Zoo Berlin Tickets: Prices, Aquarium Combo & Visiting Tips

Inside Zoo Berlin: what you’re paying for

Zoo Berlin opened in 1844, making it the oldest zoo in Germany, and it is one of the most species-rich zoos anywhere. It occupies a slice of the Tiergarten park right next to Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, so you can step off a train and be looking at elephants ten minutes later. Unlike out-of-town safari parks, this is a classic city zoo: compact paths, historic animal houses, and a lot packed into a walkable area.

Zoo Berlin tickets cover the whole zoo. The parts most people come for:

• The Panda Garden — giant panda Meng Meng and her twins Leni and Lotti, born in Berlin in August 2024. The Panda Garden is the busiest spot in the zoo by late morning.
• The hippo house — underwater viewing windows into the hippo pool, one of the zoo’s best-known buildings.
• Great apes — gorillas and other primates. A new gorilla house is planned for the family group.
• Elephants, big cats and bears — the large-mammal circuit that fills most of an afternoon.
• Daily feedings and keeper talks — the schedule is posted daily; the panda talk is a fixture.

Next door, behind the Elefantentor, is Aquarium Berlin, which runs over three floors with fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. It has been through a major renovation, and it needs either a combined ticket or a separate Aquarium ticket — the zoo ticket alone does not get you in.

Who is it for? Families with children of any age, since paths are short and there’s always an animal within sight. Couples and solo travellers on a Berlin city break use it as a half-day outing. It doesn’t suit visitors looking for safari-style drive-throughs or rides; this is a walking zoo in the middle of the city.

Timing is everything

Zoo Berlin is busiest on sunny weekends, on public holidays and during the Berlin and Brandenburg school holidays, especially in summer and at Easter. Weekdays in May, June and September are the calmest pleasant-weather days. Winter weekdays are quiet, but the zoo closes at 16:30 and last entry is 15:30, so arrive by late morning.

Be at the gate for 09:00. Animals are more active in the cool of the morning, and the Panda Garden is calm for the first hour. Do the pandas first, then the large mammals, and leave the indoor houses for midday when the outdoor animals tend to rest.

Rain plan: Zoo Berlin is mostly outdoors, but the hippo house, the other historic animal houses and the whole of the Aquarium are under cover. If the forecast looks bad, decide on the combined ticket before you set off, as it isn’t sold after 15:00 and online prices beat the booth. A grey weekday in spring or autumn is one of the calmest times to visit.

All animal houses and restaurants close 30 minutes before the zoo. Plan to leave the hippo house and the indoor exhibits by then — staff start closing doors on time.

Insider tip: If you want both the zoo and the Aquarium, buy the combined ticket online and do the Aquarium first thing — the combined ticket is only sold until 15:00, and the Aquarium can have short queues at entry once the afternoon crowd arrives.

The insider entry

Zoo Berlin has two main gates. The Löwentor (Lion Gate) faces Hardenbergplatz and Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten, the natural choice if you arrive by train. The Elefantentor (Elephant Gate) is on Budapester Straße and connects directly with the Aquarium building.

Use the Löwentor if you’re coming by train, and the Elefantentor if you’re walking from the Kurfürstendamm side or starting at the Aquarium. After admission closes, only the Elefantentor exit stays open, so plan your end-of-day route to finish there.

How to save on tickets

• Buy online, and early. Zoo-only adult tickets start at €16 online versus €25 at the booth; the official shop prices rise as your date gets closer, so book as soon as your plans are fixed. Online tickets are dated and non-refundable.
• Know the age bands. Under 4 is free, ages 4–15 pay the child rate (from €7.50 online for the zoo), and 16+ pays adult.
• Concessions. Students, trainees and visitors with a severe disability get reduced prices, with official proof checked at the gate.
• Combined ticket only if you’ll use it. From €24 online, the Zoo + Aquarium ticket is good value for a long day. If you only have three hours, buy the zoo alone.
• Annual pass. At €69 for adults (zoo only), it pays for itself in three or four visits. The Zoo + Aquarium + Tierpark version covers both of Berlin’s zoos, and annual pass holders get half-price day tickets to the Aquarium and Tierpark.
• Groups of 20 or more get group rates on the combined ticket — worth it for school classes and clubs.
• Voluntary conservation fee. Each ticket includes an optional €0.50 contribution, which you can deselect at checkout.

On GetYourGuide, the Zoo Berlin entry ticket was listed from €24 at the time of checking, rated 4.6★ from 374 reviews. The official zoo-only online price can be lower, so compare what each ticket includes before you pay.

Getting there without the hassle

The zoo’s address is Hardenbergplatz 8, in Charlottenburg. Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten is the nearest station, served by the S-Bahn, the U2 and U9 underground lines and regional trains, with the Löwentor a short walk across the square. Many city buses stop there too.

Don’t drive. Parking in this part of West Berlin is limited and expensive, and public transport drops you at the gate. From Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the S-Bahn takes about ten minutes, so long-distance arrivals from Hamburg, Leipzig or Munich can drop their bags at the hotel and still be at the gate before the morning crowd builds. From Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), allow about 45 minutes by train.

Make it a trip

The zoo sits between the Tiergarten park and the Kurfürstendamm shopping street, so a half-day here fits easily into a sightseeing day. Some ideas:

• Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, in the east of the city, is Zoo Berlin’s much larger sister park. The top annual pass covers both.
• Tropical Islands, the indoor tropical resort about an hour south of Berlin, makes a good second day when the weather is grey.
• Zoo Leipzig with its Gondwanaland rainforest hall is a fast train ride south — easy to combine on a longer eastern Germany trip.

See more ideas on our Germany destinations hub or compare animal parks across Europe on the zoos and aquariums hub.