Jardin zoologique de la ville de Lyon, Municipal zoo in Parc de la Tête d'Or, Lyon, France.
Jardin zoologique de la ville de Lyon is a zoo within Parc de la Tête d'Or housing more than 300 animals from around 66 species in naturalistic habitats. The facility spreads across a large area with different enclosures and sections designed for various animal groups.
The zoo was founded in 1858 by Prefect Claude-Marius Vaïsse and began as an educational space with farm animals. Over time it evolved into a facility focused on colonial animal species.
The zoo's name comes from the Parc de la Tête d'Or, the municipal park it occupies in Lyon's 6th arrondissement. Entry has been free since its founding in 1858, and the park it sits in draws an estimated 8 million visitors a year. The zoo is a permanent EAZA member and coordinates one European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).
Visitors should know the zoo is free to enter and open daily with hours that change by season. It has two entrances, with the south gate serving as the main entry point and a helpful reference for orientation.
The giraffe house dates from 1968, part of a renovation wave that began in 1955 and also brought a waterbird rockery in 1956 and a monkey rotunda in 1965. The 1858 aviary was demolished the following year, in 1969.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,972 contributors worldwide.
