Bioparc Valencia, Spain

BIOPARC Valencia opened in 2008 at the western end of the Turia Gardens, next to Parque de Cabecera, and replaced the old city zoo with a “zoo-immersion” park: hidden barriers, rocks and streams make you feel you are walking through the animals’ own landscape. It focuses on Africa, with four habitats – the African savanna, the wetlands, the equatorial jungle and the island of Madagascar.

Here you can see African elephants, giraffes, lions, hippos, gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as lemurs that move freely around visitors on Madagascar.

To get there by public transport, buses such as 98 and 99 stop right in front of the park. Visitors can also take the Valencia metro (lines 3, 5 or 9) to the Nou d’Octubre station and walk a few minutes to the entrance. The park has on-site parking available for visitors arriving by car.

The park is open every day of the year from 10:00, with closing times that vary by season. Tickets cost from €29.50 for visitors aged 13–64 and from €23.50 for children aged 4–12 and over-65s, depending on the date; buying online saves €1, children up to 3 enter free and parking costs €7 a day.