Antwerp Zoo with kids: all the information about the zoo!
Last weekend we took another city trip to the fun city of Antwerp and also visited the city’s zoo: Antwerp Zoo. We had a great time for a whole day and we also included this activity in our blog Antwerp with kids. Following our visit to the zoo, we provide all the information needed for a fun day out at this zoo.
Antwerp Zoo with kids: general information!
On Saturday morning, we drive from our hometown to Antwerp, where the first thing we do is park the car in the parking garage of our hotel. From there we walk to the zoo, which is practically next to the station. This also makes the zoo very easy to reach by public transportation.
You can buy tickets to the zoo both at the box office and online, and we had arranged this in advance. This ensures that you are guaranteed a ticket and also eliminates the need to wait in line. The zoo is open 365 days a year, so you can go to this zoo every day.
If you visit Antwerp Zoo with kids who are still young, you can bring your own stroller, but you can also rent one at the zoo. All facilities for parents with a baby, for example, are also provided, such as microwaves to warm up bottles and places in the restrooms to change your kids. In that respect, this is all very well organized at the zoo.
At the zoo’s ticket booth, there are maps in several languages, including Dutch. We really liked this, as it gave us a good overview of which animals we had already visited and which we had not. It is also a fun activity for our daughter to navigate us through the zoo and cross off which animals she has already seen.
Antwerp Zoo with kids: the zoo
The zoo has as many as 5,000 animals in the zoo and as many as 425 different animal species. These are animals from large to small. You can walk a route through the zoo (it is indicated on the map), passing all the animals. What strikes us right away is that the lodgings look very good. Especially for an urban zoo, where space can be an issue, the animals are in nice modern enclosures.
Of course, you can admire most of the large African animals at the zoo. Thus, at the zoo you can admire the elephant, lion, zebra, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe and water buffalo. But we also encountered animals we haven’t seen as often in a zoo such as the red panda, koala and bats (you can see these up close in a cave).
The zoo also has a very nice aquarium section, where you can spot the famous marine animals such as the shark, the seahorse, the manta ray and the cute NEMO fish. These aquariums look beautiful and are of course indoors, as well as several animals can be admired both indoors and outdoors. As a result, you can visit the zoo even when the weather is not so good.
Next to the aquarium (called Vriesland) you will find the reptile building with many different species of reptiles. So you have caimans, snakes, turtles, lizards, tarantulas and many more different types of reptiles. Especially with the turtles you can get very close and our daughter loved being so close to these beautiful creatures.
Antwerp Zoo with kids: playing
Besides the many animals you can admire at the zoo, there is also plenty of fun to discover at the zoo. For example, the zoo has two different large playgrounds in the zoo. In addition, there are things for kids to do at several other places in the zoos such as in the cave, where kids can climb up a rope.
Several animals are also catered to kids. For example, at the aquarium, kids can look at different images of animals through a kind of binoculars, and at the monkeys, they can compare the different emotions between humans and monkeys. In that regard, this zoo is also just educational for kids and they can learn a lot about the different animals.
Antwerp Zoo with kids: Food and drink
You can also have a great family lunch at the Antwerp Zoo. You have a Grand Café and a restaurant at the zoo, where you can get something to eat and drink. We ourselves had lunch at noon at Savannah Restaurant. Here you had quite a few (healthy) options and the restaurant overlooks the area where you can spot various birds. In addition, there is also a large playground in front of this restaurant, where the kids can have fun.
Besides these two restaurants, there is also a waffle stand and an upscale restaurant just outside the zoo, where you can really order a three-course meal. It is also possible to eat your own brought lunch on one of the benches in the zoo or in the restaurant itself if you do order a drink.
For us it was a fine lunch with a sandwich, a soup and another delicious dessert afterwards (chocolate mousse).
Antwerp Zoo with kids: staying overnight
You can have a great time for a whole day at the Antwerp Zoo, and the city has many other fun activities you can do with the family. Therefore, it is also fun to make a weekend of it. You can spend a great night near Antwerp Zoo with families with kids. We list a few suggestions.
Budget hotel: Novotel Antwerp
Mid-range hotel: Hotel 1875
Luxury hotel: Hampton by Hilton Antwerp Central Station
For a list of all hotels in Antwerp with kids click here for more information.
Antwerp Zoo with kids: conclusion
We really had a very nice day at Zoo Antwerp. You can spot lots of different animals in this zoo and our daughter also had a super time. We notice as she gets older and older, she is able to look at different animals longer and longer and learn more about them. In addition, the playgrounds at the zoo remain fun, giving you a nice variety of animal spotting and play. We were there when the zoo opened and did not leave the zoo until late afternoon. For more information on opening hours, prices and different animals, take a look at Zoo Antwerp’s website.
