Find out more here and read our review of the London Pass here.

10 Things to Do at London Zoo

I thought I would share some of the things that you can do at London Zoo to inspire you on your next trip. This is just a little of what London Zoo has to offer – visit their website to see all the attractions, animals and activities on offer.

Get up close to the tigers

We were blown away by how close you can get to the tigers at London Zoo. We’d never been that close to tigers before! The Tiger Territory is a fantastic enclosure for the tigers, with so much space to explore or sleep and covered areas for when it rains – like when we visited!

The tigers are incredible creatures and the Tiger area really helps to show the animals to as many visitors as possible. We loved Seeing them up close and the children pointed out just how big their paws are!

Meet the gorillas

Gorilla Kingdom is one of our favourite parts of London Zoo. Built fairly recently, it has huge windows allowing you to see the gorillas playing, sleeping, eating or just chilling out.

We were lucky enough to visit during nap time, seeing all the gorillas cuddled up close to the glass – and we even got a peek at one of the new baby gorillas too. Such a lovely sight.

Chill out on Penguin Beach

Penguin Beach is one of the biggest penguin pool in the UK and it’s a fantastic space for the penguins to swim and play. With above and below water viewing, there’s loads of space to watch the penguins and plenty of seating if you want to stay a while too. It’s a great place for a picnic!

Enjoy a keeper talk

Like most animal parks, London Zoo has regular keeper talks throughout the day and there’s a schedule on a board as you enter the zoo. There are talks about gibbons, lions, tigers, penguins and more, all giving you a chance to ask questions and learn more about the animals at London Zoo.

Step in Harry’s footsteps at The Reptile House

The Reptile House has long been a favourite place for us – and even more so since it appeared in the first Harry Potter movie. Sadly, the Reptile House was shut during our visit whilst a new Reptile House was being built. But, the old Reptile House is being repurposed and I can’t wait to see what it becomes in the future.

Explore the rainforest

London Zoo has a fantastic Rainforest Life section where you can explore a rainforest and see sloths, monkeys and even armadillos exploring their natural habitat. It’s a beautiful place to spend time, nice and warm and with pretty much free roaming animals to look at from all angles.

Let off steam in the play areas – or splash park!

As well as animals, London Zoo also has plenty of statues, play areas and even a splash park in the warmer months. This helps to keep the children entertained and breaks up the day nicely too.

Enjoy an upgraded experience

As well as seeing so many animals at London Zoo, you can also book many London Zoo experiences to get even closer to the animals and have even more fun at the zoo. These are anything from feeding giraffes, meeting the meerkats or getting up close to the penguins to meeting the monkeys or having a lion keeper experience. You can see the full range of experiences here.

Sleepover at London Zoo

If one day isn’t enough, extend your stay with a sleepover at the zoo! The London Zoo lodges are the perfect base for extended time at London Zoo and exclusive late night tous and experiences. Suitable for individuals or families, it’s something you would never forget. Find out more here.

Enjoy a special event

You can visit London Zoo on pretty much any day of the year. But, for something a little extra, visit when they have a special event on. Enjoy Easter at London Zoo, British Sign Language Tours and more. See all the special events here.

London Zoo is such a great day out and we can’t wait to go back. Easy to get to, so much to see and do, it really is a must if you’re in or around London.

You can find out more about London Zoo over on their website and for reference the address is: Outer Cir, London NW1 4RY

If you’re looking for more things to do in London these posts might help:

• Things to do on a Sunny Day in London
• Animal Things to do in London
• The Best Disney Things to do in London
• Things to Do on a Family Trip to London
• Things to do in London on a Rainy Day
• Adventurous Things To Do in London